| By :
Dirik Hameed
Proximity, reputation, carrier-neutrality, network stability, and facility features are the five main things you should look into when choosing a colocation server provider. As with colocation hosting, the user is put in charge of the hardware and software. Because of this, you should make sure that the co-location facility is as near as possible to your home or office. A nearer co-location facility will likewise save you on gas or commuting expenses. But it is also important to keep in mind that the best co-location providers give their users free remote hands support. This will further ease you and you will be free from having to visit the co-location facility for meagre tasks such as server reboots, screen reads, putting a disk in drive, etc. Actually most colocation facilities tend to clients that are located very far away. Clients that are far away normally mean that the colocation provider is able to deal with problems even though the clients are not located nearby. For clients that are far away, they perform most of their maintenance by remote control, using remote hands service when they need some simple human interaction. Because of this, it's important to keep proximity and accessibility in mind. Reputation is also something you should look into. This is important since you'll usually be dealing with the colo provider for a long period of time. You must ensure whether the service provided is of quality and if it is reliable or not. Ask for references from your co-location provider. If they are unwilling to do so then it shows that they might not have a good reputation in the market. You should also look for carrier neutrality in a colo provider. Basically this means that your colo provider is not reliant on a few carriers exclusively for bandwidth. This means that their resources are limited and thus they may not be stable enough. Any good colo facility will have redundant connections from several different providers. This is important because Internet connections are not always stable. With at least two connections you can automatically continue working even if one goes down. The network should likewise be expandable and stable. It is of utmost importance that the co-location provider has access to super fast internet. The best colocationproviders have direct connections to carrier networks; but as long as the provider has redundant connections, you should be good to go. By running some packet tests against an IP target within their network you'll be able to test the provider's connectivity. It's also important to keep in mind that the colocationfacility has to be good. You should be able to visit the colo facility 24/7. You should also determine if its staff is properly trained and if there are competent experts in the area at all times. You should make sure security features like key card-lock access to the co-location facility floor and other sensitive areas, closed circuit TV monitoring, and a controlled check-in and check-out process for all visitors, requiring positive identification is implemented.
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlesbacklink.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
