What is Colocation

By Saleh Tousi

Small businesses face a problem. They need to have the features of large corporations in order to effectively compete with them. However, being small, they don't have the resources or money necessary to build their own IT infrastructure and host their own web servers. Colocation is the solution to this very problem.

Colocation allows your business to have its own dedicated server without the high-costs of managing and storing it yourself. You can place your server in someone else's rack and share their bandwidth. Essentially you are buying "real estate" for your server. There are many benefits that come along with this real estate such as the use of the landlord's power generator, network, air-conditioning and other goodies that are needed to host web servers.

How it works is that once you have your server set up, you physically take it to the colocation center and install your server into their rack. The company will provide you with an IP, bandwidth and power to your server. You can access your account in the same way you would access any web-hosting account. But you also have the advantage of being able to visit the site and of owning the hardware.

One advantage of colocation is the price. It's considerably cheaper than having your own facility that needs to be run and maintained. Plus you have the advantage of getting more bandwidth. For small businesses this is important because you want to get as much bandwidth and as much out of your internet connection as you possibly can without going over budget.

Since you own the server machinery, you can make any changes to it you want. If it's too slow or if it doesn't have enough memory, you can upgrade the machine to match your needs. You don't have to wait for your provider to do it for you. You also own the server software. Again, you don't have to wait for your provider to install the software you want. The control is in your hands and you can add whatever software you want, anytime you want.

If your business changes locations or moves, you don't have to worry about moving your server. It will always be up and running, safe and secure at your provider's location. You can still do business without interrupting service during times of change and transition.

By using colocation you will have extra security and protection for your machine. Colocation providers have secure rooms that are equipped with emergency back-up, power generators and other features that will protect your machines should a disaster occur.

There are many factors you need to consider when deciding what kind of internet service provider you want to go with. For small businesses that don't have the budget to host their own servers, colocation is an excellent option.

For more information on colocation services, visit Vancouver Colocation, one of the leading colocation providers for small to medium sized businesses in Western Canada.