When you are ready to colocate with Data102, it can be tough to know where to start and what information you should gather. This article will explain some of the general aspects of colocating at our datacenter and some helpful information that you may not have considered.
Anyone interested in our colocation can contact us by phone, email, or online live chat and request information and pricing for our colocation services. In order to put a quote together for you we’ll need your contact information, including your name, telephone number and email address. To give you accurate pricing we’ll also need to know some specifics such as your rack space, power and bandwidth requirements.
Rack Space Requirements
How many rack units (RU or U) does all of your equipment need? You can start with as little as 2U and as many as multiple 42U cabinets (Full cabinets). A single U is about the height of a pizza box (1 3/4”). Count the number of server U your servers are currently occupying to estimate your RU requirements. Keep in mind that most cabinets will run out of available power before running out of available space. Also, do not forget to account for switching and firewalls, as well as any out-of-band equipment such as a KVM, and the necessary cable management.
Do you have server rails?
In order to install your servers you must provide the necessary server rails or shelving. Our cabinet rack mounts are “square peg” and will accommodate most “universal” mounting rails. While we do not provide rails for you, we can provide shelves for a one-time fee if we were given advanced notice of your request. Please let your sales person know as early as possible if you would like us to provide shelving.
Power Requirements
How much power will your equipment require? We offer 110V (AC) power, as well as 208/220V (AC) single and three phase power, and 48V (DC) power. In order to find out your power requirements, it’s best to start by checking your server labels for the maximum power usage in Amps and the recommended voltage. Manufacturers will also commonly have that information available for each model online. If your servers are currently plugged into a metered PDU, the usage will be displayed on the PDU’s screen. This information allows you to verify the aggregate load on that circuit or phase. There are also clamp-on power meters that you can use to get an estimated reading of your power draw. Typically, each 2U server will use about 2 Amps of 110V power. If you need assistance evaluating your power requirements please give us a call and we will be happy to provide you basic guidance on process.
Bandwidth Requirements
How much bandwidth will you need? Bandwidth services increment from 1 Mbps up to 10 Gbps and can be purchased in bulk for a discount. We offer this service in both a capped and 95th% configurations. Capped bandwidth is limited to a particular speed of your choosing and will not go beyond that speed. 95th% allows your bandwidth to burst up to the maximum line speed of your port i.e. 100, 1000, or 10000 Mbps. When billing for 95th% bandwidth, we find the top 5% of your usage, typically all brief spikes of high traffic, and disregard them. Then we find your next highest burst and use that to set the overage amount. Overage charges will be prevented if you request capped bandwidth, but this may cause slower overall speeds and increased latency during periods of high usage. Initially committing to 1 Mbps of 95th percentile, burstable bandwidth on a 100 Mbps connection is advisable since we can easily increase your commitment or cap your speeds at any point. On average the majority of colocation customers require less than 100 Mbps speeds delivered to their cabinet.
To find out how much bandwidth you should purchase, you can use your current service provider’s bandwidth graph. Sometimes they’ll provide bandwidth monitoring through an online customer portal. If that’s not an option, you may be able to ask their support department for your average bandwidth speeds for a specified date range.
After you have purchased bandwidth from Data102, we will provide you with bandwidth monitoring in order to view your usage in real time through our customer portal. We can provide 100 Mbps, 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps port speeds as well as secondary or redundant (HSRP) internet connections at your request.
Contract Requirements
To send you a Contract agreement we will need to know the following information:
- List of Contacts to be listed on your account
- The “Authorized” contact(s) name, email, and phone number.
- The “Technical” contact(s) name, email, and phone number.
- The “Billing” contact(s) name, email, and phone number.
- Effective Date
- The date you would like your service(s) to begin.
- Initial Term
- 1 Year, 2 year, 3 year, or custom term. A 2 or 3 year initial term is a great way to lock in a discounted monthly cost!
Our contract agreements contain information regarding appropriate datacenter conduct, your minimum insurance requirements, billing disputes and other similar important information. Make sure you fully understand the attached agreements and pricing. Any questions or concerns should be communicated to your sales person before you sign them. Once both parties agree to the terms of the contract, you can electronically sign off on your quote and attached contract agreements. Your electronic acceptance will automatically generate a sales order in our system.
What to Expect AFTER You Sign Up
Our first step is to setup your account inside our convenient customer portal. Early on we will add the contacts you have given us to your account. These contacts will receive their login credentials in clear text in their email. They will also be granted limited permissions, based on their role (Authorized, Technical, or Billing), inside our client portal. It is of paramount importance that you reset your portal password as soon as is possible.
After your account is established in the customer portal our technicians will begin the process of preparing your colocation space to include your power and bandwidth. You will receive email notifications at each step of the process. Such notifications will include information regarding your assigned cabinet location in the datacenter, the IPs allocated for your use, and when setup is complete and your space is ready for you to move into. If the technicians encounter any issues along the way they will reach out to you promptly.
Now that you are ready to bring your equipment to the datacenter, have your photo ID ready so we can provide your access badges and keys. Temporary access badges are provided to those with less than 1/2 cabinet colocation during regular business hours. If you will need assistance with your installation please let your sales person know as early in sales process as possible.
Can I Ship My Equipment To The Datacenter?
Yes, we will accept shipments on your behalf and store them in a secure location until you move in.
If you cannot make it to the datacenter yourself and would like our technicians to install your equipment for you that can also be arranged. Please talk to your sales person during the sales process for more information.
What Else Am I Missing?
There are some convenient add-ons you might also consider, such as device monitoring, switched PDUs – which allow you to reboot your servers remotely, or an anti-SPAM email firewall service. If you’re interested in learning more about these services, contact our sales department at opportunities@data102.com
