Colocation Center
From Website Hosting Wiki
Colocation centers are data centers where numerous customers locate their networks, servers, and storage items, interconnected to a variety of different telecommunication and network service providers. Colocation centers save companies large amounts of money and keep the complexity of running servers to a minimum. This allows most companies to focus on their core business while paying someone else to monitor their systems for them in s safe and secure environment. Companies find that they have greater bandwidth capacity and faster website access speed. Web commerce companies, telecommunication companies, and major enterprises often used colocation centers for safe web access and disaster avoidance.
Most data centers that house servers for both their own companies use or for colocation have basic items within them to protect the equipment inside. Fire protection systems that include passive and active design functions are a must so that fire can be prevented or stopped as soon as possible if one breaks out. 19 inch data equipment and server racks as well as 23 inch telecom equipment racks are provided in cabinets and cages that are easy to access. Overhead cable racks and fiberguides are used to keep the floor free of obstacles. The buildings are air conditioned to keep the equipment at a consistent temperature and the humidity to appropriate levels. Low impedance electrical grounds are provided and the building may have a few windows, but more often than not they are windowless.
Colocation centers not only provide security for the data on the servers they house but also for the servers themselves. These centers employ high levels of physical security and depending on the owning company, could employ both closed circuit television cameras and security guards. Additional security is provided by having employees escort customers to and from their individual servers or by employing a card access system.
One really nice feature of a colocation center is the redundant power sources that are in place in the event the power fails. Many colocation centers have generators that run on diesel fuel that start automatically when the utility power fails. The level of redundancy is based on how the colocation facility is built. The generators take a few minutes to start producing power so there are backup batteries in place to cover the time between the utility power shut off and the generator power production. Additionally, small UPS systems can be installed in the racks by the customers in order to cover power failures.
As mentioned earlier, colocation centers provide air conditioning for the computer and telecommunication equipment housed inside the building. Like most of the other systems in the centers, there are some redundancies built into the air conditioning system. If the building is older and the air conditioning system is older, the amount of equipment that can be in the colocation center is usually limited.
Servers are connected to the Internet through both internal and external connections. Some colocation centers will allow their customers to cross connect carriers but not to other customers. They usually have an Internet exchange area within the center. External connections are also provided by the use of fiber optic cables that enter the building. There are multiple bundles to provide redundancy so that power and connection is not lost if one bundle is damaged.
