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Online business require a diverse range of accommodations in order to thrive in competitive markets, which exist in nearly every niche of eCommerce. As webmasters expand their online presence, they undoubtedly will need more server resources to account for the rise in traffic and the rate of data transfer that bogs down their websites, causing slow page loads and down time. Webmasters usually go through a progressive process that gradually brings them into new levels of web hosting. The average webmaster will start with a shared hosting plan, before progressing to a VPS, and then a dedicated server. However at the higher corporate levels of business there is a new boundary to be crossed – owning and operating your own server.

The Purpose of a Colocation Hosting Plan

Once your online business reaches a certain level, it may be necessary to purchase your own web server to allow for optimal site performance. Web servers cost thousands of dollars, and require a lot of maintenance in order for the server to continue running efficiently, and to prevent hardware failure. Web servers need to be stored in special facilities that are designed to maintain certain environmental conditions. Unfortunately, this means that owning and operating a web server requires a relatively high investment, as you will also need a secure and suitable location to store the server. This means you are going to have to either buy or rent a space to store your server. This is where colocation hosting comes in.

Colocation Hosting Advantages

Colocation hosting is by far the safest way to store your private server without having to rent a warehouse, or setup an expensive storage facility. Collocation hosting providers offer state-of-the-art storage facilities for your private server, which are equipped with high tech security measures such as 24 hour surveillance and futuristic fire prevention systems. The facilities are kept at optimal temperatures in every hour of the day and night, and the entire environment is kept on a controlled basis, thus ensuring the safety and performance of your web server. Colocation hosting services also provide optional technical support, which can be useful in the event of any server downtime or other unexpected problems.

Colocation Server Configurations

Perhaps the most notable advantage of having a colocation hosting account is your ability to create an unlimited variety of server configurations. Regardless of what kind or how many web servers you own, you can set up a suitable server configuration for your needs with no effort on your behalf. Simply tell the web hosting company what you need done, and they will assist you in getting your servers set up to accommodate your requirements. Collocation companies offer different rack sizes, and even entire server rooms for corporations that need their own private data centers. Servers can be stacked on top of each other and connected to share data, and server redundancy can also be established, to prevent any data loss that may occur. Whether you own one web server or twenty, colocation web hosting is definitely the optimal solution when it comes to server storage and configuration.

When dealing with colocation hosting, the provider will usually assign the client several IP subnets to use. This can cause a great deal of confusion. An IP subnet (sub network) is a group of adjoining IP addresses that have been broken up from a group or larger IP’s. This allows the subnets to be treated individually from those preceding and following them.

Subnets can be viewed as sequential chunk of addresses, varying in range, assigned solely to the client. The size of a subnet can vary from a single address to thousands or even millions. Generally, subnets are issued in 8, 16 or 32 IP addresses depending on client request. While this has historically been a difficult concept to grasp, network and telecommunications engineers must know this topic in depth.

Usability of IP’s

Once issued a subnet, not all IP’s within the range have the ability to be used as hosts. Several of the IP’s are not utilized for internal networking tasks which will be separated as the network address indicating the first address in the range. The middle address in the range is known as the gateway address. The last address is the broadcast address. Consequently if 16 IP addresses are issued, only 13 will be available for use.

The Size of the Subnets

The number of IP’s that are issued is established through the use of a network mask. This is the numbering string notation commonly used by IP addresses. The longer the network mask, the smaller the subnet and thus fewer usable IP’s. A long mask black’s out more of a range while a smaller mask black’s out less of a range allowing for more IP’s.

Subnet Example

Subnets conform to the following example:

192.128.1.0/32

This is a similar notation to an IP address with the addition of the ‘/’ then a number. The last number is indicative of the length of the subnet mask.

IP Classes

There are three classes of IP subnets; class A, B, C, D and E. Class A is used in fifty percent of the internet. Class B is used in twenty-five percent of the internet. Class C is used in a twelve percent of the internet. Class D is used in a six percent of the internet and class E is used in three percent of the internet.

While this is a basic understanding of subnets, the origins and calculations of actually calculating a subnet can be quite difficult. While many individuals have a difficult time with this concept, subnet’s are vital every network from the smallest local network to the largest global network. By understanding the inner-workings of this difficult topic, both the customer and the website will benefit in the long run.

While colocation hosting may seem like an excellent idea and be the perfect fit for a business, this is not always the case. Colocation offers many benefits to those looking for a low maintenance hosting solution. Unfortunately, there are also a few downsides to this hosting option that consumers should be aware of before jumping in.

The five most important weaknesses of colocation hosting include:

1. Variance in monthly expenses
2. Colocation hosting may be more expensive than managed hosting
3. Limited physical access to equipment
4. Difficult to find convenient colocation centers
5. Relocating the business can be a hosting hassle

The first disadvantage of colocation hosting is the variance in monthly expenses. Any spike in traffic or a large influx of users could result in a serious increase in monthly costs. The hosting provider would charge a pretty penny for excessive bandwidth usage.

Another shortcoming is colocation hosting may be more expensive than a consumer would find at a managed hosting provider. Unfortunately the semantics in colocation hosting require the consumer to provide their own equipment (either leased or purchased) and either hire a networking team to maintain the servers or pay the colocation center to care for them.

Furthermore, networking professionals within the consumer’s company will have limited access to the servers. This is due to the amount of travel time involved with traveling back and forth to the center. Also, the networking professionals are at the mercy of the colocation center’s service hours.

An additional weakness is that it’s often difficult to find convenient colocations if not near a major city. Most colocation centers are found near major network hubs which are only close to large cities. Relating back to the previous disadvantage, if the center isn’t close, it wastes a good deal of time for the networking staff to travel to the site.

The final disadvantage occurs when a company needs to relocate their whole business to another location; it’s difficult to move all the equipment and find another colocation center, especially if the relocation is out of a major city. This is primarily due to the travel time and the chore of moving the equipment. In this situation it might be best to opt to have the colocation center maintain the systems.

There are a few significant reasons that colocation hosting is not a viable option for every business. If these weaknesses of colocation are not an issue, then there are plenty of advantages to make this type of hosting a practical choice.

Colocation web hosting is the most expensive kind of web hosting service in existence. In fact, no other web hosting service costs more to operate and establish. Therefore, colocation web hosting is seen as a corporate solution that should only be used by individuals with vast server needs and a high budget. Although collocation hosting services provide security and serve storage that is unrivaled by any other hosting service, there are some viable alternatives to collocation hosting. This leads many medium sized business owners to ask the question – is colocation hosting worth the cost?

Colocation Setup Cost

Perhaps the costliest stage of collocation web hosting is the setup process, as you are required to purchase your own web server. Colocation hosting simply a web server storage and maintenance server, and thus does not include the cost of server administration or server cost. This means you will not only have to buy your own web servers (which cost thousands of dollar) but you will also have to pay for technical support and server administration assistance. Luckily all of this can be done remotely, so the need for on-site server administration is not necessary, however you will still need a team of IT experts to keep your server running smoothly, unless of course you have the knowledge to do this yourself.

Colocation Security

The main reason for the high cost of collocation web hosting is the stringent security precautions that are taken at the colocation facility. Colocation facilities are state-of-the-art structures specifically designed to house web servers. The building is covered in surveillance 24 hours a day. And every area of the facility is fire-proofed with the latest fire detection and extinguishing. The server rooms are kept at an exact temperature at all times to maximize server shelf life, and air flow is kept constant to prevent dust build up. Colocation hosting is an optimal solution for individuals that need a safe and reliable place to house their private web servers.

Colocation Support

Although you are required to administrate your own web servers, you will still have access to quality support that can check on your server configuration at any time of the day or night. Colocation facilities are manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In fact, the supreme reliability and security of collocation hosting is what warrants the overwhelming startup and maintenance cost. Colocation hosting is only a suitable solution for online business owners that need a lot of server resources and have hefty budget at their disposal. If you are on a budget of any kind, or do not have the funds to purchase your own web server and IT team, then collocation hosting services are simply not for you.

Conclusion

Due to the high cost of colocation hosting, most consumer web hosting providers do not offer a colocation hosting plan. For this reason, if you are in search of a colocation hosting plan, then you will need to find a reputable company that specializes in colocation hosting.

Perhaps the most talked about aspects of a quality web hosting account is security. With all of the work that is put forth in creating and operating a quality website, there is always the fear of having all of that information lost due to hacking or hardware failure. To ensure the safety of their website, webmasters go to great lengths, purchasing expensive equipment, and in some cases even spending thousands of dollars to buy private servers that are stored in special facilities.

Although this may sound unreasonable to the average computer user, it is actually an optimal decision for many corporate website owners. Even more costly than buying web servers is the cost of setting up a secure storage facility where the servers are safe from structural hazards and theft. Then there is the cost of purchasing server redundancy.

Server Redundancy and Storage

Servers can be destroyed in a variety of ways, both physically and technically. In some cases a hacker will break into the internal workings of the server and destroy all of the data, completely erasing year’s of hard work in some instances. To prevent such an occurrence many webmasters decide to purchase server redundancy. In essence this means they will have access to backup servers that are preloaded with all of their site’s data in the event of the primary servers being damaged or destroyed.

To prevent hardware damage server’s are stored in a safe facility that are protected from every structural and physical hazard known to man, including theft. Setting up such a facility and purchasing private backup servers for redundancy would cost a lot of money, and would be out of the budget of most online business owners. However by purchasing a colocation hosting plan the user can have access to all of these features at a fraction of the cost.

Colocation Hosting Security

The most appealing aspect of colocation hosting is the strict security measures that are taken in the colocation hosting facilities. Colocation hosting essentially means that the server is hosted in two locations. The server is remotely managed by you, yet it is physically stored in a safe facility that is specifically designed to protect web servers. A colocation facility employs some of the most high tech security protocols in any consumer industry, having 24 hours surveillance in every room, solid stainless steel server racks that are locked and enforced, gated security, and a completely fireproofed interior and exterior. These security features make colocation hosting an appealing option for any serious online corporation or company.

Colocation Hosting Support

Although some collocation hosting companies offer technical support and server maintenance, most colocation hosting providers require the user to handle the server administration duties. If you do not have the capabilities or knowledge to do so, then it would be wise to consider a colocation facility that includes an option for on site tech support and server administration. This kind go managed colocation web hosting plan is perfect for someone that would like to save money and cost organization by combining their internet technology fees with their web hosting cost in one inclusive package.