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Data access and communications are essential to any businesses.  All aspects of the operation from the email service and website to network routers and servers must be protected in order for the business to stay up and running.  When these tasks can no longer be handled in-house, many businesses turn to colocation hosting.  Before choosing a provider, there are a few things you need to know about this service.

Redundant Systems

A colocation facility cannot run efficiently without multiple redundant systems.  Every point of the operation requires sufficient capacity from the equipment to climate control systems.  Some companies will utilize multiple data centers to handle capacity, although it doesn’t equate to redundancy.  A provider maintaining more than one unit should run them both at less than 50% capacity.  By doing this, the other facility will be able to handle the load if one fails.  If three units are operating, they should be run at no more than 66% capacity.

Efficient Climate Control

When making the move to colocation hosting, you should know that the actual design of the facility has a huge impact on the overall performance of the housed systems.  Rooms that maintain servers and other equipment should control the air flow in between each row.  As the heat generated by the machines blow from one row, cooler air should be drawn toward them from another.  This hot-cold row system enables the air to circulate while keeping the servers from overheating.

Power System

A colocation provider’s power supply is critical.  If the primary source fails, generators and UPS systems must be in place in order to keep the network functioning.  UPS systems are very essential to the process as they keep the servers running while the power is converted from standard electricity to the generator.  In order to be deemed reliable, a collocation service must provide the following:

• Fail-over strategies for switching to USP systems and redundant generators

• Redundant UPS systems

• A generator capable of handling nearly two times the standard load

Routing

Network equipment and routing logic has a tremendous impact on a colocation host’s method of connectivity.  This is primarily because of how the internet itself is routed.  In order to provide a fast, reliable connection, a host must cover the following areas:

• redundancy in all network routers and switches to support growing traffic

• performance-based routing to ensure that routes travel the most efficient path

• routing over multiple internet backbones

A colocation provider equipped with a redundant hardware system and dynamic routing scheme encourages a self-healing data center.  These systems will enable them to handle backbone problems, traffic and load issues and equipment failures, preventing the service from suffering.

Making the Move

Keeping your company servers offsite is a good move for obvious reasons.  However, if a colocation host does not provide a secure, reliable environment, you should take your business elsewhere.  Any company not making use of redundant power and backup systems, sufficient cooling systems, multiple internet backbones and a reliable uptime is offering a questionable service.

\\ tags: Colocation Hosting, Web Hosting