Colocation is an efficient way to reduce the cost of maintaining your servers. While collocating your server, you get to enjoy all the latest technological supports at a reduced colocation pricing. However, you need to understand the different collocations plans offered by your service provider to choose the most cost-effective option suitable for your need.
This colocation pricing guide will help you understand the different components of the colocation bill.
Rack Space
One of the key aspects that determine the pricing of colocation is the amount of space you require to store your equipment. The unit used for measuring rack space is U, where 1U =1.75 inches in height. So, if your equipment is 7 inches high, it will take 4U rack space.
While choosing a colocation plan, you will come across the terms like half-rack and full rack. Before you choose a plan, you need to determine how much rack space you need to lease for your IT equipment.
A standard full rack cage’s height would be 42U (alternatively, 48U or 7-foot rack). A standard half-rack is usually 22U of 27U. Unlike the height, the width and depth of a server rack are measured by inches. Most commonly used server racks have 24 or 48-inch depth, and for open frames, the standard depth is 29 inches. This amount of depth is sufficient for housing the servers from HP, Dell, Cisco, and IBM. The standard width of a rack is 19 inches. 24-inch-wide servers racks are also available.
Colocation providers usually give you an option to choose a half-rack or full rack space. You may want to figure out the other details before finalizing your decision.
Power Requirement
Colocation providers bill the power in four different ways. The most common way is charging a flat monthly fee per circuit. With this pricing structure, you can predict the price as there are no surprises involved. You pay the same amount whether your server uses 10% or 70% of your total capacity. However, you cannot cross the permitted limit without adding additional circuits.
The second and more cost-effective option is Power Capacity billing. Here, you are allowed to use a fixed amount of power and pay a flat rate for it. Usually, this is the most convenient plan for the users. Bursting above the limit is costly, though.
The third option is Metered Power Billing, where you pay your bill based on your usage. This billing option is usually only offered to large deployments.
Another option, that has become most popular in recent times is Space and Power package. In this plan, the space and power are tied to a single package. You just need to calculate the space and power requirement and choose a plan based on this. It is the simplest way to pay your colocation bill.
Network Charges
Another thing that impacts the colocation price is the bandwidth that you need. A Colocation plan typically mentions the bandwidth that is offered under the plan. They calculate your bandwidth requirement based on the deployed apps and supported workload.
A colocation service provider may include the bandwidth within a plan, or they may ask you to purchase it separately from them.
Besides these three main components, the colocation pricing may also include an installation charge which is usually a one-time payment. Some colocation facilities may also charge you extra for support services like human network monitoring, emergency rebooting, and others.
Coloco offers Colocation facilities in Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. It has four different comprehensive plans to choose from. Support services are included in all the plans without any additional cost. This colocation pricing guide is a good starting point. Have questions? Contact us and let us know your requirement. We will help you choose the best plan for your business.
