So our hosting company is thinking about making the next big step and getting a building.

I see places such as host rocket with a 50k+ square feet building.

My question is do you think 7000 square feet would be enough?

We want to run most everything out of it - have the servers in location, support staff, ect.

I've been looking through all the sites with actual datacenters and I always see 50k, 70k, ect sized data centers.

We're just starting to plan it and get an idea and could use some people who have done it to shed some light.

Thanks. :)

Only you can really say if it is big enough or not ;)

The real question is if it is worth the cost or not.

Well I guess my question is - why does a company (host rocket) with 50,000 clients need 50k+ square feet of space?

When I plan it, it seems like 7000 would be more than enough. I dont know if im missing something though :P

Well I am by no means an expert in this, but HostRocket's datacenter is only 10k actually. The building itself is 50k.

Layered Tech has a 12k private cage at Savvis IIRC.

When looking at both of these (and HostDime for that matter) I see that they all offer dedicated machines ;)

Assuming you aren't crazy and try and fill a 42u rack solid with servers and then cram them next to each other as tight as you possibly can, hosting dedicated clients can take up some room pretty quick. You might fit 200 clients in 1u with shared, instead of 1u per client. The other main reason is for expansion I would assume.

It is no fun to have to move building later one when you start to out-grow your current facility. It is much nicer to pay a bit more on rent, and have the expansion room there when you need it.

How many machines are you looking to house and how many cubiles/offices are you going to be putting in? (Feel free not to answer if you don't want to, I know these are kind of personal items to any business unless you are CI-Host and like to quadruple the numbers, add 1000, and then bump them up a little more for the public to think you're something special).

It really all depends on what your current and future intentions are for it. If you plan on leasing out cages for colocation to other providers, which could turn out to be an excellent source of income, it may not be enough space. If you plan on really focusing on providing colocation services, or budget dedicated servers (towers) then it also may not be enough room.

Do you want to provide a community conference room, a floor with cubicles for future colo providers to operate in, a few special offices for those VIP clients that are sure to come... community kitchen (little area for coffee maker, fridge, sink, and microwave), how impressive do you want your front desk/lobby to be, all these things have to be kept in mind...

Don't forget the space required for UPS, Generator(s), Storage (files & hardware), HVAC systems, and so fourth. I am sure if you are ready to take this step you are aware of an optimal DC layout.

Think of everything, and if you don't really have experience in building layouts, I would suggest you hire an independent consultant who has a history of building successful facilities, it will definetly be worth a few $K to have a good plan and experience on your side.

As justadollarhostin has said, It is no fun to have to move building later one when you start to out-grow your current facility. It is much nicer to pay a bit more on rent, and have the expansion room there when you need it. Best of luck.