What is Colocation, And How Does It Work?
Also known as colo, colocation is when a company rents space for their servers and other computing hardware at a third party’s colocation facilities. Rented colocation space doesn’t just include the rack space, but also the network it’s housed in, the physical security of servers being housed in a building and the cooling components needed to support the colocation server racks. Opting to use stored servers at a managed colocation centre means that a business doesn’t have to invest large sums in a computer room, cooling, power, connectivity and additional security. Space in a colocation data centre can be leased by single server space, a full colocation rack, caged suite (containing multiple racks) or even an entire server room for large requirements.
Once you’ve decided that you want to use colocation facilities, you can break down the process that you’ll go through in 4 steps:
1. Moving in – Your existing servers will be moved into their own colocation server rack, dedicated server space or caged suite at our secure building. At Datacentreplus we can provide you with the ideal solution for your server’s needs, from quarter racks and half racks right the way through to your own full, separate rack or dedicated suite.
2. Time to turn on the power – Once your physical build-outs are added to our existing infrastructure, it’s time to connect. Plug your power cables into our power grid and look forward to relying on our fully redundant power supply. The site engineering team will provide you with an IP address and an uplink port so that you can connect your dedicated hardware to our core network.
3. Cooling off is a breeze – After everything’s installed you’ll never have to worry about your managed colocation server rack overheating. Our rack space hosting solutions are kept at an optimum temperature range by our site engineering team. We also have solid partitions for the physical hardware and multiple security zones that use advanced smoke detection and heat detection systems to keep your dedicated server or managed colocation rack secure.
4. Expect continued access & support – In the long term, managed colocation racks are monitored by our site engineering team who offer expert support and a high level of service to ensure your hardware is operating at its peak.
Here at Datacentreplus, we don’t just offer to lease the colocation space, rack, caged suite or server room. Our colocation facilities offer so many more benefits that will give you peace of mind, knowing you’ve got the ideal solution for you.