How Colocation Providers Are Now Providing Fully Managed Servers Too

Colocation once meant that practically all of the responsibilities relating to the

management of a server fell on the shoulders of the client company renting space on the server rack. The benefits of fully managed servers were available only as part of a dedicated management service. But now, this distinction is no longer applicable. Traditionally, there have been clear differences between colocation services and the fully managed alternatives. Colocation meant that the client company owned the server and hardware that were housed in the colocation facility. Putting a roof over the server head, so to speak, was the extent of the service. Managed dedicated servers were actually owned by the hosting company, and was therefore maintained as part of their investment, though the cost was covered by the client company. This clear division of services meant that businesses had a clear understanding of the extent of their service agreement, not least the restrictions that accompanied basic colocation. However, with the growing need for affordable expertise, the dividing line has been blurred somewhat. The attraction that colocation has always had, is primarily that it allows a business to house its server away from its own offices. Everything is owned by the business, including the software licenses that they require, but the actual space the server is housed in is rented. The chief advantage is that the facilities required by a server, and all of the hardware involved, can be availed of without a business having to invest in a dedicated room itself. Costs, therefore, are reduced. However, the limitation that comes with this option relate to the actual maintenance of the server and its systems. Normally, the colocation facility is not responsible for the server. Its responsibilities extended no further than to maintain an ideal environment, sufficient power, bandwidth and, of course, ventilation. Security is also provided as a basic service, with security locks and restricted access measures. But when it comes to upgrading systems, adding or upgrading software, and any other server maintenance services, the client company was responsible. Their own IT personnel would make regular visits, and usually monitor remotely so as to react to any issues that might crop up. The difference with dedicated services is that, in this case, the server itself is owned by the facility, not the client. The server is rented or leased to the client company, but they tend not to be particularly advanced in their capabilities. This is generally because the client companies are small to medium in size, and simply need a server to provide web services. They offer an affordable option. However, the managed dedicated option is much more detailed in what it offers. Rather than simply offering somewhere to host the server, as colocation does, or a degree of maintenance should the need arise, as the dedicated option does, a fully managed dedicated service provides covers almost everything. And that is where colocation has striven to improve itself. With a void existing between clients who wished to own their own server and have it housed, and clients who wanted simply to rent some server space, a new service developed where the colocation centre extended its services to actually manage the server of their clients. These additional responsibilities typically include technical support services, monitoring and logging services, emergency technical services, troubleshooting and on site back up services. So, control of the server remains in the hands of the client, which means that no unauthorised upgrades or changes to the system can take place, but the client no longer has to worry about remote or regular monitoring. The service provider now maintains the hardware and mitigates in the case where a system issue arises. In effect, the business benefits from the expertise of the staff at the colocation centre but controls what decisions are made. There can be little doubt that fully managed servers bring with them a certain peace of mind for businesses, but the fact that colocation services can now feature a dedicated aspect means even greater confidence is enjoyed. Since the server remains the property of the business, and control is maintained, the added benefit is the expertise of the staff at a colocation centre, which means greater technical support is available. Even more, in fact, than that available with plain dedicated servers.

by: Sarah Shore

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