Co-location Hosting and Storage - The What, Why, When and Where!
Cloud computing is the word on everyone’s lips at the moment. However, as with any new piece of technology, there are some terms that are obscure and some that make absolutely no sense to those who haven’t been exposed to them before.
From SaaS to VoiP to data residency, new terms are flying out left, right and centre – and all of these terms are important when it comes to making a decision about your company’s data hosting options. One of the options to consider, colocation, can be unfamiliar – here are the key pieces of information you need to know about this aspect of cloud hosting.
A-to-Z of Co-location
What exactly is co-location?
Essentially a type of data centre, co-location hosting differs from its big brother, managed hosting. Managed hosting is relatively simple – your service provider sets up everything your company needs to have a web presence, including servers, software, backups, and others. When you agree to a co-location hosting arrangement, you must purchase your own servers and software for your company; once you have the combination that you feel suits your needs, these servers are then installed into a rack in the provider’s data centre.
Read: Top 5 Ways to Keep Your Data Safe and Secure in the Cloud
What do you get when you use co-location data centres?
When you sign up for managed colocation, you bring the hardware and the software, but you will receive space in the service provider’s data centre, power connectivity, IP addresses, an uplink port, and staff support around the clock.
Read: Google Building Third Data Center in Taiwan, Asia to meet online demand
The pros of co-location
Why would you bring your own servers when you can have someone do it for you? While co-location can seem like somewhat more of a hassle in that you have to arrange your own equipment, co-location is a customisable option that allows you to choose servers and software to suit your needs. You will be able to save space in your company headquarters (plus you can reduce the number of wires in your office space!), and you get all the added benefits of having staff monitor your server on a frequent basis – plus, your service provider will be able to give you tech support whenever you need it as well.
Read: Advantages of Online Backup
The cons of co-location
If you are just starting out in the cloud computing field, co-location can be confusing and it may be hard to wrap your head around what your company needs if technology is not your area of expertise. If this is your first venture into off-site hosting, managed hosting may be a less stressful option; from there, you can progress into co-location if your company decides it is a better fit for the long term.
Please watch this embedded video above for better understanding of how co-location web hosting services works and how you could benefit from using colocation services starting from now on.
More reading about colocation can be found on these two Wikipedia pages below:
White Papers on Cloud Hosting
Private Clouds Analyst delivered by Krishnan Subramanian
Hybrid Clouds Analyst delivered by Krishna Subramanian
Public Clouds Analyst delivered by Krishnan Subramanian
This article was contributed by Eva Summerfield. She is a tech writer whose company uses co-location cloud hosting service – until her company started using it, she didn’t know what it was! Now she knows everything about Co-location and has shared those things with you. Happy reading 
- Image credits: WikiPedia, RioNetworks
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