Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Colocation and Data Centers : Advise on chicago colo

[jokerz99]

The company i work for is growing at a rapid pace. We need to decide on if we want to colo or add better,bigger connection to our office.

We currently have DSL from Att 6/1 in downtown chicago.

Our product is a web app which people login and use. It runs in IIS, the user can see there data in various forms when the web server makes MS SQL query on the MS SQL that is also on the web server box which is 2u. The user can also download pdf report which range in size from 2meg to 30megs. Due to a limits of our dsl connection the more user's that use it the slower the end user's experience is due to the inet bottleneck. So our option is to get a T1 from ATT,covad or other provider or colo our server.

what factors should i take into account when looking at colo's in the chicago area. I am not sure how much b.w. this apps uses or any other factors the server would be a Dell 2950.

-j

[scooby2]

Quite a few options downtown. I use Steadfast.net and they are great. The others that are downtown that I can think of off the top of my head are ServerCentral.net and fastservers.net. Quite a few places in the burbs if you are willing to colo out there.

[jokerz99]

thx for the input so far, is there anything in the suburbs?

[KarlZimmer]

Gigenet is one in the suburbs I could recommend. Also, Equinix has a new facility in Elk Grove Village.

[scooby2]

Somewhat outdated but http://chicagocolo.net/ has quite a few providers listed.

[RossH]

I always recommend www.gigenet.com as they have always given me and everyone I know superb service. If you do a search around the forums you'll see many posts of praise for them.

[Jdubz31]

Gigenet is an excellent choice as others have mentioned. Their premium network is definitely a great mix, and they also have other services that may come in handy. They're also in the burbs, Arlington Heights to be exact.

[rasputin]

If you plan on getting a larger pipe and doing this in house, given you said you are located in Chicago, get Optiman from ATT, not a T1... With Optiman you can go 100Mbps or higher. Also look at other carriers like Cogent or even TWC (Time Warner).. They have an ethernet product like Optiman that is just as fast, and quite inexpensive.. Both are much less expensive than a DS1.

Outside of that, there are tons of places to host in the Chicago land and outlying areas!

[MMH-Moe]

Forgive me but I am downtown Chicago, I never heard of Optiman and I tried to search for it. Could you provide me a link or even what it cost for this 100MB Optiman line?

[rey]

Another vote for Steadfast.net.

[leeware]

It's called and OPT-E-MAN or Metro Ethernet Service. It is basically a fiber loop between you and the POP. The prices are pretty good when compaired to DS3s and OC3/ATM. Because you will have to pay for both ends of the connection + CIR and buy IP Transit from a provider is going to be a lot more expensive then T1s or bonded T1s but it will be less than a DS3 or OC3. However, considering your application and your likely budget. I don't think that is a good fit for you. If you wanted to continue to host in-house you can get bonded T1s from Speakeasy/Covad 3Mb/s for about $1k per month. Colocation would be the best option for your application.