What is colocation?

[jayadev]

I won't go to much into depth here, because I have no experience with colocation. With colocation, you own a server and you pay a datacenter to host it for you. They will provide the space in the datacenter, bandwidth, IP addresses, etc. Some hosting companies that offer colocation provide on-site staff, but others will require you to have your own staff.
This wraps up my summary of the different types of web hosting. I didn't recommend any shared or reseller providers because there are so many out there, and I have more experience with dedicated server and VPS companies. I recommend going to WebHostingTalk.com to read reviews about different web hosting companies. I didn't recommend any colocation providers because I have no experience with any. I hope that I did a good job explaining all of this.

[brian]

A more lengthy explanation of co-location here:
http://www.webhostingworld.co.uk/col...ained-144.html

[CuriousGal]

That was precise! @ Jayadev

Thanks for the link Admin

By the way, I would say we get the greatest flexibility by colocating the server. It we who gotta choose the hardware configuration of the server and also the software which goes on it. However, the hosting company will maintain the connection to the Internet and it also deals with the environmental details like UPS, fire controls, air conditioning, etc. But still rememeber that we are responsible for that server's upkeep!

[techluck]

Thank you so much for the information. Learn something new everyday, and I know I won't be getting involved with colocation.

[penguinmama]

It seems to me that colocation is almost more trouble than it's worth! I suppose, though, it would be cheaper overall than bringing the bandwidth into one's own building and paying for extra IP addresses? That would be quite a draw for someone just starting out.

How difficult would it be for someone to switch from colocation to their own shared hosting server, I wonder?

[monaghan]

colocation comes into it's own when you have a specific configuration or multiple servers, generally for 1 generic hosting server you'd be better off renting

[LiquidWebPatrick]

My unofficial definition of a CoLo is the ISP provides:

1. Power
2. Network
3. Environmental Control
4. Physical Security/Some idea of Basic Network Security
5. No SW/HW/Licensing support.

There was some other forum asking about the cost of reboots, etc ... You'd think this would be included into some best effort consideration for your customer. I understand that some other hosting companies probably have a different perspective.

[laarni080]

Colocation means, this is the sharing of the facilities of a hosting center with other Internet clients.

1. Service provided by service providers that allows companies to have their computer server or servers in a controlled environment designed for servers. This is generally a cheaper solution than having your own server room and/or dedicated network line, power backup solutions and various other services to help ensure the server remains up.
2. This has also been known as a method of describing a server which is in multiple locations or mirrored. If you are unsure which your server host is referring to, talk with the server host to get more information about their definition of co-location.
3. This also refer to a company who can help distribute and handle another companies bandwidth.

[OpticEmpire]

yeah basically you store your server / hardware in their data center, they provide power and network access etc.

Youd usually then get DC access

[aquariancore]

Why is is better to do co-location instead of having your own complete network. What is the advantage?

[monaghan]

co-location is in effect renting a bit of physical space in someone else's network environment.

You can often also rent just the space & power with no network connection if you wanted to provide your own. Many companies simply rent a suite of racks from a data centre then do their own thing.

In order to have your own network, then you need to have quite a number of servers in order to justify the expense of getting redundant Internet feeds though.

Unless you have a very specific requirement, then for a few standard web hosting servers, I'd suggest renting as you will most probably get a better deal on any control panel software and have someone on hand to help fix them if they break.

We have rentals for web hosting servers for this very reason, however we do have 1 customer with very specific needs and we have a custom firewalled multi server multi connection network built in 1/4 rack of co-location space, however we do take the Internet connection from the DC rather then being completely standalone.

There is suggestion of a new DC being built about 15 miles from us, so this could change our plans in the next year or so as co-location may become a viable option.

[JohnR]

Co-Location would be better then providing your own network because having a professional company deal with the servers and you pay them to do their job instead of trying to do something you're an amateur at.