Colocation or housing is a type of web hosting based on renting physical spaces and infrastructure in datacenters for the allocation of client servers. The same datacenter can have servers from many different customers.
Colocation or housing is a service for renting physical space and infrastructure offered in data centers for those who want to host services and websites on their own hardware . colocation is a website hosting alternative for large organizations and web-based services.
What is Collocation?
Colocation or housing is a service for renting physical space and infrastructure offered in data centers for those who want to host services and websites on their own hardware . colocation is a website hosting alternative for large organizations and web-based services.
In colocation mode, the entire data center infrastructure is made available to the customer . Physical space, energy, internet links, networks, redundant energy supply, air conditioning, among other benefits are included in this type of hosting service.
In addition, with colocation you can count on the support of a specialized company, which takes care of IT maintenance and support for your business while you only worry about providing the (physical) server.
What colocation offers your server:
- State-of-the-art network infrastructure;
- Reliable power supply;
- Multiple high-speed internet connections;
- Physical security and CCTV monitoring;
- Server monitoring 24 hours a day.
Colocation reduces costs, as maintaining multiple internet links, security and all the necessary infrastructure would be very expensive for the company.
For whom the colocation is indicated
Large companies and internet-based services need their own server to offer the best performance and security to customers, allied to a lower cost.
Colocation arose from the need of these large companies that need their own server , but do not want to pay the high cost of infrastructure and staff necessary for the operation and management of their own server.
To meet the needs of these companies and reduce costs, colocation services were created . They are indicated for all companies that want their own server and do not want to pay the high cost of maintaining a server in their own infrastructure .
How colocation works
Colocation is the rent of a physical space and all the infrastructure necessary for the server to function, in addition to the support of a specialized IT team to take care of maintenance, upgrades, risk analysis and problem prevention.
In short, colocation is the outsourcing of IT service and infrastructure rental. With this service, your company will have full access to the server to make any changes it sees fit, and will also have the support of a specialized IT team, which will help install your applications and get the server up and running.
In colocation the customer is responsible for the hardware . In addition to the purchase of processing equipment (server), the customer is also responsible for any problem or cost of exchanging parts that he may have.
In case of hardware problems, the colocation supplier can help identify the problem, but it is almost always the customer's full responsibility to replace the defective parts .
Maintenance on behalf of the customer
There are several types of colocation services, but usually the company only takes care of the server's administrative routines. If you need to do some hardware maintenance, for example, the costs are borne by the customer .
colocation is not like a dedicated server where the web hosting company can replace parts quickly because they have a spare stock. In colocation , you are responsible for making this replacement and the solution may take longer if the contracted service does not provide for this agile support in case of problems.
But don't forget that servers have a long shelf life. So if your company has new hardware there's not much to worry about.
colocation vs dedicated server
This is a very frequent question, many people confuse colocation with dedicated server . In practice, they are very different services. In the case of a dedicated server (dedicated hosting) administration, maintenance, replacement of parts and everything involving hardware is the responsibility of the hosting company.
Therefore, when opting for dedicated hosting , you don't have to worry about buying hardware, replacing parts, routine maintenance, etc. , as all of this is done by the website hosting company.
In the case of the managed dedicated server, the concern is even less, since all the administrative part and application installation is done by the hosting company's team.
The colocation consists of acquiring a server (hardware) and allocating it in a data center of a company that will offer the entire energy infrastructure, internet, physical security for the server. The customer is only responsible for the hardware and software.
Some colocation companies also offer a form of managed colocation . That is, the company, in addition to providing the infrastructure, also provides professionals to take care of your server, install software, solve problems, etc.
| colocation | Dedicated server | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware belongs to the customer | Yes | Not |
| Maintenance on behalf of the customer | Yes | Not |
| data center infrastructure | Yes | Yes |
| Price | 3.5 | 5 |
Conclusion
Colocation can be a great option for companies that need a high-capacity server . But it is necessary to carry out an analysis before proceeding with hiring it, because depending on the situation, dedicated hosting can be a great option.
But for those who need a large number of servers or want to operate on their own hardware, colocation may be an even more affordable option. Everything will depend on the needs of your project and how much a dedicated server capable of meeting these needs costs.