I've taken several quotes recently from colocation providers in my area and i think i found a good deal.

$32/per rack unit when you buy per unit, prices go down to about $19/per unit on a full rack.

Bandwidth is $350 per MBIT of throughput each month with no cap on the data transfer.

I dont have to go through the co-lo provider for my bandwidth since they provide a carrier nuetral network. Does anyone think i can get a better deal on bandwidth elsewhere? Or should i stick with the co-lo provider for the bandwidth?

Any input is welcome.

That's more than we pay...but still a pretty fair deal.

$350 is a bit high for most networks. If your buying tier 1 direct, or internap solution maybe, otherwise its a little on the high side even for premium connectivity.

We currently sell Verio bandwidth between $150 - $200 a meg on low commits (i.e. 1Mbps) and you should find simular pricing on quality networks. Those cabinet fee's are also, about right, maybe a bit high. For that price you should be dealing direct. Don't forget, its not the rack that cost alot, its the power it will take when its full.

You would have to say the colo house and the providers to give any more accurate info.

hmm, i cant post a url untill i have made 5 posts.... i guess i will make this my 5th post and then post the URL next :)

Here is the website for the facility: http://www.lifelinedatacenters.com/

I needed a place within 1 hour of our main office becuase we are responsible for maintaining the servers. This was the only one i could find in Indiana. There was 1 other company called onecall.net but they were about 3 times higher priced on everything.

Do you think it would make sense to find bandwidth elsewhere?

Hi,

The $360 per Mbps is high I think. I initially paid $250 per Mbps on a 95% billing, but renegociated a flat GB cost after a year. I wanted a firm understanding of my usage costs so I could build an accurate (as possible) business plan.

Bob

dg_ak,
The tough part is location.

It's hard to tell from there website, but at that price you should expect a fairly high level of service. I would visit them and then decide if its too much. You should expect carrier class facilitys.

Otherwise, now you have a harder task, finding a remote location that can co-manage your equipment. You have to really sit down and plan out your network twice, and ship it out once ;) Good planinng, redundancy, and backups will be key. For example, either rent remote reboot ports, or co-locate pre-set units of your own. Have a disaster recovery plan, so all you rely on the DC for is replacing bad hardware, and not hours of data recovery.

If you need direct/physical access to your servers, then your choices are a bit more limited and you will probably pay more. That's not always a bad thing though. ;)

Originally posted by dg_ak
I've taken several quotes recently from colocation providers in my area and i think i found a good deal.

$32/per rack unit when you buy per unit, prices go down to about $19/per unit on a full rack.

Bandwidth is $350 per MBIT of throughput each month with no cap on the data transfer.

I dont have to go through the co-lo provider for my bandwidth since they provide a carrier nuetral network. Does anyone think i can get a better deal on bandwidth elsewhere? Or should i stick with the co-lo provider for the bandwidth?

Any input is welcome.
Your rack lease is ok, so you'd go for the full rack. Guess it comes down to what size servers you plan on coloing in that rack, as per revenue/rack etc. Bandwidth looks a bit pricey though. Maybe if you commit to 5 to 10 mbps, you can get that rate down? Although they are a carrier nuetral network and close to your location too. :)

Originally posted by pickles
Hi,

The $360 per Mbps is high I think. I initially paid $250 per Mbps on a 95% billing, but renegociated a flat GB cost after a year. I wanted a firm understanding of my usage costs so I could build an accurate (as possible) business plan.

Bob

I'm sorry if this is off topic but, what do they mean by 95th percentile billing?

www.seanadams.com/95 - Best explanation of 95th precentile you will find.

Colocation $40USD/month
Bandwidth $0USD/month

WCHost,

I don't see what your reply can contribute to this guy's question. He's looking for a local colo facility and wants to know if he's paying too much for bandwidth from the offer that was made to him (in Indiana)... you're in Australia (a foreign country based on his location), so I don't understand your point...

David

what is your co-lo bandwidth cost?


So, WCHost is partly on track ;)

We currently pay about $20 per 1U of rack space plus around $80-100/mo. per 100GB of transfer on 95th percentile billing.

Personally, this has worked out quite cost effectively for the number of servers that we have since we don't use a ton of bandwidth... but I think our bandwidth pricing is definitely on
the high-side for the market.

However, the service we get from our colo data center is great. Great group of people, very committed and willing to go the extra mile - and have done so on more than one occasion.

My two cents - if your colo center is near you, if you like the staff and they are competent and provide you with really great service, then that quote is not at all unreasonable.

Can you do better, price-wise elsewhere? Sure. So could we.

But it is all in what you are looking for really. Also - figure out how much bandwidth you will actually be using... for us, we are more server rackspace-heavy than bandwidth heavy for the most part.

Originally posted by cdgcommerce
We currently pay about $20 per 1U of rack space plus around $80-100/mo. per 100GB of transfer on 95th percentile billing.



Hmmm. You think that is expensive for mutlihomed BW?

WCHost, who cares? You are paying for it elsewhere. That is for sure.

dg_ak, location is key. Sure people will argue it isn't, but then again, they do not have the luxury of showing up and working the servers they build or having hands on. SO they do not know the real benefit. My advice is work your local colo for a deal. The rack price is fine. BW is fine too. Although on the high side. If I were you I would get some quotes from some competitors, even if you have no intent on moving in there. With those quotes show them to your colo. I promise you they will come down. I can tell you are behind the power curve of pricing knowledge. A good salesperson will see this too and sock it to you. Go to combat prepared and you will get a victory. One that both sides win on.

It will be hard to tell what is a fair price given the fact they release no real useful data on their providers. I did not want to search this either. So maybe come back here and post it.

Location is the biggest factor since i want to work on my servers. Since i am building the servers and doing all the maintaining i will save money in that regard. I have put in some request for quotes with Qwest, Avaya, Yipes, and maybe Level3 to see where their pricing is. I'm not sure who their provider is but I'm sure its Tier 1. Hopefully i can use some of the quotes i get as bargaining power.

More importantly what i should be looking at is how much dedicated bandwidth will be needed for customers. On average how much dedicated bandwidth should i have for every 100 customers? I know this will vary greatly but I'm looking for an average. I was thinking 1 MBIT for each server with 300 sites per server.

Ask them to show you a network map and confirm that they are using tier 1 connectivity. See what providers they use. Then, get a stack of quotes from other providers and use it as bargaining power.

Also, ask for some references. Show them that you are going to do your due diligence and that you know what's up with respect to the rest of the industry.

Remember - if you come prepared and they know that you know what you're talking about... you can negotiate a better deal. If they think that they are the "default choice", they may be less likely to work out a more aggressive deal for you.

Well, there design is a TM.

http://www.templatemonster.com/show.php?templ=2525&cat_type=search&type=1&arg1=hosting&arg2=&order=date

Originally posted by dg_ak
Location is the biggest factor since i want to work on my servers. Since i am building the servers and doing all the maintaining i will save money in that regard. I have put in some request for quotes with Qwest, Avaya, Yipes, and maybe Level3 to see where their pricing is. I'm not sure who their provider is but I'm sure its Tier 1. Hopefully i can use some of the quotes i get as bargaining power.

More importantly what i should be looking at is how much dedicated bandwidth will be needed for customers. On average how much dedicated bandwidth should i have for every 100 customers? I know this will vary greatly but I'm looking for an average. I was thinking 1 MBIT for each server with 300 sites per server.

dg_ak,

I think you may be over-rating physical location. I have always wanted this, and would do it, IF the DC was the right DC. Once a box is populated, you won't find yourself doing much from a hardware perspective. You WILL want console access, but this is easily done with a remote console switch. The big thing that reduces the need to "be close" is proper controls, plans, and great DC and REDUNDANCY.

I configure my boxes in my office, and ship them to the DC. The DC installs the box, and its live minutes later.

All the servers in my rack are connected to a console server. If something should go wrong and I can't ssh in, I have direct console access. It is every bit as good as being there. Each machine is build with multiple raided drives, so I shouldn't have to "be there right away". I have spare drives on site, and a few "spare" machines, in-rack and availble should a whole machine go south. My contract allows for 4 hours per month of "break/fix" coverage, so if something goes wroing, and I don't return the call in 15min, the DC staff jumps in.


For me, picking a DC close to me means my server are in the direct path of yearly huricanes.

When you get to 5-10Mbps, the price difference is really going to be noticable. Either get them to come down some, or think about looking elsewhere. It can be done, it only requires careful planing.

Bob

Originally posted by dg_ak
More importantly what i should be looking at is how much dedicated bandwidth will be needed for customers. On average how much dedicated bandwidth should i have for every 100 customers? I know this will vary greatly but I'm looking for an average. I was thinking 1 MBIT for each server with 300 sites per server.

1MBIT will give you circa 320GB on average billing. On 95% billing, its really difficult to plan. I didn't like the 95% thing at all. I had prolonged peaks over 10Mbps and had months where I got just a little over 100GB. Like I stated in an earlier post, I renegociated my plan to buy "blocks of GB" instead.

Originally posted by pickles
dg_ak,


All the servers in my rack are connected to a console server. If something should go wrong and I can't ssh in, I have direct console access. It is every bit as good as being there. Each machine is build with multiple raided drives, so I shouldn't have to "be there right away". I have spare drives on site, and a few "spare" machines, in-rack and availble should a whole machine go south. My contract allows for 4 hours per month of "break/fix" coverage, so if something goes wroing, and I don't return the call in 15min, the DC staff jumps in.



Bob

That is excellent advise Bob, thanks. I had planned on having a remote reboot power device installed along with my switch and servers. I have not heard of a console server. How exactly does that work? Do you have any links to the console server hardware you use? I am very intersted in learning more about that.

Originally posted by dg_ak
That is excellent advise Bob, thanks. I had planned on having a remote reboot power device installed along with my switch and servers. I have not heard of a console server. How exactly does that work? Do you have any links to the console server hardware you use? I am very intersted in learning more about that.

Do a search for "KVM Switches" on Google. Numerous companies make them.

Originally posted by dg_ak
That is excellent advise Bob, thanks. I had planned on having a remote reboot power device installed along with my switch and servers. I have not heard of a console server. How exactly does that work? Do you have any links to the console server hardware you use? I am very intersted in learning more about that.

I use a 32port console server from here: http://www.lantronix.com/

Don't pay retail, you can negociate the deal down.

Bob

What do you guys think of this pricing for colocation?

$500 for full rack
$333/Mbps bandwidth (95th percentile)

We were thinking of renting out server cages (6ft x 6ft) for $700 a month...includes 1.5 mbps. I'm thinking maybe that is a bit too cheap. :P

Originally posted by Skeptical
What do you guys think of this pricing for colocation?

$500 for full rack
$333/Mbps bandwidth (95th percentile)

The 500 is OK, but the $333 is high, especially for 95%. At least get it to "average" instead of the $333. You should be able to get the BW down to the mid 2's.

See http://www.theplanet.com/solutions/colocation.php for comparison (rack is higher, but BW is less. In the long run, its the BW that will cost you.

Originally posted by AffordableHost
We were thinking of renting out server cages (6ft x 6ft) for $700 a month...includes 1.5 mbps. I'm thinking maybe that is a bit too cheap. :P

Thats a "great" deal if it comes with racks, power. . . Personally, I don't know why folks would do a cage instead of a lockable rack. I guess if you have non-rackable equipment or spares, its nice to have a place to store it. Overall, I "think" the deal is better than what I have for a single rack, or real close.

If I were a DC, I would invest that real estate in Racks instead of cages, but again I might not be up on the market enough.

Bob

Originally posted by pickles
Thats a "great" deal if it comes with racks, power. . . Personally, I don't know why folks would do a cage instead of a lockable rack. I guess if you have non-rackable equipment or spares, its nice to have a place to store it. Overall, I "think" the deal is better than what I have for a single rack, or real close.

If I were a DC, I would invest that real estate in Racks instead of cages, but again I might not be up on the market enough.

Bob


I'm thinking for local folks it'd be a sweet deal - because they can use shelves or racks (we can supply either)...and they should be able to fit 3 racks or 4 shelves.

--Tina

What collocation companies do you guys know of in the Los Angeles area? Hopefully near downtown.

Originally posted by Skeptical
What collocation companies do you guys know of in the Los Angeles area? Hopefully near downtown.

XO
Equinix
HE.Net
mzima.net
***********
C&W

Some may be a bit outside of LA, but here is a good start for you..

Zak

Originally posted by pickles
Hi,

The $360 per Mbps is high I think. I initially paid $250 per Mbps on a 95% billing, but renegociated a flat GB cost after a year. I wanted a firm understanding of my usage costs so I could build an accurate (as possible) business plan.

Bob

Well, Hurricane Electric (http://www.he.net) charges $400/Mbps direct on a 1Mbps commit. So, go figure :)

-- Jonathan

Here in the UK, i'm paying about £25/U for rackspace in Redbus Interhouse (Meridian House, London), and £150/mbit based on 95%ile rounded down to 1 decimal place.

I currently pay £300/month for a CDR of 2Mbit and 6U of rackspace.

(All multi-homed bandwidth, and all prices have to have tax added to them)

I currently have my own APC remote boot switch in the rack and my own cisco switch. I get a 13Amp Plug and my bandwidth delivered over Cat5 and the rest is up to me... Thinking of buying a KVM over IP though cos they look damn cool.

Yeah it all depends on where you are. We are paying under $300 / MBit for bandwidth in Norfolk, VA (our cost). But its COX which has amazing latency to Europe and is much better than the stuff we could find in Richmond.

On the colo side we charge $30 / U and $1.15 GB of transfer w/ an APC remote reboot power plug per U. It all depends on what you are looking for. Our market are probably overseas servers that want to be US based, government computers (close to DC) but if a nuke hit we may still be up and local Norfolkians.

Originally posted by jic
Yeah it all depends on where you are. We are paying under $300 / MBit for bandwidth in Norfolk, VA (our cost). But its COX which has amazing latency to Europe and is much better than the stuff we could find in Richmond.

On the colo side we charge $30 / U and $1.15 GB of transfer w/ an APC remote reboot power plug per U. It all depends on what you are looking for. Our market are probably overseas servers that want to be US based, government computers (close to DC) but if a nuke hit we may still be up and local Norfolkians.

I live in Chesapeake, I elected to colo in Dallas because of cost of bandwidth, and how close we are to Huricanes. I've been offered 4-10 racks in a telco office in Richmond, but the best rate they wanted to offer for colo was $250mo.

My rate in Dallas is a flat .78 GB, which means I can only be competitive with shared hosting. The big boys drive me out of the market for dedicated services.

Originally posted by pickles
My rate in Dallas is a flat .78 GB, which means I can only be competitive with shared hosting. The big boys drive me out of the market for dedicated services.

We charge more than "the big boys" for dedicated services, but still do pretty good. The secret is to beat them at something other than price. Some people would rather pay a premium price to know that they can actually reach someone they know, on the phone, if they need to have some work done to their server....or gain physical access to their stuff.

--Tina

$350? Wow, that hurts. Were paying a lot less than that.

dg_ak,

I have servers colocated in that facility you mention in your first post. I am 10 minutes from the data center in Indianapolis. I can tell you that the bandwidth is Level(3) Com and its peering contracts nationwide are incredible. Few hops, low ping, and pretty damn stable. Genuity is also another of the carriers I think but my traces always take Level(3) paths.

Also, I have been there for almost a year and have yet to have any network or power downtime. One of their big things besides colocation is disaster recovery so they are very redundant on everything from power, network connectivity etc. They even just recently unveiled a new distaster recovery facility so if mission critical is what you want, they are it. Most large companies in Indianapolis get pretty nice reductions on their insurance premiums for doing business with lifeline.

They also require lengthy contracts for going with them. That is how sure of themselves they are regarding their services and support. At first I was hesitant about that aspect of it, but after nearly a year there, I can see how they can get great business still. They are a class A operation and they know it....true professionals.

One other thing is that they have 4 layers of security to access your servers. It is kind of crazy when you have to stop by to do some work on the servers but you can CERTAINLY sleep well at night knowing no one will touch your servers. The building is pretty solid too, build to withstand a cat 5 tornado, which is important in the midwest ;)

Email me if you need any more info about them.