Choosing A Colocation Provider

When choosing a Colocation provider there are many things to consider

. Your choice will be depends on your specific requirement and the budget you have available.

One of the most important things to investigate is the providers track records, as this will give you an idea of the service you could experience. Their reputations are something to look at, and seeking others opinion will help. Online reviews are always worth a look. Although you cant trust every review at face value it will give you a general overview of others experiences. If you are visiting colocation centres during the decision making process you should ask other customers their opinions if possible. They should give you direct and honest answers to any questions, and after all, they should know.

The technical side is very important. You need to make sure the colocation provider you choose has the capacity to host your server. There would be nothing worse than choosing a colocation provider only to realise they dont meet your requirements. Amongst other thing you need to check bandwidth. Although most data centres have plenty, you need to check this before proceeding.

You should try to establish how much downtime is normal for a particular provider, and whether this is better or worse than others who you are considering. Also look at how long sites tend to be down for and whether they have any contingency plans for potential problems. Many providers have backup plans, which may mean these issues would not have too much of an affect.

The conditions the server will be hosted in should be a consideration. Most data centres control the air and temperature of the relevant areas of their premises so that they are optimised for hosting. The better controlled they are the more suitable the area is likely to be for hosting.

Another area to look at is security, as the security of your server is vital. The premises need to be protected from break-ins. The very nature of a colocation centre means that customers are in and out all the time, and therefore security is even more of an issue. You need to be sure that other customers cannot access your server. Protection from other problems such as fire is also important.

Some colocation centres have support on hand, while other dont. Depending on your requirement this may be something you need to think about. You wont want to pay extra for support that is not required, but if you are not confident in hosting you may need to make sure support is included.

A final consideration is price. It may not be the sole reason for choosing a host, but it will certainly come into the decision making process. Some go for the cheap option for obvious reasons, while others choose the more expensive providers because they think the service will be better. Sometime the old adage, you get what you pay for is true, but not always. Whether it is cheap or expensive is not the key; the key is value for money and making sure you get the service you need.

Andrew Marshall

by: expo09

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