What is a Colocation Data Center?
Types of Colocation Facilities
A data center colocation facility is generally classified as one of two types: retail or wholesale. A third type has recently become common, hybrid cloud-based colocation facilities.
Retail Colocation
A customer leases space within a data center, usually a rack, space within a rack, or a caged off area.
Wholesale Colocation
A tenant leases a fully built data center space, generally at a cheaper rate than retail vendors, but with lower power and space requirements.
Hybrid Cloud Based Colocation
Hybrid cloud based colocation is a mix of in house and outsourced data center services.
Data Center Tier Standards
The Uptime Institute has a grading system for operational sustainability to augment tier standards. The tiers focus on the design of the colocation data center facility; the operational sustainability grades target how well the facility is actually run.
Tier 1
- A single, non-redundant distribution path serving IT equipment.
- Non-redundant capacity components.
Tier 2
- All Tier 1 requirements.
- Redundant capacity components.
Tier 3
- All Tier 1 and 2 requirements.
- Multiple independent distribution paths serving IT equipment. Generally, only one distribution path serves equipment at any given time.
- All IT equipment is dual-powered and fully compatible within the topology of a site’s architecture.
Tier 4
- All Tier 1, 2 and 3 requirements.
- The facility is fully fault-tolerant, through electrical, storage and distribution networks.
- All cooling equipment is independently dual-powered, including HVAC systems.
Top 10 Benefits of Moving your Data Center to a Colocation
The decision may not always be clear when it comes to a build or move choice. Here are some reasons you might want to move to a colocation facility.
1.
A predictable and operational expenditure model.
2.
Flexibility and scalability that allows additional capacity (space, power and bandwidth) to be brought on quickly, cheaply.
3.
Better access to space, power, and capacity.
4.
Gain experienced professionals dedicated to data center management managing your infrastructure.
5.
An ecosystem of partners in the same facility.
6.
Lean infrastructure to manage during times of rapid business change.
7.
Resiliency and uptime obtained with best-in-class tools providing a better road map for disaster recovery.
8.
Up-to-date facility infrastructure responds to cooling, power and environmental changes.
9.
Secure facility ensures data integrity.
10.
Colocation service level agreements to ensure services are received as negotiated.
Top 10 Benefits of Moving your Data Center to a Colocation
The decision may not always be clear when it comes to a build or move choice. Here are some reasons you might want to move to a colocation facility.
1.
A predictable and operational expenditure model.
2.
Flexibility and scalability that allows additional capacity (space, power and bandwidth) to be brought on quickly, cheaply.
3.
Better access to space, power, and capacity.
4.
Gain experienced professionals dedicated to data center management managing your infrastructure.
5.
An ecosystem of partners in the same facility.
6.
Lean infrastructure to manage during times of rapid business change.
7.
Resiliency and uptime obtained with best-in-class tools providing a better road map for disaster recovery.
8.
Up-to-date facility infrastructure responds to cooling, power and environmental changes.
9.
Secure facility ensures data integrity.
10.
Colocation service level agreements to ensure services are received as negotiated.
1. A predictable and operational expenditure model.
2. Flexibility and scalability that allows additional capacity (space, power and bandwidth) to be brought on quickly, cheaply.
3. Better access to space, power, and capacity.
4. Gain experienced professionals dedicated to data center management managing your infrastructure.
5. An ecosystem of partners in the same facility.
6. Lean infrastructure to manage during times of rapid business change.
7. Resiliency and uptime obtained with best-in-class tools providing a better road map for disaster recovery.
8. Up-to-date facility infrastructure responds to cooling, power and environmental changes.
9. Secure facility ensures data integrity.
10. Colocation service level agreements to ensure services are received as negotiated.