Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Colocation and Data Centers : Bay Area Colocation??

[ikeo]

Hi,

I'm new to the forums and found a vast amount of information. I realize this is a newbie question and I've used the search function, but can anyone help me with finding a decent colocation for an afforable price?

Preferably approx. $50/mo 50-100gb data transfer for 1u of rackspace for colocation. This can vary, depending on a variety of things, but I would like to avoid the $99 since that seems to be the norm.. It would also be nice if the facilities were available in the Bay Area, North bay, South bay, and/or East bay.

Some companies that I have come across...

fastcolocation
hostingandcolo
servercentral
servepath/coloserv

I'd hope to get into a colocation facility like equinix or above.net or mzima.

Please let me know if:
a.) i'm smoking something and I can keep dreaming
b.) a place where I can get that price
c.) What is a realistic price for my requirements.

I most likely would never reach my limit and would like to know if some places charge based on actual network usage...

Thanks in advance...

[aarong]

For such small requirements, why do you feel the need for "Equinix-class" service (I use the term loosely...) Simpli.biz resells small colocation space at one of the AboveNet DC's in the Bay Area (I forget which) and Mzima does not do colocation themselves, though you might be able to find a colocation company who uses them (I don't know of any that do small commits such as the one you're requesting)

My recommendation would be to go with fastcolocation - they're a widely known HE reseller and for your commit/price point, they'll probably be your best bet. Good luck.

[IRCCo Jeff]

SF Bay Area is a tough market to find cheap co-location, with maybe the exception of HE.

[Rusty500]

I agree with the rest of the guys. If you're looking for a good value in the area for that level of bandwidth and rack space, and HE reseller may be your best bet.

The rack space alone at many of the other facilities may cost more than the $50 or so that you've budgetted.

[ikeo]

Thanks for the input... If in that case A Los Angeles provider would work for me also.

hostingandcolo seem to the place to go. One Wilshire.

Does anyone have input on the Cogent network? Is downtime REALLY that prevelent? A little downtime is okay. I'm not hosting anything mission critical, but I would like a reliable host.

I understand the high cost, but from what I've read, the people on this board seem to know where to spot deals and if some deals are too good to be true they probably are.

[Rusty500]

Cogent mainly just has a bad reputation. Sure, they have had problems in the past, but from what I have heard, they have gotten a lot better.

We still don't sell any Cogent offerings, and if we were to do so any time soon, we would probably keep those separate from the rest of our network -- mainly due to the stigma associated with Cogent. It's really not so bad anymore, though there are a lot of people selling oversubscribed Cogent lines, which does detract from perceived quality.

In any case, it really depends on your needs and your application. I would say that if you're not running a "mission-critical" business, and if you're not dealing with a customer base that demands a high-level of performance (low latency, jitter, etc.), Cogent isn't all that bad of a choice.

Thanks,
Russell

[aplawson]

If you wanted Bay Area colo, I would suggest HeraklesData (www.heraklesdata.com) in Sacramento. Class A data center with N+5 redundancy and far far away from the nearest fault line.

Granted it's inland and not within the Bay Area, but judging from your willingness to explore Los Angeles, it may not be a bad idea to check out the other oft overlooked gems within the Northern California region. RagingWire is another possible suggestion.

[ikeo]

Thanks for the input. This site has already proven very valuable for information gathering for me.

I don't see any place that mentions pricing or colocation availability for the herkeles data center.

Once again, thank you for bringing that data center to my attention.

[aarong]

Originally posted by MrManager
Class A data center with N+5 redundancy and far far away from the nearest fault line.

N+5?

[ikeo]

While I'm at it,

Can anyone explain 512kbs in the 95th percentile? How pricing works with that schema?

[appliedops]

Paul Vixie (the guy who wrote BIND) has a list of places that do cheap 1U colo.
http://www.vix.com/personalcolo/

Thats probably a good way to start
Also, check your PM when you get a chance.

[aplawson]

N+5 (necessary + 5)

This figure has to do with redundancy, whether that means power, cooling, generator fueling, bandwidth, etc etc.

N stands for "Necessary"
+5 indicates 5 additional devices serving as backup.

Herakles Data provides custom quotes. We don't have anything there but if I ever needed a second facility they would be it (besides the fact we're partial to supporting Sacramento businesses).

[trevyn]

I assume there's a reason why you're unable to use a dedicated server for this? I've definitely seen offers close to what you're looking for that include a server.

[ikeo]

I've just read up on the whole 95th percentile thing. To make absoultely clear.

If I colocated for $50 and 512kbs/95th percentile, its $50 for the space and the bandwidth is separate? 512kbs is ~ 150gb correct? Or am i alotted 150gb? I'm a little confused, but this has definitely been a learning curve.

I do not want a dedicated server because I'd like to use my own hardware.

[appliedops]

Originally posted by ikeo
I've just read up on the whole 95th percentile thing. To make absoultely clear.

If I colocated for $50 and 512kbs/95th percentile, its $50 for the space and the bandwidth is separate? 512kbs is ~ 150gb correct? Or am i alotted 150gb? I'm a little confused, but this has definitely been a learning curve.

If you're being billed via 95th percentile, you are not being billed by GB.
Say you're on a 100Mbps link, and you copy 150GB at 75Mbps, it only takes you a little bit, but hey - now you're on the hook for 75Mbps... Thats definately a non-fun place to be.

There are 2 ways to avoid that problem:
1 - Get a Cap'ed circuit
2 - Be billed only by GB, not Mbps or 95th percentile.