When you own or manage more than one dedicated server, is it a good or bad business idea to have the servers in one location or through one company?

Well, if that one place is decent and has 'done you no wrong', then I'd imagine it is beneficial to have the servers in one place so that BobMcProvider knows you and your services and there's only one place to call, etc.

I don't see any advantage over having servers all over the place. Yes, there's the 'eggs in one basket' rule, but there's also something to be said for not scattering your eggs willy nilly all over the place.

Personal preference I suppose.

Although I respect Chicken's opinion and understand his argument...

I believe once you reach a certain size, it makes sense to have servers in multiple data centers. The reasons are as follows:

Each center may have advantages in certain areas. For instance, we might use a center that has limited carriers and is primarily Cogent for high bandwidth customers on a budget, and use multi-homed Tier One carrier facilities for others.

Likewise, we might use one center heavily because of their quality for relatively low bandwidth customers, but find their bandwidth two pricey for high bandwidth customers.

Additionally, we like to have relationships with the top centers in the country and flexibility to move servers quickly if required. If we were in a more stable industry, we might not feel the same, but just as most carriers are losing significant money, many good centers are struggling to be profitable. I know factually (although I can't disclose due to NDA's I have signed) of at least two major centers who will either have to find an investor or a buyer within 6 months to survive.

That said I do like to build long-term relationships with strong centers and look forward to the day when this industry stabilizes and you don't have to maintain so many backup contingency plans.

So, again, I guess three factors determine.

One is your size. Certainly, if you only have 2 or 3 servers, I wouldn't go spreading them around the countryside.

Second is your comfort level. Are you totally confident in your center. Have you seen the financials?

Third, can one center meet all your needs.

Well said.. :cool:

Thank you guys. Its such a heart pounding decision to make. Just like Chicken and Incognito said, weighing the advantages/disadvantages of having "all the eggs in one basket", ease of co-ordination of support, and reliability of the datacenter. hmmm

Once again thanks.