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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    71

    What things should I look for when choosing a colocation company

    We are too small needswise for even a half rack. Even a 1/4 rack would be overkill but nontheless, options in the area are limited to even *owned-enclosed* 1/4 racks from the colo facility itself.
    The local facilities that would fit our needs spacewise are probably going to fit this in a full rack with space that we purchase against.

    My concern is the security of *our* -- the customer equipment. Read alot of horror stories and would hate to end up one day finding out that whatever provider we choose was behind on bills, etc and we have X days to grab equipment from the facility, etc. Granted, I am looking to colo SAN equipment, which is almost a triple digit box.

    Love to hear some primer tips or advice on what a noob should look for in a colo.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    NJ, USA
    Posts
    6,645
    triple digit? only a few hundred dollars? what type of san is that?
    AS395558

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    71
    Six digits. I meant ending in triple 000.
    We have a Xiotech array

  4. #4
    I don't see how having an enclosed 1/3 rack is going to help you if the provider is behind on their bills. You are not the only one with a key...
    PACIFICRACK - Striving for Automated and Scalable Servers
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  5. #5
    Go with a reputed datacenter, and I doubt you will ever have any problems.
    478east
    High Bandwidth Servers
    Custom Hosting Solutions

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Luxembourg
    Posts
    171
    IMHO, check for references
    if possible visit the facility
    get their sla
    check their infrastructure

    best,
    Datacenter Luxembourg
    sglange AT dclux DOT com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    71
    is it that common for the smaller outfits to not even list a phone number for their business on their website....just blurbing, as I'm looking at 2 outfits online and there's not even a reach phone number - just a contact form. At least subscribe to something simple like a operator paging/voicemail service....

    I even have my cell listed in my email sig, but in our world....I want people to know I am reachable....within limits.

  8. #8
    Contact them and request a call, there are some issues that can crop up when publicly listing a phone number, and some might not want to deal with them.

    Have you figured out how much bandwidth you require? Also, out of curiosity how many drives are you going to use, and is it fiber channel or iSCSI?
    478east
    High Bandwidth Servers
    Custom Hosting Solutions

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    71
    It's iSCSI on the colo side --- lower cost, Cold hardware.

    As far as bw, very minimal for now - less than 1Mbps traffic per month. Data will be populated inhouse initially and we will be polling outbound from office to colo.

    Not sure where we are at right now. I like the *security* factor if there was easily available 1/4 cabs from the DC direct (we used to colo direct with Abovenet -- this was eons ago) . In this market, the larger established shops have pretty much full racks only, and sofar I have not found a good balance between price/performance/location and also doing homework on just ensuring whatever company we choose, we are able to not only grow with them in rackspace but they are secure in stability as well. But I guess that's like everything in life...we must choose and decide wisely and make educated decisions

  10. #10
    Most of the datacenter facilities we deal with on a daily basis, have solid finanicial standing and backing. I would say to do a little due diligence, and find out about their history and what type of backing/financials they have (if you can get that info).

    Typically facilities that are just trying to keep the lights "on" so to speak, are not going to want to share their financials or much info at all, and that will throw up a red flag.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    San Francisco/Hot Springs
    Posts
    991
    There are a couple places that sell fully enclosed 1/4th + 1/3rd racks, but they're not terribly cheap. You might poke around in the offers section.
    If you're worried about longevity, email and ask, its the easiest way. Check out how long they've had their domain name for and how long they've been hosted in the same place with Netcraft.com
    If you really wanna get into it, check out their corporate registration with the state that they're incorporated in.

    Oh, one thing a reputable datacenter will ask if you're colo'ing some really expensive hardware - do you have insurance
    AppliedOperations - Premium Service
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