What is Colocation?

Term ‘Colocation' can be best understood as hosting an Internet server. There are data centers in which companies buy the rack and keep server equipments, which are owned by them. The data centers are mainly built to facilitate those companies who want to host an Internet server but don't want to keep at the place of their work or in their own offices. Many companies are the customers of these data center all having their own space for keeping their equipments. There are many advantages also and disadvantages also to colocation as compared to hosting on site server.

If you use server on your site then you have to pay a higher amount for the bandwidth but in data centers bandwidth is shared by many servers so it becomes cheaper. This is one of the advantages of colocation centers. As in managed hosting you don't have any control over your server but in colocation you can easily check and have total control of the system. You can also upgrade your system as and when required. Due to large machines and power system your website speed can be much faster. Another major advantage of colocation is that you can easily use your office internal network for any other purpose, as it is free due to having server on some other site.

Colocation centers are specially made to help the small companies who want to host server like any big IT company but without high cost. These centers are also very safe and secure. All necessary safety measures against fire, theft etc. is taken care of in data centers. Backup protection is also of very high quality so if there is any power failure then also your website can run without any halt. Some centers also charge extra fee to maintain the servers in a safe environment.

If collocation has many advantages then it has some disadvantages also. Like, the cost, it is true that it is cheaper as compared to hosting own server but more expensive then web hosting. For colocation you have to pay some initial cost also and after that on monthly basis you have to pay charges for bandwidth. If large amount of bandwidth is required then you have to pay more. Its price fluctuates every month in that case you are not able to calculate the amount which you are spending every month. In managed hosting you have to pay only once at the time of system up gradation. Another disadvantage is that your system is not with you. You have to travel to these collocation centers if you want to see your server. Sometimes it becomes a burden.

So before deciding upon collocation you must check all the constraints involved with it. Unlike managed hosting and web hosting this is a best option but you should see weather it suits your requirement or not. Colocation has more advantages then disadvantages but if cost is not a constraint the go for it.

E-colo.com has been assisting Companies with finding the right Colocation facility for their specific needs around the United States and overseas for over 10 years. Managing Partner Jim Regan has been in the Telecom industry since 1983, and has helped hundreds of Clients with their Telecom, Data, Colocation, Fiber, and Internet requirements. In the mid 1990s many of our Clients required assistance in finding Colocation space for their mission critical data.