Arash Blog

The Most Popular Myths Pertaining to Colocation

For most small and medium sized businesses, colocation hosting is unchartered waters, a vast ocean filled with uncertainty.  Along with the fact that this solution offers a totally different environment, the vast amount of misconceptions also attribute to a clouded decision making process.  In this article we will detail some of the most widely spread colocation myths and debunk them accordingly.

Colocation is just another name for managed hosting: This is far from the truth.  In a conventional managed arrangement, your site’s programming language resides on someone else’s server which is also owned by the web hosting company.  In the colocation environment, you own the hardware and software components and physically locate them on the grounds of another company.  Instead of sharing server space with hundreds to thousands of users, your website has it’s own server and associated components.  This setup prevents you from competing for critical resources such as bandwidth, storage and CPU.

Colocation makes it difficult to manage your systems: The overall convenience of colocation all depends on the host you choose and where their data center is located.  When upgrades and maintenance needs to be handled, members of your IT staff can make the trip and take care of them.  For most daily operations, an offsite data center isn’t any more convenient than having your equipment stored in-house.  However, a colocation facility is likely to provide more space with better organization and security than the small area you designated as a server room.

Colocation isn’t as secure as onsite hosting: While this depends on the security implementations of one’s in-house environment, colocation hosting tends to be much more secure.  These data centers house your equipment separately from the hardware of other clients, keeping it secure in monitored cages.  The facilities are equipped with a wide range of security technologies from firewalls and intrusion detection systems to solid physical security.  They often provide a level of security that most small businesses can’t afford. 

Colocation is not reliable: Here is another off-based misconception.  Most colocation centers employ redundant backups, internet connections and power sources.  Some of them run at minimal capacities so competition for resources isn’t an issue.  A reputable company will keep trained IT professionals on-site day in and day out to handle outages and other technical problems that arise.

Colocation is less flexible than managed hosting: Although some offer servers and associated components, for the most part, all you are leasing with colocation is physical space for your equipment and internet connectivity.  All the hardware and software is owned by your company, giving you complete control of what runs on your servers and how powerful they can actually be.  In a managed environment, server speed and available software is only as efficient as what the company offers. 

Colocation provides limited support: Contrary to some beliefs, most colocation services provide their clients with exceptional support in the way of physical and network security, data recovery, cooling and power systems and much more.  Best of all, they typically offer customer service in the form of email and phone support where professionals can be reached to address all of your concerns.  In regard to assistance with your systems, colocation support is only limited by what you’re willing to pay.

Share this article: