Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Colocation and Data Centers : Buy Your own Racks?

[AaronJensen]

I am going to be going into an Equinix datacenter, and pondered the idea of buying my own racks to put into the facility instead of renting them. Was interested if any of you have done similar rather than renting from the datacenter? If you could share any pros/cons with me regarding this issue I would really appreciate it. From a pricing standpoint, it seems like a legitimate choice to make.

Thanks,
Aaron

[Mfjp]

Possible, but not recommended. To get your own racks, you'll need to bring in a contractor to install the rack correctly. You'll also need another one to deal with electrical. The end result would just be more $$$ then you saved.

[TheOtherOne]

And if something fails in the rented rack, its not your personal hardware that needs to be replaced either.

[KDAWebServices]

A contractor? What planet are you on? We own our racks, we installed them ourselves, it's not exactly brain surgery - push rack in on castors, take castors off, make sure rack is level and not wobbling, hook up earth bonding strap to rack and earth point, plug in your power bar. Go have a cup of tea/coffee, come back, place your servers in the rack.

[Mfjp]

Problem is he wanted to do it in Equinix. They probably have a huge list of safely do's and dont's. And Equinix will probably require him to hire someone to deal with all the electrical and such.

[FHDave]

How much does equinix charge for cage space (per square foot).

[KDAWebServices]

Every datacentre has a big list of health and safety requirements etc. We're not hosting out of a garden shed, so we're well aware of how datacentres operate. As for the electrical, it's no more than plugging in a comando plug into a comando socket - something the DC should do for you, or you can do in all of 30s if you're on good terms with your provider.

[Mfjp]

Originally posted by FHDave
How much does equinix charge for cage space (per square foot).

Last I check, they try to meausred it out in Racks, and it was roughly $1100 per rack in the cage.

[insiderhosting]

Originally posted by Mfjp
Last I check, they try to meausred it out in Racks, and it was roughly $1100 per rack in the cage.

Depends on the location as they are on the more expensive side, but cheaper than 1100 per rack (at least here in Los Angeles).

-Steven

[Brad @ Xiolink]

Originally posted by KDAWebServices
A contractor? What planet are you on? We own our racks, we installed them ourselves, it's not exactly brain surgery - push rack in on castors, take castors off, make sure rack is level and not wobbling, hook up earth bonding strap to rack and earth point, plug in your power bar. Go have a cup of tea/coffee, come back, place your servers in the rack.

It may not be brain surgery, however, it requires a little more skill than a $7/hour mover. Racks should be installed then seismically braced/bolted to the floor to prevent damage from earthquake or a careless tech losing their balance.

Once the rack is installed, then the power needs to be connected. Most cages require power to be run from the breaker panel. This requires someone who knows what they are doing and in some cities a licensed electrician. I certainly don't want my equipment in the next cage to be in jeopardy because some yahoo in the next cage plugged in a cable incorrectly or tried to put in an unsafe powerstrip. This is why companies colo in a professional data center vs. a basement.

Most dc rules also require complying with city code.

There is a great deal involved in properly installing a cabinet and this is why someone would go to an Equinix type facility vs Joe's Hosting Basement.

[RSanders]

We buy our own racks, and have the datacenter install them *shrug*

Not a huge difference either way, atleast here in switch and data.

[KDAWebServices]

My apols. I forgot about the earthquake issues. As for the electrics, every DC I've visted (Quite a lot) has had the power already under the racks, ready for a floor tile to be lifted and the PDU to be plugged in, then all that's reuquired is the DC "lighting" up the power to the socket.

[astutiumRob]

We dont suffer form too much in the way of quakes in the UK, but at many DC's just having a rack delivered pressembled and they;ll do the rest - after all they have to sweat a *little* to earn the outrageous setup fees

[Mfjp]

Originally posted by Brad @ Xiolink


Once the rack is installed, then the power needs to be connected. Most cages require power to be run from the breaker panel. This requires someone who knows what they are doing and in some cities a licensed electrician. I certainly don't want my equipment in the next cage to be in jeopardy because some yahoo in the next cage plugged in a cable incorrectly or tried to put in an unsafe powerstrip. This is why companies colo in a professional data center vs. a basement.

That's correct. I'm not sure if you wanted to hook up the power youself. It maybe differnet depending on the facility. For us, I think we have 2 200amps circuit coming from each UPS into our cage, and they go into a breaker panel. From there, 20amps circuit comes out and go onto the rack. I seriously don't think we should touch any of the electrical stuff. If we did anything wrong, one or more of the following may happen:

1) We screw up, and the main power breaker goes, everything goes down. No injury.
2) We get fried with 200amps of AC current. No idea how I'll look after this, maybe new hairstyle and darker skin color...
3) Electrical fire because of improperly install/ground circuit.

I'm not any electrician, this is how I was told when I asked them about power. They just tell us to get them to do it.

[RSanders]

That's correct. I'm not sure if you wanted to hook up the power youself. It maybe differnet depending on the facility. For us, I think we have 2 200amps circuit coming from each UPS into our cage, and they go into a breaker panel. From there, 20amps circuit comes out and go onto the rack.

Ours is a bit different. It comes out of a power room where the UPS, and other equipment is stored. Then it hits these huge APC distribution units on the floor. afaik, they do the final regulation and monitoring. Everything is monitored. Then, each individual circuit is pulled into the cage, or a rack, etc.

I've looked for a reasonable solution to having the final circuit panel inside the cage. The one problem we have had is a nusence trip on a breaker (rare but still a pisser) requires the site manager and his keys. We have a key in a locked box for emergency, but I would rather just manage our 20amp feeds.

I know they will pull just about any circuit we want into our cage, I've asked. But I haven't seen a solution I would consider telco grade outside of the $50K+ APC's there using.

What type of circuit panels do you use?