What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Colocate at Data102

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Randal Kohutek

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 95^th% configurations. Capped bandwidth is limited to a particular speed of your choosing and will not go beyond that speed. 95^th% allows your bandwidth to burst up to the maximum line speed of your port i.e. 100, 1000, or 10000 Mbps. When billing for 95^th% 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

Data102 Unveils New Customer-Focused Website

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Randal Kohutek

Colorado Springs leading datacenter adds functionality to a modern design

Data102 launched a new website today, which combines modern design principles with increased functionality. The website is the latest step taken by Data102 over the last year to provide even better customer service and meet the needs of their expanding customer base.

“We’re really excited about the new site,” said Travis Taylor, Director of Business Development. “We have no doubt that the fresh look and additional functionality will please all of our clients, both current and future.”

Existing customers will benefit from the revamped customer portal, extensive knowledgebase, and easy navigation. New clients can order virtual private servers and phone services through an online shopping cart. The site is also mobile-friendly, meeting the needs of busy clients on the go.

In the last 12 months, Data102 has peered with multiple content carriers such as Netflix and has established a direct connection with Apple services including iTunes and iCloud to improve overall content transfer speeds. Their Colorado datacenter also maintains SSAE 16 Type II certification, assuring customers that Data102’s facilities meet and exceed industry security standards. The website carries their momentum as Data102 continues to expand its operation in southern Colorado.

“We’re confident,” said Taylor, “that these improvements are reinforcing our position as southern Colorado’s best cloud hosting provider.”

About Data102

Data102 is a Colorado Springs cloud IT services provider and datacenter. The company is proud to be able to offer products and services such as VoIP Hosted Handsets, Virtual Private Servers, Collocation and Bandwidth. The team at Data102 is proud to be able to deliver affordability, reliability and flexibility, as well as an unparalleled level of customer service. For more information about Data102 LLC, visit data102.com.

View this press release at prweb.com

Six Things Your Datacenter Should Have

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Randal Kohutek

Are you interested in finding a datacenter, but aren’t sure what you should be looking for? Here is a list of six important factors to consider in your search for colocation and other datacenter services.

1. Redundant Cooling – Servers are a whirring, hard-working bunch and when temperatures rise or fluctuate it can wear on hardware. Keeping a cool and consistent environment can take an amazing amount of effort and expense. To maintain this environment there are things like Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) units, raised flooring to evenly cool the cabinets, hot aisle containment, an outdoor misting system in the summer months to increase efficiency, monitoring of temperature and humidity, and regular, professional maintenance. Phew!

2. Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) – It’s not just a matter of inconvenience, many businesses rely on servers that are up and running without interruption. Down time can mean loss of sales, email, data access, and sanity. When all power is supplied via UPS, which is essentially a large cabinet of batteries, the switch to an alternate power source goes unnoticed should there be any reason that the city power plants can’t deliver power. All batteries should be tested regularly and replaced on schedule and as needed.

3. Generator Backed Power – Once the city power goes out, the UPS needs enough power to keep the datacenter running for a few minutes. This is plenty of time for the Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) to move the UPS over to generator power. These machines are primed and ready whenever they’re needed. This process only takes a matter of seconds and can prevent hours or days of picking up the pieces after a server outage. Of course, a supply of fuel and refueling contracts are important to keep the generators running as long as necessary until the city power is back on.

4. Physical Security – Access to your equipment should be limited and, preferably, monitored. You only want authorized personnel to access your equipment, whether with an assigned badge for 24×7 access into the building and datacenter or by checking out a temporary badge. Security systems put in place to capture and store footage of the datacenter, log all access and monitor datacenter activity are great standard security measures to have. All of the datacenter staff should get a thorough background check and training on security and privacy best practices.

5. Reliable Network Connectivity – You want a reliable, fast and high performance production network designed by certified engineers with uptime and quality in mind. Redundant hardware, BGP4 based routing tuned for performance, dedicated routers for peering to prevent carrier issues from affecting multiple services, direct peering with multiple Tier 1 carriers and regional exchanges – it also doesn’t hurt to have available HSRP and redundant internet connections from separate routers.

6. Annual Auditing of Policies and Procedures – Many datacenters strive to provide great services by holding themselves to high standards. Is there a way to find out who among them back up their claims of high standards, perhaps by providing a convenient report? Yes! Datacenters that apply for and pass SSAE 16 auditing are proven to have policies and standard procedures in place. SSAE 16 Type 2 auditing, performed annually, ensures that those policies and procedures are put into practice. Whenever a customer or prospective client asks for a copy of the audit report, we’re happy to provide it.

Data102 has done all of the above and we strive to improve, satisfying our customer’s requirements whenever possible.

Do you have any questions about our datacenter or any of our products and services? We’d love to hear from you!

Even More Redundancy with Uninterrupted Power Supplies

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Randal Kohutek

Above all else, the job of a datacenter is to keep servers powered at all times, regardless of external complications caused by public utilities, weather, hardware malfunctions, or other unforeseeable interruptions.

Every aspect of the power infrastructure at Data102 is backed up by redundant, monitored systems that ensure your servers stay up at all times. One of the primary systems we have in place is an uninterrupted power supply.

How UPSs Keep Our Servers Running

Every strip delivering power to the servers in our cabinets is connected to an uninterrupted power supply (UPS). These UPS units monitor the power coming from Colorado Springs Utilities, convert the electricity coming in from AC to DC, and charge the battery banks, after which the power is converted back to AC. This process cleans up the power, removing power spikes or dips before it is delivered to our clients.

The UPS also protects against brownouts—rolling reductions of power. When a brownout is detected, the UPS supplements the power coming in with in-house batteries. If a more serious power outage occurs, the UPS will switch to backup generators almost instantaneously.

The monitor also provides reports and controls for our technicians. The UPS will notify us of any number of issues including brownouts, site transformer problems, or any other power inconsistency or outage. The controls then switch to the backup power systems to keep everything humming.

The Power of Redundant Power Supplies

Data102 is southern Colorado’s leading colocation and managed service solution because of our redundant power supply systems, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and superior technical support. Don’t put the productivity, revenue, and reputation of your company in jeopardy. Entrust your servers to a datacenter that has a proven record of service and 99.9% uptime. Give us a call to learn more about our datacenter and the services we offer.