Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Colocation and Data Centers : Colocation Offer - Your Thoughts

[tereglow]

Hello all,

I am planning on colocating three 1U servers shortly. I have an offer for a 45 mbps capacity pipe with bandwidth charged via 95th percentile pricing. The monthly charge for 1/4 of a rack is $125 a month which seems perfectly reasonable to me. However, I am a systems administrator by trade for large companies not necessarily based off of the internet, and am not overly familiar with what the cost of bandwidth should be.

The company is charging $350 per meg, $325 per 6-10 meg, and so on. In addition, they are charging lower prices for bandwidth less than 1 mbps ($100 0-46 kbps on up). Given the capacity of the pipe, the low cost of housing a server there, do you guys with much more experience in this than I feel this is a good deal, or would it be more advantageous for me to keep looking.

I've found that researching colocation prices is somewhat difficult based on the numerous ways that they are charged. And I just am not able to get a good 'feel' for the market yet... i.e. what is a good deal and what isn't!

Tom

[n00ber]

I would like to know the first company's name so I can sign up with them too, that does seem reasonable, unlike places who charge $600 for 10 mbps, I like that 45 mbps for $125.....

ty.

[bqinternet]

Originally Posted by n00ber

I would like to know the first company's name so I can sign up with them too, that does seem reasonable, unlike places who charge $600 for 10 mbps, I like that 45 mbps for $125.....

ty.

I believe the space alone is $125/month (which is very cheap), and then the bandwidth is $350/month per Mbps. Assuming the discount at 45Mbps goes down to $200/Mbps, you're paying $9125/month for the whole package. Depending on what the bandwidth is going to be used for, you can get significantly less expensive deals if you shop around, anywhere from $10/Mbps for "value" bandwidth, up to $100/Mbps for a very small commit on "premium" bandwidth (or $30-40 with higher commits).

[dkitchen]

I concurr, even $200/mbps is expensive for bandwidth these days. You can get some of the best connectivity around for something like $100/mbps tops. Your average bandwidth on a 10mbit commit goes for something like $35/mbps.

The rackspace however is very cheap, are you sure that the datacentre has a good power infrastructure, good cooling, etc? Do you have enough power capacity in that quarter rack to run all your equipment?

Dan

[mouseattack]

oh, hahah, i miss read..... that is omg expensive.

[tereglow]

Thanks for the input. I tend to agree, the bandwidth is too expensive. The facilities have Liebert UPS and Air Conditioning units, a diesel generator, everything for a good datacenter and the company seems to have a solid, good reputation. The rackpsace is certainly cheap, I just think I'm going to get blasted by the bandwidth cost. I'm just starting out, so am on a bit of a budget.

Am going to keep looking at providers in the area (DC Metro).

Regards,
Tom

[bqinternet]

Originally Posted by vacom

Am going to keep looking at providers in the area (DC Metro

Ashburn, VA is the major internet hub in that area, and it's where you'll find a lot of the best deals. Rather than paying $350 for 1Mbps, you can potentially pay the same $350 for 10Mbps if you co-locate with a provider that is in a big carrier hotel in Ashburn.

[amps]

I'll concur that Equinix Ashburn is by far the best place in the tri-state area to find great deals and excellent quality of service. It's worth the extra drive.

[tereglow]

Great. I'm convinced. That's where I'm going! Thanks all on these forums for the advice... it really is greatly appreciated. Ashburn it is!

[pookieserver]

$350 per Mbps is really expensive. 1Mbps is just 350Gb bandwidth. You can get servers with 1000Gb bandwidht for less than $100 these days.

But I do agree that $125 for 1/4 rack is ridiculously cheap. I guess they expect to get their money's worth via bandwidth.

Dynu does 1U at $60 but that includes 500Gb bandwidth but then again if you are going to put 10 servers, it comes back to $600 I guess.

[idealinfo]

I used to pay $350 / Mbps and agree it was too much. The reason why you colocate is for availability, and yeah power is important but if you don't have connectivity the power is worth jack. The 95th percentile can help but if you don't manage your traffic you can get in trouble.

Here in Boston the prices are high and you can pay $350 (like I used to) per Mbps at multiple colos, but thankfully we're with a bigger carrier and committed to 5 and got a much better deal. At 15 you can get each Mbps for $58! But we have nowhere near that amount of traffic right now so it doesn't make sense.