What Makes a Great Colocation Facility

Mission-critical servers are stored in colocation facilities – which means, simply, that the heart of any business connectivity is housed within a colo. The quality of that business communications and functions, then, depend on the quality of the colo; any colo or data center has to be dependable and provide near-perfect uptime, and that breaks down into three things: reliable power, responsive network connections, and climate-controlled server rooms.

Area 1: Reliable Energy
Power controls every other data center function, from Internet connectivity and to cooling to security. A power system for a colocation facility requires more than just a few power supplies; there has to be full system in place of UPSs with enough capacity to carry the full facility load until an alternate power source is ready, transfer switches to move from the power grid to the backup power, and an independent backup power source, like generators or power stations, onsite and immediately available. Each of these must be reliable, meaning:
• Onsite power sources (UPSs, switches, and backup power)
• Established failover procedures
• Sufficient capacity
• Redundancy at every point in the systems

An effective power system has several points of vulnerability because of the different components required to maintain power through an outage or brownout. That means that every component must have sufficient capacity and redundancy built in. Capacity is especially important for the UPSs and backup generators, which have to be able to keep the entire building running until the power comes on. Redundancy is slightly different; redundancy means that the internal system can handle a failure. For example, if there are two UPSs and one goes down, the remaining one has to be able to handle the full load. That means that the system is redundant; a unit failure doesn’t affect the overall system performance. Redundancy usually means an n+1 arrangement, enough for the entire load, plus a spare.

Only about 3% of the colocation facilities anywhere have this kind of power system, leaving many facilities vulnerable to power outages for anything from weather to system overloads.

Area 2: Clean, Performance-Based Connectivity
Internet connectivity has the biggest impact on daily network performance because it affects everything from website performance to demanding video conferencing, media, and business tools.

One overlooked influence on connectivity is the routing logic that the colocation facility has. There are several different Internet backbones, major Internet service providers like MCI, AT&T, and Qwest that provide a link to millions of server. A colocation facility usually has connections to several major backbones, as many as nine. The routing logic determines how Internet traffic is sent. Intelligent routing methods (called performance-based routing) look at latency and trip times, packet loss, and jitter to determine the most efficient route, and the route is recalculated thousands of times per second.

Performance-based routing is a very demanding service, which depends on redundant, high-end routing hardware and software, multiple backbone connections, and technical savvy, but it also creates a very responsive and high-performing network which is ideal for business networks. Ultimately, better connectivity means faster network speeds, lower latency, and, most important, increased uptime.

Area 3: Cool Buildings
One major factor for server performance is heat. Higher temperatures degrade performance and can even cause hardware damage or failure if the server machine overheats. Colocation facilities control the temperature and humidity for the optimum server performance (72 to 76 degrees and 45 percent humidity).

Colocation facilities manage their climate with two kinds of dedicated cooling systems, chillers and CRAC units. Chillers are systems of pipes which circulate chilled water throughout the server rooms. CRAC units (computer room air-conditioning units) are targets air conditioners which never shut off. Servers generate enough heat to overheat a several-thousand square foot room in only a few minutes; by continuously cycling, CRAC units prevent heat buildup in server rooms.

A great colocation facility even takes other precautions to control heat, like keeping rooms clean and dust free (dust buildup in server cases can also cause overheating) and having designated hot/cool rows so that servers always intake cool air.

Remember....
Business is built on communication. A colocation facility can help with your business network performance by providing network uptime and speed, which in turn improves your overall communication, from simple website access to video conferencing, VPNs, or any demanding business services. Make sure that your network is maintained in a colocation facility that can actually help your business:
• Redundant, super-capacity power systems
• Intelligent and effective routing over a multiple-backbone Internet connection
• Dedicated cooling systems for consistent climate control