What is co-location and how can I benefit from it?
A co-location is the next step up from your own virtual domain service provided by a hosting company. This allows for greater flexibility in terms of administration and implementation of services, especially when dealing with your own clients. Co-locations use hardware provided by YOU, enabling you to determine and to justify the hardware required to support your clients/virtual domains. What the service provider will supply are bandwidth and the facilities to park your machine.
Advantages:
- Increased flexibility
- Better performance because you determine the hardware specs.
- Savings on overall hosting costs
- Decreased dependence on external customer support services, as most administration and maintenance can be performed through remote administration.
Disadvantages
- Initially, may be capital intensive.
- Insufficient knowledge of hardware components, performance, and scalability can inhibit your growth potential.
- Customer support becomes your responsibility.
When considering co-location, estimate the actual amount of bandwidth that you will be using. Determine the costs for non-co-located accounts and compare them with co-located accounts. Co-locations can range from $100 to $500 (monthly), including installation and limited bandwidth, so you'll want to match their cost-effectiveness with your needs.
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