| By :
Dirik Hameed
A collocation service can greatly impact the degree to which the IT aspect of a business runs smoothly so it is vital to choose a colocation provider who will do a good job. This can be tricky at times though because there are many colocation hosting options out there. You can pinpoint an excellent co-location provider by utilising the advice that follows. A colocation service should provide excellent system monitoring so that your site is not down for an extended period of time. You should be able to access support from the colo host's remote hands round-the-clock through email and telephone. It is better to choose a co-location host who has onsite remote hands than remote hands who would need to travel to reach your equipment in the event it needed checked, as the latter can be very expensive. It is important to verify that if the colocation service claims to have round-the-clock staff onsite, the staff can assist you with network problems (as opposed to being security guards for instance). Many co-location hosts may not offer hardware support as part of the colo contract but one of the main reasons to rent colo space is so that you don't have the hassle of maintenance so try to look for a colocation service that includes hardware maintenance. The colo provider should ensure faulty hardware is replaced within an hour of detection and server reboots are carried out within half an hour. A professional co-location host should be upfront about costs and ensure you are clear on what you are receiving for your money. As an example, you should ask the host about the number of IP addresses you will get with your package and if it costs extra to add more further down the road. Find out how much they charge per megabit per second, as you may receive a good rate initially but it might cost a lot to upgrade later on, for example if you went from 10mbps to 100mbps. Upgrading can be a potentially costly exercise so make sure you know what the costs involved would be before agreeing to do business with a colo host. An effective co-location package will fulfil your needs without you having to constantly pay for extras each month. Your colocation service should provide excellent uptime. In order to do so the colo provider should connect to at least 100 internet backbones and have sufficiently large internet network connections (for example by using an OC192 network cable, which offers speeds of around 10GB per second). The individual colocation suites within a co-location host's premises should have their own redundant air-conditioning system, which is more effective than having just an overall air-conditioning system in the premises. How long a co-location host has been in business is a good indication of how good their service offerings are. A business history of at least 7 years suggests that the colo provider offers efficient and professional services that have encouraged customers to continue doing business with the host. Avoid colo providers whose history involves frequent downsizing, customer relocation and/or bankruptcy. Make a comparison of numerous co-location hosts instead of just picking the first one you come across. Read customer reviews on multiple colo hosts (which you should be able to find online) to help you decide.
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