colocation survival guide - datacate · the colocation survival guide has been designed to assist...

COLOCATION SURVIVAL GUIDE

EXPANDEDEDITION

byEdwardJ.LaFranceVicePresidentofBusinessDevelopmentDatacate,Inc.

COLOCATIONSURVIVALGUIDEEXPANDEDEDITION

byEdwardJ.LaFranceVicePresidentofBusinessDevelopmentDatacate,Inc.

2999 Gold Canal Dr Rancho Cordova CA 95670 USA 855.722.2656 sales@datacate.com https://www.datacate.net

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1

COLOCATION SPACE REQUIREMENTS .......................................... 4AddingUpYourU’s.............................................................................................4MeetingMinimums.............................................................................................5TopicRecap:ColocationSpace........................................................................6

COLOCATION POWER REQUIREMENTS ........................................ 7Don’tTrustThePowerSupplyRating..........................................................7AskTheManufacturer.......................................................................................8UseTheOnlinePlanningTools(ifAvailable).............................................8TakeMeasurements...........................................................................................9

IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING POWER .................................. 10CompareApplesToApples............................................................................10CountYourConnections..................................................................................10UseWattsIfYouDon’tCareAboutVolts....................................................11TopicRecap:ColocationPower.....................................................................12

INTERNET BANDWIDTH REQUIREMENTS .................................. 13HouseBlend........................................................................................................13DedicatedCarrierDrop...................................................................................13SpeedAndTransfer..........................................................................................14Flat‐RateVsMetered/Burstable...................................................................15

CONNECTION SPEED, USAGE COMMIT ...................................... 17How“NthPercentile”CalculationsWork...................................................17TopicRecap:InternetBandwidth................................................................19

OTHER POTENTIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR YOUR COLOCATION .. 20LocationAndProximity..................................................................................20Compliances.......................................................................................................20RemoteHandsAssistance..............................................................................22IPAddresses.......................................................................................................23

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ScheduledAndRepeatingTasks..................................................................24Storage..................................................................................................................24RoofRights..........................................................................................................25Cross‐Connects..................................................................................................25HostedOrManagedServices.........................................................................26TopicRecap:OtherRequirements...............................................................29

PLANNING FOR YOUR COLOCATION DEPLOYMENT ................... 31

PREPARING EQUIPMENT ............................................................ 32HardwareTestingAndBurn‐In....................................................................32OSAndSoftwareInstallation........................................................................33NetworkingConfiguration.............................................................................33CablesForPower,Networking,AndMore.................................................33MountingHardware.........................................................................................34EquipmentLabeling.........................................................................................35TopicRecap:PreparingEquipment............................................................36

ORGANIZING YOUR INSTALLATION ............................................ 37BringYourProvisioningDetails...................................................................37Don’tForgetYourID.........................................................................................37FindOutWhereToUnloadEquipment......................................................38GetAuthorizationForYourGuest................................................................38ArrangeForAssistance...................................................................................39ArrangeForOutOfBandConnectivity.......................................................39BringBasicHandTools...................................................................................40ReserveAKVMCart(ifpossible).................................................................40TopicRecap:OrganizingYourColocation.................................................41

MINDING THE STORE ................................................................. 43MonitorPowerUsage.......................................................................................43MonitorBandwidthUsage..............................................................................44MonitorUptime.................................................................................................45KeepYourVitalsHandy...................................................................................46PopulateYourCalendar..................................................................................47TopicRecap:MindingTheStore...................................................................48

PLANNING FOR EXPANSION ....................................................... 50

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AddingBandwidth............................................................................................50AddingColocationSpace................................................................................51AddingPower.....................................................................................................52AddingIPAddressSpace................................................................................53AddingOtherServices.....................................................................................54EffectOfExpansionOnYourContract........................................................54TopicRecap:PlanningForExpansion........................................................56

PLANNING FOR REDUCTION ...................................................... 58ReducingBandwidthCommit.......................................................................58ReducingSpace..................................................................................................59ReducingPower.................................................................................................60ReducingIPAddresses....................................................................................61ReducingOtherServices.................................................................................63EffectsOfServiceReductionOnYourContract........................................63TopicRecap:PlanningForReduction.........................................................64

PLANNING FOR TERMINATION .................................................. 66ProvidingNoticeInConformanceWithYourServiceAgreement.....66TransitioningOfContinuingServices.........................................................67EquipmentRemoval.........................................................................................68DisposingOfEquipment.................................................................................70TopicRecap:PlanningForTermination....................................................70

CONCLUSION .............................................................................. 73

BONUS MATERIAL ...................................................................... 75

PHYSICAL LAYER ......................................................................... 76ColocationAndManagedHostingCompared...........................................76IsColocationYourBestChoice?....................................................................79U’s,Cabinets,RacksandCages......................................................................82

NETWORK LAYER ........................................................................ 85MegabitsandGigabytes..................................................................................85IPSubnets............................................................................................................88IPv4Addresses..................................................................................................89

TABLE OF CONTENTS

IPv6Addresses..................................................................................................91

MISCELLANEOUS ........................................................................ 95Fees,GuaranteesAndContracts...................................................................95DisasterRecoveryPlanning...........................................................................97

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ............................................................... 101

ABOUT DATACATE, INC. ............................................................ 101

INTRODUCTION

Introduction

TheColocationSurvivalGuidehasbeendesignedtoassistyouinallphasesofthelifecycleofacolocationproject–fromplanningtodeployment,onthroughmaintenanceandeventhefinaldaysofwindingdown(yes,allcolocationprojectsendeventually,foramyriadofreasons).

ThisGuidemakesthreeimportantassumptions:

1. Youhavedeterminedthatcolocationisthebestapproachforyourproject.Thecurrentlandscapeofwebpresenceandhostingtechnologyaffordsamyriadofoptionsandalternatives.Cloudcomputingandstoragesolutionshavebecomeverycommonplace,managedhardware(dedicatedservers)isaviablealternative,andinsomecasesself‐hostingisfeasiblegivenadequateresourcesandlimitedavailabilityneeds.Colocationisaversatilesolution,butitisnotnecessarilythebestchoiceinallcases.Evaluationandcomparisonofalternativeapproachesisbeyondthescopeofthisdocument,sowewillnotattemptithere.

2. Youhavedeterminedwhathardwareandsoftwareyou’llneedtodeploytosupportyourapplications.TheInternetofEverythingthatisrapidlycomingtofruitionmeansthatthere’sanuncountablenumberofservicesandapplicationsthatcanbeservedovertheInternet.Oneofyourfirsttaskswillbetodeterminetherightequipmentsettorunyourstuffandyieldtheperformancethatyouneed.Onceagain,thatprocess

INTRODUCTION

iswellbeyondthescopeofthisdocument,soitwillnotbediscussed.

3. Youhave(orcanobtain)thenecessaryskillstodeployandmaintainacolocation.Inordertosucceedwithcolocation,you’llneedtohandlesomequantityofthefollowingskills:hardwareIT,softwareIT,OSandsystemsadministration,networkadministration,and(atsomepoint)troubleshootinganddiagnosticsforall.Thelevelofdifficultywillvarybythenatureofyourproject,butnolessthanagoodgroundinginthefundamentalsishighlyrecommended.Ifyoudon’thavetheseskillsandyouareunwillingorunabletolearnthemoroutsourcethem,colocationisprobablynotforyou,andyoushouldrefertoitem#1forotheroptions.

Itisabsolutelyrecommendedthatyoureadthisguideallthewaythroughbeforeyoudoanything,andthatapplieswhetheryouareafirst‐timerorsomeonewhohasdeployedinadatacenterbefore.Whilemostinformationispresentedintheorderthatitisneeded,insomecasesknowledgepresentedlatercaninformdecisionmakingearlierintheprocess.It’salsorecommendedthat,onceyouhavefinishedreadingthisguide,youtakeabreaktoletitallsinkin,andthenreaditagain!Repetitionisakeyfactorofsuccess.

Alrightthen–ifyouarestillreading,thenwe’vesettledoncolocationastherightwaytogo!Let’sdiveinandgetstartedwithphaseI:determiningyourneeds,soyoucansolicitbidsandchooseaprovider.

PARTIDETERMININGYOURREQUIREMENTS

PART I: DETERMINING YOUR REQUIREMENTS

ColocationSpaceRequirements

Howmuchspaceinthedatacenterwillyourcolocationrequire?Thiswillprimarilybedeterminedby:

1. theequipmentsetthatyouplantoinstall;2. anyminimumspaceallocationrequirements

imposedbyyourprovider;3. anylegalorregulatoryrequirementsthatmay

applytoyourbusinessortheapplicationtobehostedbyyourcolocation.

Inthedatacenter,spaceistypicallymeasuredinstandardcabinet/rackunits,called“U”.A1Uspaceisequaltotheusablewidthofthecabinetorrack(=<19inches),theusabledepthofthecabinet(variesfrom30inchesto42inches,36inchesiscommon),andaverticalallocationthatisexactly1.75incheshigh.Thewidthanddepthdimensionsareconstants,soyougetmoreoverallspacebygoingvertical,i.e.:2U=WxDx3.5”,4U=WxDx7”,etc.

ADDING UP YOUR U’S

ServersandotherequipmentthatisspecificallydesignedfordatacenterrackorcabinetdeploymentwillconformtotheUformfactor,andsoyou’lltypicallyseeserversandotherdevicesdescribedbytheirUsize,i.e.a1Unetworkswitch,a2Userver,etc.Thismakesdeterminingyourminimumspacerequirementseasy:justadduptheUfactorsforallofyourequipment.Ifyouhavetwo4Uservers,three1Userversanda1Uswitch,you’llneednolessthan12Uforyourcolocation(youmayneedmoreifyouareinstallingaPDUorotherancillaryequipment).

Whatifsomeorallyourequipmentisnotdesignedforrack‐mountapplications?Exampleswouldincludetowerordesktopservers,desktopexternaldrivesanddesktopnetworkappliances?Inthosecases,you’llneedtograbatapemeasureanddosomefiguringonyourown,keepinginmindtheusablewidthanddepthavailabletoyou,andthatstandardcabinetUheight.Ifyouhaveatowerserverthatis17”highorless,youcanlayitonitssidetobetterconformtocabinet/rackspacedistribution;theserverwillfitina4U‐5Uspace.Withallnon‐rack‐mountequipment,youwillneedtoplanforadatacabinetshelf,whichwillsupporttheequipmentandwilltypicallyconsumeaUbyitself.

MEETING MINIMUMS

Someproviderswillhaveaminimumamountofspacethatyoumusttake,whetherornotyouneedit,soinquireasthatwillfactorintoyourtotalcost.Also,ifyourcolocationwillbeusedtohostelectronicProtectedHealthInformation(e‐PHI),paymentinformationsuchascreditcardnumbersorbankaccountnumbers,oranyotherinformationthatisconsideredsensitiveorisgovernedbyprivacylawsorindustryrules(HIPAA,PCIDSS),youmustinstallyourcolocationinaprivatelockingspacewithcontrolledaccess.Thatthenbecomesthedeterminateoftheminimumspaceyoumustpurchase,asprivatelockingspacesaretypically½cabinet(20U)insize,thoughafewprovidersdooffersmallerlockingspaces.Finally,ifyourcolocationislargeenoughthatitcouldoccupyseveralfullracksorcabinets,theprovidermaysuggestthatyouconsideraprivatecage.Cagespaceissoldbythesquarefoot,with80–100squarefeettypicallybeingtheminimum.Inadditionto

thespace,theproviderwouldprovisionmultiplepowercircuits,networkdrop(s),andmaysupplyracksorcabinetswithinthecageforyourequipment(sometimesyouhavetheoptionofprovidingtheseyourself).

TIP:Anydecentmoderndatacabinetwillbeoutfittedwithbothfrontandrearverticalpostpairsformountingofequipment.Shallow‐depthdevices,likenetworkappliances,horizontalPDUsandevensomesmallerservers,canbemountedinaback‐to‐backconfiguration:onedevicemountedonthefrontposts,theothermounteddirectlybehinditontherearposts.Inthisway,twodevicescansharethesameU,reducingyouroverallspacerequirements.

TOPIC RECAP: COLOCATION SPACE

Thissectionrecapsthepointsmadeintheprecedingtopic,andcanserveasaquickreferenceifyoueverneedtorevisitthetopic:

Colocationspacewillbedeterminedbyyourequipmentset,facilityminimums,andregulatoryrequirements(ifapplicable)

Youcanadduptheformfactorsofrack‐mountequipmenttoquicklydetermineyourminimumspaceneeds(fornon‐rackequipment,youwillneedtomeasure)

Somerack‐mountequipmentcanbemountedback‐to‐backtosavespace

ColocationPowerRequirements

Determiningaccuratepowerrequirementsforacolocationisataskthatmostfrequentlystymieswould‐becolocationprojects,andthat’sunfortunate,aspowerisoneofthechiefdriversofcostinthedatacenter.Rawpriceperkilowattaside,theresourcestoconditionpower,providebackupforit(intheformofbatteryarraysandgenerators),deliverandmonitorit,andtocooltheheatthatresultsfromitsuse,allconspiretomakedatacenterpowerverycostlytodeliver,andthereforethemostexpensivepoweryouwilleverbuy.Becauseofthis,providersareunlikelytodomuchinthewayofprovidingdiscountsonpower.You’llwanttohaveagoodgraspoftheamountofpowerthatyoureallyneedasyouarealmostcertainlygoingtopaylistpriceforit.Here’showtogoaboutfindingthatnumber:

DON’T TRUST THE POWER SUPPLY RATING

Everydeviceinyourcolocationstackthatplugsintoelectricalpowerwillhaveoneormorepowersupplieswithamaximumwattagerating–theratinginfowilltypicallybeprintedrightonthedeviceitself.Itmaybetemptingtoaddupthoseratingsforallyourdevices,anddeclarethattotaltobeyourpowerrequirement.Don’tdoit!Powersupplies,particularlythoseinservers,arerarelyusedattheirmaximumratinginpractice.Inalllikelihood,yourpowerdrawissubstantiallylessthanthemaxrating,evenduringpeakusageperiods.Sohowdoyoufindthetruevalue?

ASK THE MANUFACTURER

Onewaytogetthetruepowerneedsofyourequipmentistosimplyinquirewiththemanufacturer,orthedistributorwhosoldittoyou.Thisassumesthatyoudidnotpurchasesecond‐handhardware,thougheveninthatcasetheoriginalmanufacturermayhelpyou(ifyouasknice).Agivenservermodel(chassis)canvarywidelyinitspowerusagebyhowit’sbeenbuiltout:thenumberandtypeofprocessors,amountofRAM,numberandtypeofdrives,numberofpowersupplies(dualpowerisbecomingthestandardforhigh‐availabilityservers)fanconfiguration,andperipheralsinstalledallwillimpactpowerdemand.Manymanufacturesmaintaintablesorcalculatorsthatwillallowthemtopluginvaluesandgiveyouaresultantnumberforpowerdemand.Somemayevenmakethisdataavailabletoyousoyoucandoyourowncalculations.

USE THE ONLINE PLANNING TOOLS (IF AVAILABLE)

Asyoumighthaveguessed,youarenotthefirstpersononearthtoattemptplanningofacolocation.Infact,thistaskiscommonenoughthatsomeequipmentmanufacturershavetakenthetimetobuildself‐serviceplanningtools,whichcanassistyouindetermininganumberofrequirementsforyourcolocation,includingpower.Infact,twoofthelargestvendorsofdatacentercomputingandnetworkingequipment–DellandHewlettPackard–havetakenthisstep.Dellhastwotools:thenewerEnergySmartSolutionAdvisor(ESSA),andtheolderDataCenterCapacityPlanner(DCCP).Whetheryouuseonetoolversustheotherdependsupontheparticularmodelofdeviceyouneedtodo

calculationsfor,astheirequipmentisdividedbetweenthetwotools.HewlettPackard’stooliscalledtheHPPowerAdvisor.Linksarebelow,butyoucanalsosearchGoogleforthenameofthetoolyouwanttoquicklygetthecorrectURL(incaseithaschangedsincethewritingofthisguide):

DellESSA:http://essa.us.dell.com/DellStarOnline/DCCP.aspx

DellDCCP:http://www.dell.com/html/us/products/rack_advisor_new/index.html

HPPowerAdvisor:https://paonline56.itcs.hp.com

TAKE MEASUREMENTS

Ifyourequipmentisolder,custom‐built,orotherwiseisnotsuitableforoneoftheothermethods,youcanalwaysjustmeasureitspowerusageyourself–it’seasyenoughtodo.Justgetyourhandsonanappliancepowermeterofthetypethataresoldathardwareandhomeimprovementstoreseverywhere.ApoplarbrandistheKill‐A‐WattbyP3International,butthereareotherbrandsandtheyallworkmoreorlessthesame:Youplugthemeterintothewall,plugyourserverorotherdeviceintothemeter,thenbootitupandtakesomereadings.Repeatthiswitheachpieceofequipmentinyourcolostackandyou’llhaveaprettyaccuratepictureofwhatyourtotalpowerneedsare.

ImportantNotesRegardingPower

COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES

Powercanbespecifiedaseitherratedorde‐rated.Ratedpoweristheabsolutemaximumpeakpoweracircuitcanhandle,abovewhichabreakertripwillhappen–example:a20amperecircuitmustexperienceabreakertripiftheloadexceeds20amps,evenmomentarily.De‐ratedpoweristhesafemaximumcontinuouspowerratingforacircuit.PerstandardsadoptedbytheNationalElectricalManufacturersAssociation(NEMA),de‐ratedpowershouldbenotmorethan80%ofratedpower.Soonacircuitratedfor20amps,youmaydrawnomorethan16ampsonacontinuousbasis.

Thepowerratingsthatyougetfromyourequipmentmanufacturer,fromonlineplanningtools,orfromperformingyourownmeasurementswithanappliancepowermeter,willallbede‐ratedpower.Besuretocompareapplestoappleswhenshoppingyourcolocationprojecttoproviders–ifyougivethemyourde‐ratedpowerrequirements,buttheyquoteratedpower,you’llbeunderpoweredby25%!Alwaysspecifyratedorde‐ratedpowerinyourrequest,andmakesuretheydothesameintheirquote.

COUNT YOUR CONNECTIONS

It’saneasypointtooverlook,butyouneedtoensurethatthequantityofpowerconnectionsyourequirewillbeadequatelyaddressed.Inthecaseofsmallersharedcolocationprojects,askhowmanyplugsonthecabinetPDUwillbeassignedtoyou.Forlargercolocationsinwhichyou’ll

begettingoneormorefullcircuits,providingthePDUyourselfmaybeanoption,orarequirement(itvariesbyfacility).Atypicalfull‐circuitPDUcanhasasfewaseightpowersocketsorasmanyas24,sobemindfulofthataspect.YoumightbeinclinedtothinkthatyoucanpluganotherpowerstripintothecabinetPDUtogainmoreoutlets.Wrong!Thisiscalled‘daisychaining’,anditisagainstfirecode.

TIP:NeedmoreconnectionsthanwhatyourpowerstriporPDUcanprovider?Use“Y”powercords,whichallowconnectionoftwo(ormore)devicestooneoutlet.Thesecordsenableyoutoatleastdoubleyourpowerconnections,andtheyareallowedbyfireandelectricalcodes.

USE WATTS IF YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT VOLTS

Tothisdayitiscommonpracticetoinformaprospectiveproviderorhowmayamperesyouneed,andatwhatlinevoltage.Mostmoderncomputerequipmentwillautomaticallyadjusttodifferentinputvoltages.120Vservice,likewhatyoufindinyourhomeoroffice,isstillquitecommon,butotherinputvoltageslike208Vhavegainedpopularityinthedatacenterinrecentyears.Thelawsgoverningelectricity(whichwewillnodelveintohere)dictatethattheamountofpowerrequiredtodoagivenamountofworkwillnotvaryregardlessoftheinputvoltage,soifyougiveaprovideryourpowerrequirementsinwatts,theycanfigureoutthecircuitsizerequiredatanygivenvoltagetothegetthejobdone.Thisgivesyousome

flexibility,andinfactyoumayfindthatoneoptionismoreeconomicalorallowsmoreroomforexpansionthananother.

TOPIC RECAP: COLOCATION POWER

Datacenterpowerisexpensive,soitpaystofigureoutexactlywhatyouneed

Powersupplyratingsarenotagoodindicatorofactualpowerrequirements

Equipmentmanufacturersshouldbeabletoprovidepowerdataforpurchasedsystems

DellandHPprovideonlinetoolsforaccuratelycalculatingpowerneedsfortheirbrandedsystems

Youcanmeasurethepowerusageofyourequipmentwithaninexpensiveconsumerappliancemeter,suchastheKill‐A‐Watt

Powerrequirementsforyourequipmentwillbede‐ratedvalues,sotake80%ofanyratedpowerquotedbyaprovidertogetanequivalentnumber

Powerrequirementsinwattsareindependentoflinevoltage

InternetBandwidthRequirements

Internetbandwidth,alsocalled“IPconnectivity”and“transit”,canbesuppliedtoyourcolocationinacoupledifferentways:

HOUSE BLEND

Manydatacenterswillhaveanin‐housebandwidthoffering,typicallyconsistingoftwoormorecarriersinwhatisknownasaBGPblend(simplyameansofmakingroutesfromseveralcarriersavailabletoyourInternettraffic,aswellasprovidingredundancyifonecarriergoesdown).However,donottakethisforgranted:somehousebandwidthofferingsconsistofjustasinglecarrier–thisisespeciallytrueinthecaseofacarrier‐ownedfacility.Also,ifthenetworkcorethatservesyourbandwidthwasbuiltbythecolocationproviderandtheyarenotalsoacarrier,theymaynotbeasproficientinnetworkengineeringandadministrationasacarrierwouldbe,whichcouldcauseyouproblemsdowntheline.Ifyouareconsideringusingthe“houseblend”offering,besuretofindouthowmanycarriersareintheblend,thetopologyandredundancyofthenetworkcore,andtheexperienceandavailabilityofnetworkengineeringpersonnel.

DEDICATED CARRIER DROP

Atypicaldatacenterwillhaveatleasthalfdozentier1Internettrafficcarrierson‐Netatthefacility,whichmeansthatyouhavetheoptionoforderingservicefromoneormoreofthosecarriersforyourcolocation,ratherthan(orinadditionto)takingthehouseblend.Inmostcases,thefacility

willadviseyoutocontactthecarrier(s)directlytoordertheservices,withthefacilityaddressastheserviceaddress.Thefacilitywillprovidethefinalcablingrunfromthecarrier’srouterorswitchthatislocatedwithinthefacilitytelcocage,toyourcabinet.Youmaintaintherelationshipwiththecarrier,whichmeansyouhavedirectaccesstotheirNOC,helpdesk,etc.However,ifyouwantnetworkredundancy,youwillberesponsiblefororderingadditionalnetworkdrop(s)fromthecarrier(orfromasecondcarrier),andtaskssuchasBGPblendingandconnectionfailoverwillfallonyou.Also,inalllikelihoodyouwillbeassessedalaborandmaterialsfeeforthecablerunbythefacility,andyoumayalsoincurarecurringmonthlychargefromthefacilityforthephysicalconnection.Thesefeesareontopofwhateverthecarrierwillchargeyou,sobesuretodoyourhomeworkandgetafullaccountingofallfeeswhenevaluatingconnectivity.Inmostcases,colocationclientstakethehouseblend,asitisusuallythemosteconomicaloption,butifyouhaveanexistingrelationshipwithanon‐Netcarrier,orsomeotherrequirementthatdictatesadedicatedcarrier,youmayneedtoexplorethatpath.

Soyou’velearnedabitabouthowyoucangetInternetconnectivityinthedatacenter,buthowmuchbandwidthwillyouactuallyget?Forthatmatter,howmuchbandwidthdoyoureallyneed?Readon.

SPEED AND TRANSFER

Internetbandwidthismeasuredintwoways:thenetworkinterfacespeedordatarate,expressedinbitspersecond,andtheamountofdatatransferred,expressedinbytes.On

themodernnetwork,networkinterfacespeedswilltypicallybemeasuredinmegabitspersecond(Mbps),withamegabitbeingonemillionbits.Gigabits(onbillionbits)isalsousedonlargerconnections.TheamountofdatatransferredistypicallyexpressedinGigabytes(onemillionbytes).

Withallotherthingsbeingequal,afasterconnectioncantransfermoredatainagivenamountoftimethanaslowerone.Inreality,amyriadoffactors,suchasserverloading,connectionloading,availableroutes,communicationprotocolsandmorewillaffectdatatransferefficiency.Butingeneral:fasterconnection=moretransfer.Thesedays,homeandofficeInternetconnectionspeedstypicallyrangefrom10Mbpsto100Mbpsormore,soinalllikelihoodyou’vealreadyexperiencedtherelativeperformanceofconnectionsinthatspeedrange.Asaruleofthumb,you’llwantthenetworkconnectioninyourcolocationtobeatleast100Mbps,evenifyouarenotusingallofthatcapacity.Ifyoucangeta1Gbps(1000Mbps)connectionforatornearthesameprice,takeit.

FLAT‐RATE VS METERED/BURSTABLE

Onceyou’veestablishedtheappropriatespeedforyournetworkinterface,thenextquestionisoneofcommitment:howmuchofthatspeedwillyoucommittousing(andpayingfor)onamonthlybasis?Committingtolessthanthefullspeedoftheinterfaceisinterchangeablyreferredtoasa“fractionalcommit,”a“meteredconnection,”ora“burstableconnection”e.g.:20Mbpson100Mbps,or100Mbpson1Gbps.“Burstable”simplyreferstothefactthatyourusage

canperiodically“burst”overyourcommittedusage,tothelimitsoftheport’scapability.

Thealternativetoafractionalcommitistotakeanunmetered(alsocalled“flat‐rate”)connection,inwhichcaseyouallowableusageisonlylimitedbythemaximumcapabilityofyouruplinkinterface.Youcansaturatetheporttoitsmaximumspeeddayandnight,andyourbillingwillbeunaffected.Flat‐rateportscaneitherbenominalattheport’snativemaximumspeed(i.e.100Mbps),ortheycanbe“capped”lessthantheport’smaxspeed–forexample,a100Mbpsportcanbecappedat20Mbps,andifyoucommitto20Mbpsyouessentiallyhavea20Mbpsflat‐rateconnection.Thereareotherconfigurationsthatcanbehaddependingupontheprovider,suchas“2xbursting”,inwhichtheportsettingsallowyoutoburstatuptotwotimesyourcommittedrate,i.e.40Mbpsburstingona20Mbpscommit,etc.

Tip:Unlessyouarelookingforanextremelylowpriced,entry‐levelcolocation,oryoumusthaveadedicatedcarrierdropforsomereason,specify100MbpsinthecolocationRFQsthatyousubmittoprospectivevendors,andindicatedthatthehousebandwidthofferingisacceptable.Ifyougowiththehouseblendandaflat‐rateport,youwillusuallyendupwiththebestoveralldeal–inmanycasesyouendupgettingmostofthebandwidthforfree,asthehouseblendhasbecomea“lossleader”formostprovidersthesedays.

ConnectionSpeed,UsageCommit

Sowhatdoyoubuy:aflat‐rateconnection,orafractionalcommit?Thatdependsuponthedealyouaregetting,andwhatyourusageprofilelookslike.100Mbpsflat‐ratehasbecomeanincreasinglycommonbandwidthallocation,andoftentimesthefinancialincreasegoingfromafractionalcommittoaflat‐ratecommitona100Mbpslineismarginal,whichmakestaking100Mbpsflat‐rateano‐brainer.Ifyouaretrulycountingpennies,youmaybeabletosaveafewbydroppingdowntoafractionalcommit–andifyouarelookingareahigherportspeed,suchas1Gbps,thefinancialdifferencesbetweenfractionalandflat‐ratecommitscanbemuchmorepronounced.Inthosecases,afractionalcommitmaymakesense,butyoumustconsidercloselyhowyourbillableusagewillbecalculated.

HOW “NTH PERCENTILE” CALCULATIONS WORK

Ifyou’veinquired,youmayhavebeentoldthatyourusageonafractionalcommitbandwidthportwillbecalculatedusingthe“95thpercentilemethod”(somecarriersmayinsteaduseanothernumber,suchasthe90thpercentilemethod,but95thpercentileisthemostcommonmethod).Thistypeofcalculationisroutinelyusedbydedicatedcarriersaswellascolocationproviderswhomhavea“house”offering.Thisishowthemethodworks:samplesforyourdatarates(speed,nottransfer)inbothdirectionsarecollectedandstoredinasinglelistatregularintervals,usuallyeveryfiveminutes,overa30dayperiod.Attheendofthat30days,thelistissorted,and(usingthe95thpercentilemethod)thetop5%ofthemeasurementsarediscarded.Thehighestofthe

remainingmeasurementsisdesignatedasyourbillableusageforthatperiod.Fromthis,youcandeducethefollowing:

Sincedataforbothdirections(inandoutofyourinterface)arestoredinasinglelist,onlythedirectionofgreaterflowmattersforbillingpurposes,theotherdirectionisignored;

Fivepercentofa30‐dayperiodequatesto36hours.Sincethetop5%ofmeasurementsarediscardedbeforecalculatingusage,youessentiallyget36hoursoffreeburstingtothelimitofyourinterfaceduringeachbillingperiod.Thatcantranslatetoaconsiderableamountoffreeusageonafastconnection.

Ifyourbandwidthusageischaracterizedbyfrequentperiodsofhighusageinterspersedwithperiodsofverylittleusage,theNthpercentilemethodcouldpotentiallyworkagainstyou.Italldependsuponthefrequencyanddurationofthepeakusageperiods.Onceyouaggregatepeakusagecrossesthat“magicnumber”(36hoursinthecaseof95thpercentilemonitoring),eachandeveryadditionalpeakcouldpotentiallybeyourbillableusagenumberfortheentireperiod.

Thetakeawayfromtheaboveisthis:sinceproviderstypicallyofferdiscountedratesonflat‐rateconnections,youmaywishtoconsiderflat‐rateifyouexpectfrequentpeakusageintervalsthatwithpushyoupasttheNthpercentilethreshold.Inthatevent,theproviderwillusuallybillatoverageratesthatarepricedatapremium;asaresultasubstantialoveragecouldendupcostingyoumorethanaflat‐rateportwouldhave.Alternatively,ifyouexpectyour

usagetobegenerallylowwithinfrequentbursts,afractionalcommitmaybethebestuseofyourbandwidthdollars.

Ifyouareunsureofyourusageprofile,e.g.:inthecaseofanewprojectforwhichnohistoricalbandwidthusagedataisavailable,considerseekingabandwidthplanthatallowsyoutogetaminimalcommitonaportofthedesiredsizeasastartingpoint,withtheoptiontoupgradeatanytimewithoutpenalty.Inthiswayyoucangaugebandwidthdemandovertime,andifitturnsoutthatyouneedmore,yousimplyincreaseyourcommitatpreferredrates,ratherthanpayingforpriceyoverages.

TOPIC RECAP: INTERNET BANDWIDTH

Youcangetbandwidthfromadedicatedcarrierorfromthefacility’s“house”offering,mostofferbothchoices

Internetbandwidthusageischaracterizedbythespeedofaconnectionaswellastheamountofdatatransferredovertheconnection

Connectionscanbeprovisionedasflat‐rate(“allyoucaneat”),orasalower“fractional”commitonaconnectionthathastheabilitytogofasterifneeded

95thpercentilecalculationsarethemostcommonmeansemployedtocalculateyourbandwidthusage

Ifyouhavefrequentpeaktrafficperiods,aflat‐rateconnectionmaybeyourbestdeal,otherwiseafractionalcommitonaburstableconnectioncanbeconsidered

OtherPotentialRequirementsForYourColocation

LOCATION AND PROXIMITY

Muchlikerealestate,colocationisoftenprimarilyabout“location”.Mostpeoplewillseekoutacolocationfacilitythatiseitherwithinconvenientdrivingdistanceoftheirhomeoroffice.Alternatively,thecolocationfacilitymayneedtobeplacedinalocationoutsideofthe“home”range.Reasonsforthismayincludecreatingageographicallydiversebackup/disasterrecoversite,orestablishinganetworkpopthathaslowlatencyforafar‐flunglocation,orothersuchconsiderations.

Whenindoubt,mostpeoplewillseekoutanearbyproviderforcolocation–butdon’tdisregardthepossiblesavingsorotheradvantagesoflookingbeyondyourhometown.Mostcollocatedequipmentdoesnotrequireapersonalvisitasoftenasiscommonlybelieved.Infact,acollocatedequipmentstackcanbeshippedtoaremotelocationinapre‐configuredstateandrackedandconnectedbyfacilitystaff.Withtheassistanceoffacilityremotehandsserviceinconjunctionwithremotecontrol,apersonalvisittothefacilitymayneverberequired.

COMPLIANCES

Ifyourcollocatedequipmentwillbeusedtocollectandstorefinancialinformation,electronicProtectedHealthInformation(e‐PHI),toprovideservicestoagovernmentagencyorengageinanythingelsethatcouldbeconstruedas

sensitive,youwillneedtotakeahardlookatthecompliancesheldbycolocationprovider(ifany).Yourcustomersmayrequirethatyouobtainasecurityauditfromthefacilitythatwillhostyourequipment,Inwhichcaseyou’llneedtolimityourevaluationtoproviderswhomhaveundergoneandsuccessfullycompletedanauditforSSAE16orSOC2orSOC3compliance–andsuchprovidersshouldbeabletoprovideareporttoyouthatatteststotheircompliance,onceyou’vesignedanrequirednon‐disclosures.Inthecaseofe‐PHI,youabsolutelywanttoseekoutafacilitythathassuccessfullypassedanauditforHIPAAcomplianceandwillsignaBusinessAssociatesAgreement(BAA)toprovideassurancesthattheywill“toetheline”withregardstocompliance.

Inreality,thenatureofcolocationmeansthattheproviderwillhavelittleornoexposuretoyoursystemsanddata,somuchofthiscompliancestuffcouldbeconstruedasaformalityofsorts.However,awarenessandknowledgeoftheserequirementsonthepartoftheprovidercanonlybenefityourcolocation,andintheunlikelyeventthatsomekindofbreachoccurs,compliantfacilitieshavecontrolsinplacefornotificationandmitigation,andyoumaybeaffordedsomemeasureofrecourse.

Onemoreconsideration:asmentionedearlierinthisguide,ifyouhavesecurityrequirementsattachedtoyourcolocation,youwillneedprivatelockingspaceforyourequipment.Asyoumayknow,thefacilitystaffreservestherighttohaveauthorizedpersonnelaccessyourprivatespace,typicallyatyourrequest,butalsoforanyotherreasondeemednecessary.Thisisyetanotherreasonthatyou’llwanttodealwithafacilitythathaspassedarelevantsecurityaudit:their

staffwillhavebeentrainedontheprotocolsforallowing(anddenying)accessaswellaswhatmayconstitutebreach.Thisisacriticallyimportantpoint,asHIPAAviolationscanresultinfinesofupto$50,000perincidentwithanannualmaximumof$1.5million.Knowyourrequirements!

REMOTE HANDS ASSISTANCE

Evenifyourcolocationisjustaroundthecorner,therewillbetimeswhenyouneedsomethingdonethatrequirestouchingyourequipment,butyoucannotvisitthefacilitytodoityourself.Toaddressthisneed,yourprovidershouldofferremotehandsservice,whichconsistsoffacilitystaffperformingsimpletaskswithyourequipmentatyourrequest.Youneedtodecidehowmuchremotehandsyouwant/need,andwhen(weekdays,evenings/overnight,weekends),thenverifythatyourprovidercanfulfillthoserequirements.Someproviderswillincludeacertainamountortypeofremotehandsassistancewiththeirservice,butinallcaseswhatqualifiesasremotehandsaswellaslimitsappliedtotheserviceshouldbedefinedclearlysothatyouknowwhattoexpect.

Someproviderswillofferanenhancedlevelofremotehandsformorecomplicatedtasks.Typicallythisescalatedlevelofservicewillbesubjecttofeesandminimums.It’sadvisablethatyougatherinfoonthisservice(ifavailable)incaseyouendupneedingit.

IP ADDRESSES

EverycolocationinvolvesuseofstaticpublicIPaddressspace,exceptintherareinstanceswherenopublicIPconnectivityisrequired.WhetheryoureceiveyourInternetconnectivity–andtherefor,yourIPaddressspace–fromyourcolocationproviderorfromadedicatedcarrier,youwillbeaskedhowmanyIPaddressesyouneed,andifthequantitythatyourequestissubstantial,youmayberequiredtosubmitjustificationinformation.

Bothcarriersandcolocationproviderswillissueaddressspaceallocationsasdedicatedsubnetsofafixedsize,whichmostcloselymatchesthequantityofaddressesyourequestedorwereapprovedfor.AdiscussionofthetechnicalaspectsofIPaddresssubnetsisbeyondthescopeofthisguide,buttherearetwoconsiderationsyouneedtobeawareof:

1. IPaddresssubnetsaregenerallynotexpandableinsizeonceissued,soifyouneedmoreaddresseslater,youronlyoptionwillbetotakeanadditionalsubnetfromadifferentrange

2. TheglobalsupplyofIPv4addresses(theaddressingschemethatmostpeoplearefamiliarwith)isnearlyexhausted,soaddressesareinveryshortsupply.Becauseofthis,providersarelikelytoberatherstingywithIPv4allocations,andwillprobablychargeyouamonthlyusagefeeforIPaddresses.Ontheotherhand,carriersandproviderswillusuallypromotetheadoptionofthenewerIPv6standard,encouragingyoutotakeanIPv6allocation,typicallyatnocharge.

SCHEDULED AND REPEATING TASKS

It’snotunusualforacolocationtorequirethatsomerepeatingphysicaltasksbeperformedatregularintervals,suchasatapechangeordriveswap.Ifyourcolocationwillrequiresometasks,don’tassumethattheycanbeperformedbyfacilitystaffasremotehands.Mostproviderstreatregularlyscheduledtasksasaseparateservice,eveniftheyareinfrequent.Inquiretoavoidbeingsurprisedlater.

STORAGE

Supportingacolocationmayrequirehavingsomesuppliesandsparepartsonhand–andwhatbetterlocationtostorethemthanrightthereinthedatacenterwiththecollocatedequipment,right?It’sagoodidea,butcheckwiththefacilityontheirpoliciesregardingstorage.Mostaretolerantregardingwhatyouplaceinyourcolocationspace,providedthatitconformstofacilitypoliciesandfirecode.Onefirecodeviolationthatmanypeopleinnocentlymake:storingacardboardboxintheircolocationspace.It’sabigno‐no,sodon’tdoit!Thefacilitywillletyouknowofanyapprovedstoragemethods,andsomemayoffersomespaceinadesignatedstoragecageratherthanhavingstuffwilly‐nillyinthecabinetsorracks.Sometimesitmakessensetohaveanentiresparesystemonstandbyincaseyouneedtoquicklyreplaceadownedserver.Aslongasitfitswithinyourallocatedspace,thisisusuallyOK,butbemindfulofpowerlimitations,aspoweringupthatsparesystemwillincreaseload.Aswithotherissues,it’salwaysagoodideatolettheproviderknowofyourintentionsandrunyourplansbythemfirst.

ROOF RIGHTS

Thiswon’tapplytothemajorityofcolocationprojects,soyoucanskipitifwant.Somecoloprojectsinvolvecapturingabroadcast,shortwave,orsatellitesignalforanynumberofpurposes.Inthosesituations,anantennaofsometypewillberequired,andsincethere’sgenerallynopracticalwaytoerectanantennainsidethedatacenter,spaceonthefacility’sroofwillbeneeded.Noteveryfacilitycanprovidethisspecializedservice,andcostswillvaryconsiderablyamongstthosewhodo.Aroofinstallationwillrequiremountingoftheantenna,potentiallyonamast,withthelocationandorientationoftheantennabeingimportanttogettinggoodreception.Thencablingofthecorrecttypemustberunfromtheantenna,throughspecialconduitandthenoverthecableracesabovethecabinets,finallyendingatyourequipment.Ifthelengthofcablerunexceedsthespecifiedmaximumdictatedbythemediaorsignalstrength,aboostermayhavetobeinstalledsomewherealongtheline.Itcangetcomplicated,andcomplicatedusuallytranslatestoexpensive.Ifyourprojectwillrequireroofrights,you’llwanttohaveallyourrequirementsgatheredbeforeyoustarttalkingtoproviders–makesuretheyfullyunderstandtherequirementsandthattheirproposalreflectsthatunderstanding.

CROSS‐CONNECTS

Wetouchedonthesubjectofcross‐connectsbrieflyinthesectiononInternetbandwidth.Asageneralrule(theremaybeexceptions!),anynetworkingservicethatthefacilityoperatorissellingtoyoudirectly,suchastheir“house”

bandwidthoffering,willincludethenetworkcross‐connect(copperorfibercableorothermedia)todeliverittoyourequipmentatnoextracharge.Ontheotherhand,ifyouorderaservicefromanon‐Netprovider,meaningaprovideroftelcoornetworkservicesthathasapresenceinthefacilitybutisnotthesamecompanyasthefacilityoperator,facilitymanagementwilltypicallychargeacross‐connectfeeforthecablingthatrunsfromthatprovider’sequipmenttoyours.Innearlyeverycase,asetupfeewillbeassessedforthelaborandmaterialstodotheactualworkofrunningthecablebetweenthosetwopoints.Insomecases,therewillalsobeamonthlyfeeforthatcross‐connect.Ifyourproviderisinafacilitythathasbeensubdividedintoseveralsuitesandhasseveraloperatoroccupants,eachleasingoneormorefullsuites(calleda“multi‐tenant”facility),orifyourproviderisleasingontopofalandlordthatmanagesthephysicalaspectsofthefacility,theyareusuallypayingmonthlyfeesfortheuseoftheconduitsthatconnectthetelco“meet‐meroom”tothedatacenterfloorspace–andaportionofthosefeesarepassedalongtoyouwhenyourcablegoesthroughthatconduit.Otherproviderssimplyhavepolicyofchargingacross‐connectfeeforanydedicatedconnectionemanatingfromtheirtelcocagethatdoesnotcarrytheirhouseofferings.Soifyouaregoingtoneedcross‐connectsofthistype,you’llwanttoverifyavailability,typeofmedia,andthesetupandmonthlycosts.

HOSTED OR MANAGED SERVICES

Thisfinalcategoryiscollectionofmiscellaneousthingsthatyouwillprobablywantorneed.Someyou’llhavetogetfromyourprovider,othersyoucangetalmostanywhere–butit

doesnothurttoknowifthefacilitycanofferthem,andatwhatcosttoyou,asutilizingtheirofferingscanmakeyourdeploymentgothatmucheasier:

ForwardDNS–toresolveyourdomainname(s)tothecorrespondingIPaddress(es)foryouronlinesystems.MostpeoplegetforwardDNSfromtheregistrarfortheirdomainnames.Therealsoexistsamyriadoffreeandpaidthird‐partyhostedsystemsoutthere,andmostOS’shaveaDNSsystemifyoucaretorunyourownrightonyourservers.

ReverseDNS–toresolveyourIPaddress(es)todomainname(s)–criticallyimportantforsuccessfulemaildeliveryifyouarehostingyourownmailserver,andthereareotherusesforrDNSaswell.YougetthisfromtheproviderofyourIPaddressspace;theycanhostthePTR(reverseDNS)recordsforyou,ortheycandelegaterDNSforyouIPrangetoothernameservers,ifyoualreadyhaveDNSsetupelsewhere…verifythatyoucandorDNSonthatalternatesystemfirst!

Externalresolvers–yetanotherDNSservice,externalresolversarethehoststhatyoursystemswilluseforoutboundlookups.Externalresolversarewhatletyoupingadomainname(i.e.“google.com”)fromthecommandline–withoutthem,yourserverwouldnotknowhowtofindgoogle.com.TheproviderofyourInternetbandwidthwillprobablyhave2‐3externalresolversavailableforyouruse;therearealsomanypubliconesoutthere,suchasthoseofferedbyGoogle(8.8.8.8and8.8.4.4)

SMTPService–ifyouneedtosendmailfromyourcolo’dsystemsbutdon’thaveSMTPserviceavailable,yourprovidermayofferit.

DDoSProtection–DistributedDenial‐of‐Serviceattacksconsistoffloodsoftrafficdirectedatyourservers,emanatingfromthousandsofdifferentpoints.Theseattackscaneffectivelytakeyouofflineinmomentsandsometimesgrowsoenormousinscopethatlargerportionsofthedatacenternetworkand/ortheInternetatlargeareaffected.SomeproviderspromoteDDoSprotectionaspartoftheirservice,andit’sworthyofconsideration,butbewarned:the“base”amountofprotectionisusuallyprettylimited(100Mbpsorless),andadditionalprotectioncanbeveryexpensive.Meanwhilethere’snoguaranteethattheprotectionwillactuallyshieldyoufromcollateraleffectsofanattack.DDoSProtectionisabitlikeinsurance,inthatyouhopeyouneverneedit,andyoudon’tfeelconfidentthatitwillhaveyourbackifyoudo.

Firewallprotection–Yourcolocationsystemsshouldbebehindafirewallsoyoucanexercisesomecontroloverhowtheycanbeaccessed,andbywhom.Intheory,thisshouldbeapartofyourservicethatyoubring–youshouldknowhowtoprovisionanddeployafirewall.Butifyoudon’t,oryoudon’twishtobother,youcangetamanagedfirewallservicefromsomeproviders.

TIP:writeupyourtotalprojectrequirementsasinclusivelyaspossiblebeforesubmittingtoprovidersforpricing.Biggerdealsaremoreattractivetoproviders,andthatcantranslateintonegotiatingpowerforyou.

TOPIC RECAP: OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Locationisakeyfactor,butacolodoesnotalwayshavetobeclosebytobeeffective

Securitycompliancesareanimportantindicatorofaprovidersoperationalcontrols,andcanbeahardrequirementforsomecolocationprojects

Knowthescopeoftasksthatwillbeperformedasremotehandsservice,alongwithhowmuchofthatserviceisincludedwithyourplan,andwhatisavailablebeyondthat

FigureoutyourIPaddressneedswithaneyetowardstakingtheminimumnumberofaddressesrequiredtoaccomplishyourgoal,andkeepinginmindthatyoumayhavetobudgetforIPaddressusagefees

Don’tassumethatregularlyscheduledtaskscanbeperformedunderbasicremotehands

Findoutwhattherulesareforstoringitemsinyourcolospaceorotherlocationofferedbytheprovider

Roofrightsareasignificantcostincoloandaresubjecttoavailabilityandlimitations.Knowallyourrequirementsbeforeinquiringwithproviders

Crossconnectswillusuallyhaveasetupcostandamonthlyrecurringcostoftheyarenotdeliveringaservicethatwaspurchasedfromthefacilityoperator

Miscellaneousservicesthatyouwilllikelyneedmayormaynotbeavailablefromyourprovider,inquirebeforeyoudeploytoavoidheadacheslater

PARTIIPREPARINGFORDEPLOYMENT

PART II: PREPARING FOR DEPLOYMENT

PlanningForYourColocationDeployment

Soyou’vegotahandleonalltherequirementsforyourcolocationproject,you’vefoundthebestproviderforyourneeds.Yournextmajorstepistogeteverythinginorderandreadytoinstall.Don’tdiscounttheimportanceofpreparation–bereadyaheadoftimeandthingswillgosmoothly.

Thissectionwillcoverthevariouspreparationsthatarenecessaryforasuccessfulcolocationdeployment.

PreparingEquipment

Havingyourserversandnetworkdevicespreparedandreadyforinstallationbeforearrivingatthedatacenterisgreatlypreferabletoattemptingallthatworkwhileyouarestandinginfrontoftherackorcabinet.There’salottodo–whynotdoitincomfortableconditions,ratherthanunderpressureinanunfamiliarenvironment?Belowarethestepsthatyou’llwanttocompleteaheadoftime.

HARDWARE TESTING AND BURN‐IN

Whetheryourequipmentisbrandnew,second‐handorrefurbished,treatitasuntestedandunproven.Performaburn‐incycleornolessthan24hours–evenifthevendoryoupurchaseditfromclaimsthatthetestshavealreadybeensuccessfullycompleted.Burn‐intestingismuchmorethansimplybootingupyourequipmentandlettingitidle;variousburn‐intestingprogramswhicharereadilyavailabletoyouwillstress‐testallaspectsofserverfunctionalityandreportonanyproblems,givingyoutheopportunitytocorrectissuesbeforeyouputyourequipmentintoproduction.SearchingtheInternetfor“serverburn‐intests”and“serverburn‐insoftware”willyieldsomestartingpoints.

Ifyourcolocationwillincludenetworkingdevices,suchasswitches,routersorfirewalls,besuretoperformtestsonthoseaswell.Burn‐inprogramsforthosekindsofdevicesmightnotbeasreadilyavailableasinthecaseofservers,butdiagnosticstoolsfornetworks,routersandswitchescanbeusedasasortofad‐hocburn‐inprocedureifnothingelseisavailable.

OS AND SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

Yourserverswilllikelyneedoperatingsystemsandsoftwareinstallationsonceyoureceivethem.Performthesesteps,andtestallfunctionstothedegreethatyouareable,beforeheadingtothedatacenterforinstallation.Asyoumayknow,thispartoftheprocesscantakemany,manyhours,anddependinguponyourlevelofexpertise,youmayneedtechnicalassistanceviaphoneoremail.Allofthatwillbeeasiertodonow,ratherthanwhenyouarestandinginfrontofadatacabinetwiththeclockticking,sodoasmuchasyoucaninadvance.

NETWORKING CONFIGURATION

Testingnetworkingconfigurationsforserversandotherdevicespriortoactuallybeingconnectedtoyourprovider’snetworkcanbetricky,butit’sworthdoingifyouhavethemeans.

TIP:Whileabitbeyondthescopeofthisguide,settingupasmallprivateIPnetworkinyourhomeorofficeisastraightforwardtask,anddoingsowillletyouproofoutyourbasicconfigurationsanddosometroubleshootingaheadoftime.Oncetheequipmentisinstalledinthedatacenterandconnectedtoyourprovider’snetwork,yousimplychangetheIPsettingsineachdevicetomatchtheIPallocation(s)giventoyoubytheprovider.

CABLES FOR POWER, NETWORKING, AND MORE

Therearefewthingsmoreannoyingthanrealizing,whileinthemidstofanequipmentinstallation,thatyouaremissing

onemuch‐neededcable.Ifyouarelucky,thedatacentermayhaveasparethattheycangive(orsell)toyou,butfailingthatyoumayfacethedauntingprospectoftryingtosourceaneedediteminthemiddleofthenight.Don’tletthathappentoyou:gotothefacilityarmedwithallthecables‐ofalltypes‐thatyouwillneedtocompleteyourinstallation.Ifnecessary,useatableordiagramtoitemizeeachconnection,withthetypeofcable,length,andterminatingconnectorsindicated.Inquirewithyourproviderastowhetherornottheywillprovidethecableforyouruplinkconnection–ifyouareexpectedtoprovideit,you’llneedtogetthelengthandtyperequirementfromthemandaddthattoyourlist.Finally,ensurethatyouhavethecorrecttypeofpowercordtosuccessfullyconnectyourequipmenttothePDUorpowerstrip.Thereareanumberofdifferenttypesofmaleandfemalepowerconnectors,andwhilethestandardthree‐prongplugthatyou’llfindinyourhomeorofficeisstillquotecommon,it’sbesttoverifywhatisrequires,especiallyifyouarebeingsuppliedanalternatevoltage.

MOUNTING HARDWARE

Wediscussedstandardmethodsformountingequipmentintheprevioussection.Youmustprovideallthenecessarymountinghardwareforyourequipment,andit’shighlyrecommendedthatyoucheckthefitofhardwarepriortoperformingyourinstallation.It’snotunheardofforanequipmentvendortosendthewrongrailkitwithaserver,especiallywhenbuyingrefurbishedorsecond‐handequipment.Worseyet,railkitstypicallyhaveseveralparts,anddifferentcomponentsofdifferentkitscanbecomemixed

up.Sortallofthisoutaheadoftime,soyoucanobtainmissingorreplacementpartsifneeded.Theinstallationmanualsfornearlyeverythingcanbefoundonline,sograbthemanualforyourserverandrailkitoffofthemanufacturer’ssupportsite,andverifythatyouhavethecorrecthardware,andthatyouunderstandhowtouseit.

Inadditiontorailkits,brackets,andshelves(ifapplicabletoyourinstallation),knowwhattypeofverticalmountingpostswewillinyourtargetcabinetorrack,soyoucandetermineifyouneedtoobtainanyadditionalhardware.Example:ifthecabinethassquare‐holeposts,butoneofyourdevicesmustbefastenedtothepostswithscrews,you’llneedaquantityofracknutsandmatchingboltstocompletetheinstallation.Thefacilitymaybeabletosupplythesetoyou,oryoumayberequiredtobringyourown.Findoutinadvanceandobtainwhatyouneed.

EQUIPMENT LABELING

Withalltheotherdetailstoconsider,it’seasytoforgetthatyoureallyneedtogiveeachdeviceanameorID,andclearlylabelitonthefrontface(alsolabelingthebackisagoodidea).Thissimplestepwillexpediteanyremotehandsrequeststhatyoumake,allowingfacilitystafftoquicklyidentifyadevicethatyoureferencebyitsname.Youcankeepnotesforeachdevice,includingsuchthingsaswhereitismountedinthecabinetorrack,whatIPaddress(es)ituses,interconnectionsbetweendevices,etc.–allofthisinformationisimportant,butitisoflittleuseifyou(andothers)can’ttellonedevicefromanother!

TOPIC RECAP: PREPARING EQUIPMENT

Doasmuchasyoucantoprepareeverythingforinstallationbeforeyouheadtothedatacenter

Doaburn‐inandtestingcycleonallserversandotherdevices.Useavailabletoolstodothiswhereverpossible

Installoperatingsystemsandsoftwareonallsystemsanddoasmuchsetupasyoucan

SetupaprivateIPnetwork,thenconfigureandtestallnetworksettings.ChangetorealproviderIPswhenyoudoyourinstallation

Makealistofthequantity,lengthandtypeofallcablesyouwillneedtointerconnectandpoweryourequipment–don’t’forgetabouttheuplink

Verifythatyouhaveallneededmountinghardwareandthatyouknowhowtouseit.Getmountingguidesfromthemanufacturerwhenpossible.Testhowthingsfittogether

GiveeachpieceofequipmentauniquelabelandcreateadocumentoftheresourcesandIPsforeach

OrganizingYourInstallation

Nowthatallofyourequipmentandrelatedhardwareisreadytoinstall,youneedonlyestablishyourinstallationdateandtime,organizeallyourdetails,andgettoit!Here’sthelistofthingsyou’llneedtohavehandledforthatday:

BRING YOUR PROVISIONING DETAILS

Yourprovidershouldhavethefollowinginformationreadyforyou,andwhiletheywillhaveacopyonfile,besuretobringitwithyou:

Theidentifyingnumber(s)ofthecabinet,rackorcagespacethathavebeenassignedto

Ifyouaregettingspaceinasharedcabinetorrack,thelocationsofthespacesassignedtoyou(i.e.spaces21U–30U)

TheIDofthePDUorpowerdropthatyouwillconnectyourpowerto,andthenumberofoutletsthatyouareallowedtouse

TheIDofthenetworkdroporportthatyouwillconnectyouruplinkto

YourIPaddressspaceallocationbreakdown Anydirectivesthatyoumustfollowuponarriving

thefacilitytogainaccess,bringinequipmentandperformyourinstallation

DON’T FORGET YOUR ID

Youwillberequiredtoshowcurrent,government‐issuedphotoIDuponyourarrivalatthefacility,inordertogain

access.Adriver’slicenseorstateIDcardaremostcommonlyused;apassportormilitaryIDisalsoacceptable.SomefacilitiesmaytakeyourIDandholditatthesecuritydesk,inexchangeforabadgethatgivesyouaccesstothedatacenter.Attheendofyourvisit,youturninthebadgetogetyourIDback.

Somefacilitiesalsouseaticketingsystemforaccess–ifyouweregivenaticketnumberwithyourprovisioninginfo(above),besuretobringthistothefacilityandreferenceitaswell.

FIND OUT WHERE TO UNLOAD EQUIPMENT

Somefacilitiesmayletyoubringyourequipmentinthefrontdoor;othersmayhavealoadingdockand/oraspecificprocedureforunloadingandtransportingequipment.Beforeyoulugyourstackintothelobby,askifthere’saloadingdockofsomeotherplaceforequipmentunloading.Rollingcartsofsometypeshouldbemadeavailabletoyouuponrequest.

GET AUTHORIZATION FOR YOUR GUEST

Ifyou’vedecided–maybeatthelastminute–tobringaguesttothedatacentertoassistyou,youwillneedtogetclearancetodosoinadvance.Thismaybeasimplematterofbeinggrantedtheprivilegeofescortingguestsintothedatacenterwhenyouraccountissetup,whichwillthenallowyoutoescortguestsondemand.Butasdatacentersecuritybecomesamorecriticalissue,itisbecomingincreasinglycommonthatguestaccessmustbeapprovedbymanagementeverytimeitisrequired,evenwhenthe

guestisescortedbysomeonewhohasaccess.Findoutwhattheprocedureissothatyouwon’trunintocomplicationswhenyougetthere.Weprobablyshouldn’tneedtosayit,butjustincase:yourguestmustbringcurrent,governmentissuedphotoIDinordertogainaccess!

ARRANGE FOR ASSISTANCE

Ifyouwillneedassistancefromfacilitystaff,evenjustforamoment,it’sbesttorequestitinadvancesothatyouknowyou’llgetitwhenyouneedit.Facilitystaffaretypicallyhappytolendahandhereandthereforsimplethings,likeslidingaserverontoitsrails,buttheremaybepoliciesinplacethatwillgovernif/whentheycanhelp,howmuchtheycando,andwhethertheassistancewillbecoveredbyremotehandspoliciesorwillresultinachargetoyouraccount.Ifthetenminutesofhelpyoureceivedonthedatacenterfloorwillgarnera$150bill,you’llprobablywanttoknowthatbeforeyoumakethedecisiontorequestit.

ARRANGE FOR OUT OF BAND CONNECTIVITY

ItcanbeusefultohaveanInternetconnectionatthedatacenter,thatisseparatefrom,andonadifferentcarrierthan,youruplinkforyourequipment.Manydatacentershaveaguestwifinetwork,andwillprovideyouwithaccesscredentialsuponyourarrival.Failingthat,theremayormaynotbeanotheroption.Again,askinginadvanceisalwaysbetterthanmakingassumptions.Oneimportantnote:cellphonereceptioninsideadatacentercanbespotty,soifyouareexpectingtouseyourcellularcarrier’sdatanetworkfor

thatalternateconnection,don’tbesurprisedifyouendupwithnoserviceonceyouareinsidethefacility.

BRING BASIC HAND TOOLS

Whilemanyfacilitieswillloanyoubasichand‐toolswhileon‐site,it’sbestnottocountonthesebeingavailable.Asmalltoolkitcanbealife‐saverinthedatacenter.Thingsyou’lldefinitelywantinyourkitwouldincludeaslottedandaPhilipsscrewdriver(battery‐poweredunitsaregreat,butold‐fashionedmanualscrewdriversmayneededfortightspots),anadjustablewrenchorpliers,wirecutters(fortrimmingorremovingcableties),andasmallflashlight.Wish‐listitemswouldincludeanetworkcabletester,labelprinter,asupplyofracknutswithmatchingbolts,andcableties.

TIP:theinteriorofadatacabinetcanbesurprisinglydark.Ifyouwillbeworkingalone,bringabatterypoweredclip‐onlightorawearableheadbandlightsothatyoucanhaveilluminationwhilekeepingbothhandsfree.

RESERVE A KVM CART (IF POSSIBLE)

Youarealmostcertainlygoingtowantakvm(keyboard‐video‐monitor)cart,alsocalleda“crashcart”,duringyourinstallation,soyoucancheckonproperbootingofservers,etc.Somefacilitieshavemanyofthesekvmcartsavailable,someonlyhaveoneortwo.Youdon’twanttofindyourselfstandingaround,waitingforakvmcarttobecomeavailable,socheckwiththefacilitytoseeifyoucanreserve

on,orthattheycanotherwiseensurethatonewillbeavailableforyourinstallation.

That’sit!Ifyouhavefollowedalladviceuptothispoint,youareasreadyforyourcolocationdeploymentasyoucanbe.Whatremainsisthestraight‐forwardmatterofshowingupatyourappointeddateandtimewithallyourgearintow,rackingit,connectingitandfiringitup.Afewquickteststoconfirmalliswell,andCONGRATULATIONS,YOU’VEDEPLOYEDYOURCOLOCATION!

TOPIC RECAP: ORGANIZING YOUR COLOCATION

Bringallyourprovisioningdetailsfromyourprovidertothedatacenterwithyou

Bringyourcurrent,government‐issuedphotoID,andaproviderticketnumberforyourinstallation(ifapplicable)

Knowwheretounloadyourequipmentandgetarollingcart

Ifyouarebringingaguest,getauthorizationforthemaheadoftimeandbesuretheybringtheirID

Ifyou’llneedassistancefromfacilitystaff,requestitinadvanceandinquireiftherewillbeanycost

FindoutifthereiswifiorotherguestInternetaccessonthedatacenterfloor

Takestepstomakesureyou’llhaveaccesstoakvmcart

PARTIIIPROJECTLIFECYCLEMANAGEMENT

PART III: PROJECT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

MindingTheStore

Yourcolocationisinstalledinthedatacenter,andisupandrunning.Timetositbackandenjoythefruitsofyourlabors,right?Well,yesmostly.Buttherearesomeongoingresponsibilitiesthatyouwillneedtohandle,beyondtheobvioustasksofsystemadministrationandmaintenanceforyourservers(whichwewillnotdelveintohere).Whatfollowsaretheaspectsofyourcolocationthatwillrequiresomeattentionfromyouonaperiodicbasis.Also,there’stheeventualityofyourcolocationprojectcomingtoanend,andwhatneedstobedonewhenthattimecomes.

MONITOR POWER USAGE

Powerutilizationisrarelystaticinthedatacenter,evenwhennochangestoyourequipmentsethavebeenmade.Modernserversandrelatedequipmentaredesignedwithpowerefficiencyinmind.Thismeansthatpowerusebysystemcomponentswillbeautomaticallyratcheteddownwardduringidleperiods(unlessyouhaveoverriddenthisfeature).Butthisalsomeansthatpowerusagewillriseasthesystemspinsupinresponsetoincreaseddemand.Becauseofthis,powerusagewillwaxandwane.Inthelongviewmostcollocatedhardwaretransitionstofullproductioninagradualwayoveraperiodofweeksormonths–andpowerdemandsgrowoverthatsametimeperiod.

Thetakeawayisthis–youwillneedtomonitorhowyourpowerusagechangesovertime.Youcertainlydon’twanttooverloadyourpowercircuit,andifyourusageispoisedtoexceedthepowerallotmentinyourservicecontract,you’ll

wanttoknowthatsoyoucanmakearrangementstoaddressthatissue,eitherbypurchasingmorepower,orbymakingchangestoyourequipmentinordertoconformtoyourpowerallotment.Datacentersmustbestrictaboutloadlevelsonpowercircuitsinordertoconformwithelectricalandfirecodes,sodon’texpectanexceptiontobemadeonyourbehalf–theywillunplugoneormoreofyourserverswithoutpriornoticeifthatiswhat’srequiredtomitigateadangerousoverloadcondition!

Ifyouhaveafullcircuit,thefacilityshouldbeabletoprovideyouwithpowerusagestats.ManyPDUshaveanLCDdisplaybuiltintoshowpowerdraw,andthese“metered”PDUswilloftentimesalsobecapableofremotemonitoring,allowingpowerusagetobegatheredandgraphedovertime.Failingallthat,youcanprovideyouownpowerusagemonitoringdevicesoyoucankeepanyeyeonthings.

TIP:Manymodernservershaveabuilt‐inIPMI(InternetProtocolManagementInterface),whichgivesyouremote“backend”controlandmonitoringforyourserver,includingmonitoringofpowerusage.

MONITOR BANDWIDTH USAGE

Muchlikepowerusage,bandwidthusageisrarelya“hitthegroundrunning”scenario;mostcolocationsstartoutatamoderateusagelevel,andgrowasdemandgrowsoverweeksormonths.Youknowbestwhichscenarioismoreapplicabletoyourcolocation,butinanycase,you’llneedtokeepaneyeonbandwidthusage,andthisapplieswhetheryouhaveameteredorunmeteredbandwidthplan.

Inthecaseofameteredplan,theneedtomonitorbandwidthusageisfairlyobvious:youhavethepotentialtoexceedyourmeteredallotmentandincuradditionalcharges.Monitoringtrendsinyourusagewillenableyoutobeproactiveinaddressingthatpossibility,whetheryoursolutionistothrottleusage(notrecommendedbecauseofperformanceissues,moreonthatbelow),simplypaytheoverage,orincreaseyourplancommittogetbetterpricingontheadditionalusage.

Withanunmeteredplan,there’snoimmediateconcernofafinancialimpactfromincreasedusage.Instead,networkperformanceisthereasonforactivemonitoring.Thisiswhy:asbandwidthutilizationapproachesthemaximumlimitofthenetworkinterface,performancebeginstosuffer‐latencyincreases,droppedpacketsandrefusedconnectionsbecomemorecommon.Theutilizationlevelsatwhichperformancedegradeswillvaryaccordingtotheunderlyingnetworkhardwareandtopology,alongwithahostofotherfactors,sodefininganexactnumberisnotreallypossible.Asageneralrule,ifutilizationisroutinelyreachinglevelsof90%ormore,thoseaccessingyourcontentorservicesareprobablyseeingperformanceissues,atleastsomeofthetime.Inthatcase,you’llneedtoconsiderupgradingyourbandwidthplantoincreasetheupperlimitofyourconnectionspeed.

MONITOR UPTIME

Restassuredthatyourprovider(s)aremonitoringthefacilitynetworkandpoweruptime,andifaninterruptionoccursatthefacilitylevel,theyareawareofit.However,if

yourservercrashes,theywillnotknowthatunlesstheyareprovidingyouwithindividualizedmonitoringofyourequipmentoruplink.Likewise,ifyoutripabreakeronyourpowerstripduetoanoverload,thefacilitymaynotknowthis(ifyoutripabreakerontheirupstreamPDU,theywillknowthat).

Bestpracticesonyourpartdictatethatyouarrangeforactivemonitoringofyourcolocationfor24/7availability.Ifyourprovideroffersamonitoringservice,youcantakeadvantageofthat,ifitmakesenseforyou.Youcaninsteaduseoneofthemanythirdpartynetworkmonitoringservices,suchasPingdomorUptimeRobot.Forredundancyyoucanuseacombinationoftwoormoreservices.Sincepowerinterruptionswillnecessarilytakeequipmentoffline,separatelymonitoringpoweravailabilityisnotstrictlynecessary.

TIP:Howeveryouchoosetomonitor,ensurethatyourmonitoringsolutionincludesindependentlyverifiablelogsandhistoryincludinguptimestatsforperiodsrangingfrom24hoursto1year.Thisdatawillcomeinhandywhensubmittingforaservicecreditduetooutage,resolvinganydisputes,etc.

KEEP YOUR VITALS HANDY

Intheearliersectiononpreparingforyourcolocation,wediscussedgivingeachpieceofequipmentauniquelabel,andkeepingnotesforeach(typeofequipment,IPsused,etc.).Alongwiththat,you’llalsowanttokeeparecordofallyourprovisioninginfo:cabinetandspaceassignments,powerconnectionassignments,accessprocedures,supportrequest

procedures(phonenumbers,ticketingsystemURLandcredentials),contracts,invoices,facilitydocuments,eventhephysicaladdressofthedatacenter.Buildamasterfileforyourcolocationandkeepeverythingandanythingthatpertainstoitinthatfile–thelastthingyouwantistobesearchinginvainforsomeneededpieceofinformationwhileunderpressure.Makethingseasyonyourself!

POPULATE YOUR CALENDAR

Everycolocationdeploymenthasmilestones;oneofthebiggestistheservicecontract’send/renewaldate.You’vereadyourcontract(right?!?),soyouknowtherequirementsfornoticeifyouwishtorenew,change,orterminatethecontract–itcouldbeaslittleas30daysbeforeterm’send,orasmuchas120,varyingfromprovidertoprovider.You’llwanttoputthatdateonyourcalendar,andsetyourselfanautomaticreminder,tofiretwotofourweeksbeforethenoticedeadline(sointhecaseofa30days’noticerequirement,youwanttogetyourreminder45–60daysbeforeterm’send).Doingthiswillgiveyoutheopportunitytoreviewneedsandpricingwithyourprovider,orhandinyournoticetovacate,beforeit’stoolate.

Abitmoreaboutcontractterms:youmightassumethatattheendofthecontractterm,yourservicerevertstoamonth‐to‐montharrangement.Thatmaynotbethecase!Someproviderswillrequireyoutosignarefreshedagreementattheendoftheterminordertocontinueservice,therebystartinganewterm.Inthatcase,youcan’tbefaultedforthinkingthattheywillautomaticallysendyouthenewagreementtoreviewinadvanceofthetermend,butthatalso

maynotbethecase.Otherproviderswilladjustyourmonthlyrateupwardsatterm’send,towhatiscalledan“out‐of‐contract”rate,thoughtheywilltypicallydropitbackdownifyousignanewagreement.Someprovidersusingcontractswith“auto‐renew”clauses,whichwillcontinueforperpetualsuccessivetermsunlesseitherpartygivesnoticepriortotermrenewalintheprescribedmanner.

Theactualpolicyshouldbeclearlystatedinthe“Terms”sectionofyourcontract:readit,andinquirewithyourproviderisanythingisunclear.

Aslongasyouaresettingreminders,thinkofanyotherscheduledtasksthatyourcolocationmayrequire,i.e.:systemmaintenanceandupdates,mediarotation,warrantyexpirations.Putthoseonyourcalendartoo!

TOPIC RECAP: MINDING THE STORE

Youmaybetemptedtotreatyoucolocationasaset‐and‐forgetproject,butsomemonitoringisnecessarytoavoidtrouble

Powerutilizationcanchangeovertime,evenwithastaticequipmentset;useameteredPDUorproviderstatstokeepaneyeonit

Bandwidthusageneedstobemonitored,evenifyouhaveanunmeteredplan(becauseperformancewillsufferonmaxed‐outconnections)

Theproviderwillmonitornetworkingandpowerforfacility‐wideevents;individualuptimemonitoringofyourcolocationisuptoyou

Buildafileonyourcolocationtocontainallvitalinformation,andmaintainittoensurethatyoualwayshavethemostup‐to‐dateinformationatyourfingertips

Setcalendarremindersforimportanttechnicalandbusinessmilestones

PlanningForExpansion

Ifyourcolocationneedsgrowastimepasses,congratulationsonyoursuccess!Herearetheaspectstoconsiderwhenexpandingyourcolocation.Asmentionedintheintroductiontothisguide,pointscoveredheremaybeusefulearlierintheprocess,whenyouaregatheringinformationandplanningacolocation.Askprospectiveproviderswhatoptionsareavailabletoyouforgrowth,usingthefollowinginfoasaguide.

ADDING BANDWIDTH

We’vediscussedthetopicofInternetbandwidthatlength,sothiswillbejustashortrecap:ifyouareinafractionalcommitsituationandneedmorebandwidth,youcanjustallowyourusagetoburstoveryourcommitandpayanyoveragesthatresult,oryoucanincreaseyourcommit(whichwillusuallygiveyoubetterpricingontheadditionalbandwidth).

Ifyouareinsteadinaflat‐rateusagesituationandareneedingmorebandwidth,you’llneedtoraisetheupperlimitor“cap”onyourusage.Ifyouhadpreviouslyrequestedalogicalcaponyourbandwidth(i.e.20Mbpscappedona100Mbpsconnection),raisingthelimitisasimplematterofrequestinganetworkconfigchangefromyourprovider.Ontheotherhand,ifyourusageisapproachingthephysicallimitsofyouuplinkport(i.e.youaredoing90+Mbpsona100Mbpsport),youwillneedtoorderanupgradedconnectionsizefromyourprovider,andyoucanexpectaphysicalconnectionchangewillneedto

becoordinatedatsomepoint.Also,theremaybefeesassociatedwithprovisioningthenewport,especiallyifnewmedianeedstoberun,whichmaybethecaseifthenewportusesdifferentmediathanyourcurrentport(suchasfiberinsteadofcopper).Inthatcaseyoumayalsohaveexpensesonyoursidetoupgradeyourequipmentsothatitcanreceivethenewmedia.

Withalltheseconsiderations,inquirewithyourproviderastowhatyourmigrationpathwilllooklike.

ADDING COLOCATION SPACE

Ifyoustartaddingmoreequipmenttoyourcolocation,youwillneedmorespace‐andyou’llneeditrightawayifyoucurrentequipmentsetfillseveryUthatyouhave.

Ifyouhaveaprivatespace,suchasaprivate½cabinetorfullcabinet,andyouhaveusedeveryavailableU,youwillhaveacoupleofoptions,dependinguponwhatyourproviderallows:

Orderadditionalspacewhilekeepingyourexistingspace,i.e.a2ndprivatespace,orifit’savailableandyouareOKwithit,afewU’sinasharedcabinet,or

Orderalargerspaceandmigratetoit,i.e.gofromaprivate½cabinettoaprivatefullcabinetandmoveyourexistingandnewequipmentintothenewspace,vacatingtheoldspacecompletely.

Ifyouarerentingpartofasharedcabinetthatcontainsotherclients,youroptionsaresimilartothoseabove,withafewadditionalconsiderations.Providersmaysetalimiton

howmuchspaceand/orpowertheywillrentouttoanyoneclientinasharedcabinetsituation,placingthosewithneedsinexcessofthoselimitsinprivatespace.Inthatcase,amovetoadifferent(private)cabinetmaybeyouronlyoptionforgrowth–andhavingyourownprivatespaceisnotwithoutitsbenefits.

Incaseswhereyouradditionalspaceneedsarestillwithinthelimitsofsharedspaceallocations,beawarethatyoucannotcountonthenewspacebeingadjacenttoyourexistingspace.Forthatmatter,theremaynotbeadditionalspaceofsufficientquantityavailableanywhereinyourcurrentcabinet,whichmeansthatyouwillhavetoeitherdivideyourequipmentbetweentwocabinets(whichwillmeanadditionalnetworkdropsorcross‐connects),ormoveintoadifferentcabinetthathasspaceforyourexistingandnewequipment.Wheresharedcabinetspaceisavailable,itisfilledonafirst‐come,first‐servedbasis,andunlessyouhavemadearrangementstoholdsomeadditionalspaceinreserveforyourfutureneeds(whichyouwillmostcertainlypayfor),theonlyspaceavailabletoyouisthatwhichisspecifiedinyourcontract.

ADDING POWER

Colocationspaceandpowerneedsaredirectlyrelatedinmostcases,soifyouneedmorespaceyouwillmostlikelyneedmorepowerandviceversa(usually).Howyoucangetadditionalpowermaybedependentinpartonhowyouwillgettheadditionalspacethatwillgoalongwiththeadditionalpower,assumingthatisthecase.Ratherthangothroughallthepermutations,we’lljusttouchonthegeneralguidelines:

Ifyouhaveafullpowercircuitwithyourexistingservice,yourchoiceswillusuallybetoupgradetoacircuitthatdeliversmorepower,orkeepyourexistingcircuitandaddasecondcircuitfortheadditionalpower.Beawarethat,intheoverwhelmingmajorityofcases,anupgradetoacircuitwillbeachievedbyrunninganewcircuitofgreaterwattagetoyourcabinet,thentakingawaytheoldcircuitonceyou’vemovedallofyourpowerconnectionstothenewcircuit.Thisisbecauseofthedifferenceinwiringrequirementsforcircuitsofdifferentpowerratings.

Ifyouhaveapowerallocationonacircuitthatissharedwithotherclients,theremaybeadditionalpoweravailableonthatcircuit,oronanothercircuitinyourcabinet,thatcanbeassignedforyourusebyyourprovider.Ifthereisnotadditionalpoweravailableinyoursharedsituation,theprovidermayneedyoutogettheadditionalpowerinadifferentcabinet,whichmayrequiremovingsomeorallofyourexistingornewequipment.Anotherconsideration:providerswilltypicallylimittheamountofsharedcircuitpowertheywillselltoanyoneclient.Ifyoucrossthatlimitwithyourincreasedpowerdemands,yourproviderwillrequirethatyoumigratetoafulldedicatedcircuit.

ADDING IP ADDRESS SPACE

IfyoureachapointwhereyouneedmoreIPaddresses,thefirstthingyou’llwanttodetermineis:doyouREALLYneedmoreIPaddresses?Inmostcases,multipleapplicationsandservicescanberunonasingleIPaddress.ThereareonlyafewinstancesinwhichaseparatedistinctIPaddressistruly

neededinordertoaddaserviceorafunction,sodoyourresearchifyouareunsure.

Asmentionedearlierinthisguide,IPsubnetsusuallycannotbeexpandedinsizeoncetheyhavebeenallocated–itneverhurtstoasktheproviderifitcanbedone,butexpecta“no”.Instead,assumingthatyourproviderapprovesyourrequestforadditionalIPs(itispossiblethatyouwillbedenied),youwouldbeissuedasecondIPsubnetoftheappropriatesize.Whilethereisnothingwrongwiththis,youneedtobeawareofitasitintroducessomeadditionaltechnicalconsiderations,whicharebeyondthescopeofthisguidetodiscuss.Furthermore,inthecurrentclimateofIPv4globalexhaustion,youcanexpecttobechargedamonthlyfeeforadditionalIPv4allocations.

ADDING OTHER SERVICES

Astimemarcheson,youmayfindthatyouwantorneedadditionalservicestoroundoutyourcolocationproject–thingssuchasadditionalnetworkdrops,augmentedsupportservices,scheduledtasks,managedbackupsand/ordisasterrecoverysolutions,managedIT,andmore.Yourcurrentprovidermaybeabletoprovidesomeorallofthese,oryoumayfindyourselfsourcingyoursolutionsfrommultipleparties.Agoodproviderwillofferthebestofwhattheyhave,butwillnotstandinthewayifyouchooseanalternative.

EFFECT OF EXPANSION ON YOUR CONTRACT

Ingeneral,fromabusinessperspectivetherearethreewaysthatexpandedoradditionalservicesthataretobesuppliedbyyourcolocationprovidercanbehandled,dependingupon

themethod(s)employedbyyourspecificprovider.Notallprovidersofferallthreemethods,andnotallmethodscanareapplicabletoallsituations:

1. Yourexistingservicecontractcanbeupgradedtoaddtheneworincreasedservice–doingsowilltypicallyresetthecontractterm,startinganewcontracttermwiththeinitiationoftheupgradedservice.Thisisthemostcommonmethodofadding/increasingcolocationservicesandisapplicabletoeverytypeofupgrade;

2. Aseparateservicecontractcanbewrittenfortheservicetobeadded,withitsowntermthatwillrunconcurrentlywithyourexistingserviceanddoesnotaffectthetermforyourexistingservice.Separatecontractsarenotalwaysavailable,andwhentheyare,theyareusuallyonlyavailableforadditionalservicesthatcanstandalone(i.e.asecondcolobundleconsistingofcabinetspace,powerandbandwidth).Furthermore,thesecondcontractwilllikelyhaveadifferenttermenddate,soitcouldpotentiallyremaininforceevenafteryouroriginalcontracthasended;

3. Thenewserviceoradditionalservicecanbeinvoicedonamonthlybasiswithoutacontracttermcommit.

Thereareplusesandminusestoeachapproach.Onceyou’vedeterminedwhatadditionalorincreasedservicesyouneed,you’llwanttoverifywhatoptionsareavailabletoyou,andweighyouroptionscarefully.

TIP:Expansiontimeisagreatopportunitytobargainforabetterdeal,andifyouareupgrading(ratherthanaddingasecondcontract),youcantaketheopportunitytorenegotiateratesforexistingservicesaswell!Commonsenseapplieshere,soifyouarediscussingarelativelyminorincreaseinyouroverallcommitment,don’texpectyourprovidertorollouttheredcarpetandlightyourcigar.However,providerstypicallyhavesalesgoals,andwillbecomemoremotivatedattheendofamonthorquarter,soifyoutimethingsproperlyyoumaybeabletoscoreanicedealforyourself.Inadditiontoincreasingyouroverallcommit,increasingyoutermofcommitandprepayinglargerincrementsareacoupleofothercardsyoucanplayduringthenegotiationthatmayyieldsomewins.

TOPIC RECAP: PLANNING FOR EXPANSION

Increasingavailablebandwidthmaybeasimpleadministrativechangeorcouldinvolveall‐newcablingandconnections

Increasingspaceforequipmentcanbehandledavarietyofways,dependinguponwhethercurrentspaceisshared/private,andwhetheryouneedexistingandnewequipmenttobekepttogether.Sharedspacelimitsmayforceyouintoprivatespace

Increasingpowercanbehandledanumberofways,dependinguponyourstartingpointandthe

magnitudeorincrease.Upgradestofullcircuitcommitswillinvolverunningnewcircuitsandmovingpowerconnections.Sharedpowercircuitlimitsmayforceyouontoadedicatedpowercircuit,whichmayinturnforceyouintodedicatedprivatespace

IPsubnetsgenerallycannotbeexpandedonceallocated,soadditionalIPaddressspacewillbeissuedasadditionalsubnet(s).DuetoIPv4globalexhaustion,IPv4addressspacemaybescarceandwillcostyou

Addingorupgradingserviceswillbeaccomplishedbyupgradingyourexistingcontract,enteringintoasecondcontract,ormonth‐to‐monthbillingwithnocontract,subjecttoavailabilitybyproviderandservice.

PlanningForReduction

Themodernbusinesslandscapeisever‐changing,andsoitfollowsthatthetimemaycometoreduceyourcolocation“footprint”bydecreasingorremovingoneormoreaspectsofyourservice.Thisisnotnecessarilyabadthing.Referringbacktotheprevioussectiononmonitoring,whileyouwanttoproactivelymonitortobeawareofanyincreasesoroveragesinusage,youwillalsowanttomonitorforunderutilizedresources.Resourceswhichremainunusedorunder‐usedforanextendedperiodoftimemaybecandidatesforremovalifdoingsowillreducecostsdirectlyorindirectly:

REDUCING BANDWIDTH COMMIT

Asmentionedbefore,bandwidthneedsareamongthemostdifficultofthingstoestimateattheoutset.Infact,it’sadirtylittlesecretinthecarrierindustrythatover‐estimationofbandwidthneedsbyendusersisoneofthefactorsthathasledtocheap“all‐you‐can‐eat”bandwidthplans.Inmonitoringyourbandwidthusageovertime,youmayfindthatyouareusingjustafractionofwhatyouarepayingfor,andassuch,youmaywishtoevaluateastowhetheryourcommitcanbereducedtorealizesavings.BesuretoconsiderbothaverageANDpeakusagestats–youdon’twanttochokeoffyourInternetpipesobadlythatperformancesuffers.Havingahealthyamountofbandwidthheadroomisagoodinvestmenttowardsmaintainingacceptablenetworkperformance.

Inreality,thecostofbandwidthhasdecreasedsomuchinrecentyears,thatasaresultminimumcommitssetbyprovidersaretypicallysuitabletomeettheneedsofalargepercentageofusers.Colocationprovidersthatbundlebandwidthwithspaceandpoweraregenerallythrowinginthebandwidthasafreebieinducementtowinbusiness.Sounlessyouarepurchasingassubstantialamountofbandwidthbytoday’sstandards(over100Mbps,forexample),reducingyourbandwidthcommitmaynotbeanoption…andwouldsaveyounothingevenifyoucoulddoit.

REDUCING SPACE

Asindicatedearlierinthisguide,spaceandpowerusagearedirectlyrelated–itworksoutthatwaybecausespaceistypicallyfilledbyactiveequipmentthatrequirespower.Thisisbeingreiteratedhere,becausecolocationprovidersplanandbudgetfortargetedpower“densities,”typicallyexpressedaswattspersquarefoot(floorspace),orkilowattspercabinet,whichestablishesafixedrelationshipbetweenspaceandpower.Allpricingfollowsfromthere.

Ifyouareusingsubstantiallyallofthepoweryou’vepurchased,buthaveunusedspace,givinguptheunusedspacewilllikelysaveyounothing–andifyouareinprivatespacesuchasafullcabinet,givinguptheunusedspaceisnotpossiblewithoutmovingeverything.Fromthestandpointoftheprovider,youareusingallofyourassigneddensity–theycan’tdoanythingwiththeexcessspacebecausethepowerthatwouldnecessarilygowithitisalreadyused.

Ifyouhaveunusedpowertogoalongwiththeunusedspace,youmaybeabletorealizesavingsbygivingupboth(moreon

thisbelow).Otherwise,useyourexcessspaceforcoldstorageofredundantequipment,orspreadoutyourexistingequipmenttocreatespacesin‐betweenforincreasedairflow.

REDUCING POWER

Aswithbandwidth,itispossibletoover‐estimateyourpowerneedsattheoutset,thoughinrealitymanyclientstendtounderestimatetheirpowerrequirements.Ifyoufindyourselfwithexcesspower,reducingyourpowercommitcouldpotentiallyrealizesavings.Bearinmindthat(asmentionedabove),thereisarelationshipbetweenspaceandpowerinthedatacenter.Ifyouhavewhattheproviderconsiderstobetheminimalamountofpowerforyourspaceallocationorconfiguration,thentherewillbenooptionto“giveback”powerandsavemoney.Thisisespeciallytrueoffullcircuitcommits.Forinstance,ifyouhavea2kWcircuit(whichisthesmalleststandardcircuitinthevastmajorityofdatacenters)andyouareonlyusing1kW,there’slittlechanceofrealizingsavingsunlessyouhavea“netusage”contractforpower,whichistypicallyonlyofferedonverylargecommitsforprivatecageclients.Eveninthecaseofsmallersharedcabinetplans,ifyouareusingallofyourassignedspace,youwillmostlikelyberequiredtopayforthepowerthatcomeswithit,useitornot.

If(forpurposesofexample)youhaveadedicated3kWcircuitandhavedeterminedthatyoucangetbywitha2kWcircuit,youcouldpotentiallydowngradeandrealizesomesavings,butcostsforswitchingoutcircuitsandwiringmustbetakenintoconsideration.Ifyouhaveasharedcabinetplan

andareunderutilizingbothyourspaceandyoupower,youcouldpotentiallydowngradeandrealizesomesavings.

Whenconsideringreductionofpower(andperhapsspace),it’simportanttonotethattheprocessofgettingtheseresourcesback,shouldyouneedthemagainthefuture,couldbecumbersome!Unlikebandwidth,thesearelargelyphysicalassets,andchangingtheconfigurationineitherdirectioncaninvolvetime‐consumingmovementofequipmentand/orpowerconnections,withtheattendantdowntime.Youshouldbecertainthatyoureallydon’tneedspaceorpowerbeforeyoucommittogivingitup.

REDUCING IP ADDRESSES

IfyoufindthatyouhaveexcessIPaddressspace,youcouldexplorethepossibilityofgivingsomeifitback–butunlessyouarepayingasubstantialfeefortheuseoftheextraspace,it’sprobablynotworthit.Foronething,duetotheglobalIPv4exhaustionthathasbeenmentionednumeroustimesinthisguide,IPv4addressspaceispositionedtoonlybecomemoreofascarcityastimegoeson,andthatwillundoubtedlytranslateintohighercost.WhateveryouarepayingnowforthoseextraIPs,youareassuredtopayevenmoreifyouattempttogetthatsameamountofaddressspaceatsometimeinthefuture.ReducingyourIPspacecanalsobeatechnicalworkloadforyou,andmayincursomecosts(readon),soonlyconsidergivingupIPspaceifitrepresentsasubstantialunnecessarycost.

IfyoudodecidetoexploregivingupsomeIPspace,you’llneedtocontactyourprovidertoseewhatyouroptionsare.Ifyouhavemultiplesubnetsandoneismostly(orcompletely)

notinuse,returningthatsubnetcouldbearelativelyeasywaytoreduceyouroveralladdressspacecommit,andtypicallyproviderswillreclaimandun‐routeIPspacefromyourinterfaceatnocharge.Ifyouinsteadfindyourselfwithnoeasydivision,meaningyouhaveunusedIPsscatteredacrossoneormoresubnets,youwillhaveexactlytwooptions,andwitheitheroneyourworkwillbesubstantial:

1. YoumigrateoffofselectIPsinawaythatallowsyoutoreturnasubnet,orpartofasubnet,toyourprovider.Ifyouhavemorethanonesubnet,you’dwanttochangeyourIPusagesothatyoucompletelyvacateoneofthesubnets,thenyoucanreturnittotheproviderasdescribedabove.Ifyouhavejustonesubnet,youwouldneedtoconsolidateyourIPusagetoacontiguousblockofIPsatthelowendofthesubnetrange.Intheory,therangecanthenbesplit,andthechunk(s)thatcontaintheunusedIPscanbetakenbackbytheprovider.Thedetailsofthisprocessarebeyondthescopeofthisguide;sufficetosaythatthisapproachisqualifiedasbeing“intheory”,becauseit’sfeasibilitydependsuponthenumberofIPsyoucanfreeup,andwhetherornottheproviderisevenwillingtoallowyoutodoit.Thismethodwillalsorequireyoutodosomereconfigurationofnetworksettingsonyourequipment,andcouldresultalossofconnectivityuntilyoucompleteyourchanges.Yourprovidermaychargefortheirengineeringworktime–sointotal,youshouldgatherallinformationbeforegoingdownthisroad;

2. YourproviderissuesanewsmallerIPv4subnetofthedesiredtargetsizeandaddsittoyourinterface,

whilekeepingyourcurrentsubnet(s)active.YoumigrateallofyourdevicenetworksettingstothenewIPv4subnet.Youcanthenreturnthevacatedrange(s).

Asyoucansee,givingupIPaddressspacecanbeaninvolvedtask,that’swhyitshouldonlybeconsideredifthecostsavingsaresubstantial.Ifyouwishtolookintoit,beginadialogwithyourprovidertogetthefulldetailsofoptionsandcosts.

REDUCING OTHER SERVICES

Ifyouhavecontractedforotherservicesfromyourprimaryproviderortertiaryprovider(s)–extranetworkdrops,managedservices,roofrights,ITservices,etc.–andyouareunderutilizingtheseservices,ornolongerusingthematall,theyarealsocandidatesforreductionorremoval.Aswithotherservicefactorsdiscussedinthissection,it’seasytowasteadollartryingtosaveapennyifyouarenotcareful,soalwaysgatherallinformationandweighthecostsvsbenefitsbeforedecidingtogoahead.

EFFECTS OF SERVICE REDUCTION ON YOUR CONTRACT

The“when”and“if”ofservicecommitmentreductiondependentirelyuponthetermsunderwhichtheservicesweresecured:

Forservicesthatareundercontractwithatermcommit,youwillnotbeabletoreduceorremovetheservicesuntiltheendofthecurrentterm.Mostcontractshavenotificationrequirementsforwhenyou

donotwishtocontinuewiththeexistingsetofservicesbeyondtheendofthecurrentterm,socheckyourcontractforthecorrectprocedureandtiming.

Forservicesthatareonamonth‐to‐monthbasis,youshouldbeabletohavethemremovedattheendofthecurrentornextbillingcycle,dependingonceagainuponnoticerequirements.

Beawareoftheeffectonpricingoravailabilityofdependentservices!Forexample,theprovidermayhaveofferedyouapromotioninwhichyouget“Y”,eitherincludedinthebasepriceorforastatedpromotionalrate,whenyoubuy“X”accordingtosomecondition(s).Ifyoulaterremove“X”orchangetheconditions,then“Y”isnolongeravailable,orcanstillbehad,butatanincreasedpricewhichmaysubstantiallyreduceyoursavingsfromremoving“X”.Anotherinstancemightbeadiscountbasedonatotalmonthlyspend;iftheremovalorreductiondropsyourtotalspendbelowthatthreshold,yournetcostgoesup.Asmentionedbefore,it’seasytowasteadollartryingtosaveapenny!

TOPIC RECAP: PLANNING FOR REDUCTION

Whenmonitoringyourcolocation,monitorforunderutilizationsaswellasforoverages

Reducingbandwidthcommitistypicallyeasyfromatechnicalstandpoint,butit’sunlikelytosaveyou

moneyunlessyourexistingcommitiswellabovetheprovider’sminimum

Reducingspacecommitisunlikelytosaveyoumoneyunlessyoualsoreducepowerusage.Ifyouhaveaprivatespace,you’llneedtomovetoasmallerspacetoreducespacecommit

Reducingpowercommitcanpotentiallysaveyoumoney,thoughinsomeinstancesyoumayalsohavetoreducespaceusage,duetoestablishedfacilitypowerdensities.Reducingpowercommitonafullcircuitmostcommonlyrequiresorderingasmallercircuitandmigratingpowerconnections

ReducingIPspacecommitcanbeaccomplishedbygivingupunusedsubnet(s),splittingasubnet(ifproviderallowsit)ormigratingtoasmallersubnet.Dependingupontechniqueemployed,reducingIPspaceusagecanbetechnicallyinvolvedandcreatesomedowntime

Iftheservicesyouwishtoreduceorgiveupareundercontract,you’llhavetowaituntilendofcontractterm(withnotice)tomakethechanges.Beawareofdependentpricinganddiscountsthatcouldbeaffected

PlanningForTermination

Allthingseventuallycometoanend,andforanynumberofpossiblereasonssuchwillbethecasewithyourcolocation.Whetherduetoachangingbusinessclimate,migrationtoanewtechnology,orsimplyacaseofnolongerbeingneeded,herearethethingsyouneedtoconsiderwhenwindingdownandterminatingacolocation.

PROVIDING NOTICE IN CONFORMANCE WITH YOUR SERVICE AGREEMENT

Whenyouestablishedservicewithyourprovider(s),yousignedoneormoregoverningagreementswhichspecifiedthetermsandconditionsofservice,includingtheproperprocedurefortermination.Earlierinthisguideitwasrecommendthatyousetupcalendarremindersthattriggerinadvanceofyourcontracttermend/renewaldate(s),sothatyouhaveampletimetodealwithanychangingneeds,andcandosoincompliancewithcontractrequirementsfornotice.

Tonotifyprovider(s)ofyourintenttodiscontinueserviceatendofterm,consulttherelevantlanguageinyouragreement(s)andprovidenoticeasprescribed.Someproviderswillacceptanemailorsupportticketasnotice,othersmayrequiresignedletteronyourcompanyletterhead,andstillothersmayhaveaformthatyoumustcomplete.Whateverthecasemaybe,besuretogetanacknowledgementfromtheproviderthatyournoticehasbeenreceived.Mostproviderswillincludeadditionalinstructionsanddetailswiththeconfirmation,pertainingto

anyoutstandingbalancesthatmustbesettled,move‐outprocedures,etc.

Ifyoufailtoprovidenoticeasrequired,youmaybestuckwithanothertermofservice,sotheimportanceofkeepingtrackofmilestonedatesforyourservicecannotbeemphasizedenough!

TRANSITIONING OF CONTINUING SERVICES

Sometimesacolocationisdiscontinued,buttheservicesthatitsupportswillcontinuetobeservedviasomeothermethodortechnology.Forexample,ifyourbusinessorclientswereacquiredinamergerorpurchase,thenewownermayhaveanexistinginfrastructurewhichrendersyourcolocationredundant,andintendstomigrateservicesforthoseclientstotheirinfrastructure.Anotherexamplemightincludemigratingservicesfromyourcolocationtoacloud‐basedsolution.Sometimesthecolocationitselfisbeingrelocated,forreasonsofgeographicaldiversity,proximitytoagivenlocation,orarangeofotherpotentialreasons.

ThemostsignificantissuewithtransitionssuchastheseisthattheunderlyingIPaddress(es)fortheserviceswillalmostcertainlyhavetochange.UnlessyouarefortunateenoughtohaveyourowndirectIPallocationfromanumberauthoritysuchasARIN,theIPsyoureceivedwhenyouestablishedyourcolocationserviceareonloantoyoufromyourprovider.Whenyouleave,youdonotgettotakethemwithyou.

Thesolutiontothisissueistouseoff‐siteDNSinsteadofIPaddressesforservicesaccesswhereverpossible.Thatway,movingservicesfromoneIPaddresstoanotheronlyrequiresachangetoaDNSrecord,makingthechangetransparenttoendusers.Doingthisinacoordinatedwaycaneliminatetheneedforanysignificantoverlaptime,allowinga“cleanbreak”fromyouroldservicetonew.Utilizinganoff‐siteDNSservice,suchasoneprovidedbyyourdomainregistrar,oranyofthemanythird‐partyhostedDNSservicesoutthere,ensuresthatDNSserviceisavailablecontinuouslythroughanyinterruptionsthatcouldresultfromthetransition.

EQUIPMENT REMOVAL

Onceyou’venotifiedyourproviderofyourintenttoterminateatterm’send,andhavesatisfiedanyoutstandingbills,you’llneedtomakearrangementstovacateyourcolocationspace.Yourprovidershouldtellyouthedatebywhichthismustbecompleted,andmostwillallowanearliermove‐outifyouhavepaidoffallobligations.Ifyou,oroneofyourcolleagues,arenotabletovisitthefacilitytoremovetheequipment,youmaybeabletogetun‐rackingandreturnshippingservicefromyourprovider.Availabilityofthisservicevariesfromprovidertoprovider,andtherewillbecostsinvolved;inquirewithyourprovidertolearnmore.Failingthat,youcantypicallyhireanITconsultanttodoequipmentremovalifyouareunavailabletodoityourself;you’lljustneedtogetthemphysicalaccesstoyourequipmentandprovideinstructions.

Whathappensifyouareunabletoremoveallequipmentbeforethedeadline?Thatdependsuponyourproviderandthetermsoftheircontract.Mostproviderswilltrytobesomewhatflexibleandaccommodatingintheshortterm(ifyouraccountisingoodstanding),butcircumstancesmaynotallowthat.Forinstance,thespaceyouarevacatingmayhaveanew‘tenant’waitingtomovein,withahardstartdatethatcannotbemoved.Inmostcases,atminimumtheproviderwillsuspendyournetworkingservicesattheendoftheterm,whetheryourequipmenthasbeenmovedoutornot.Theprovidermayalsosuspendpowerserviceorpowerdownyourequipment,aspowerusageisahardcostthatyouaretechnicallynolongerpayingfor.

Insomecircumstances,suchasanextendeddelayoranimmediateneedtoclearthecolocationspace,theprovidermaytakeituponthemselvestoun‐rackyourequipmentandrelocateittoastoragelocation.Dependingupontheirpolicies,youcouldbefinanciallyliablefortheun‐rackinglabor,storagecharges,both,orneither.

Thereareacoupleofotherpotentialoutcomes–again,dependentuponprovidertermsandpolicies‐thatyouneedtobeawareof.Someprovidershavean“out‐of‐contractsurcharge”specifiedintheiragreement:ifyoudonotrenewyourcontractatterm’send,butalsodonotmoveout,yourservicecontinuesonamonth‐to‐monthbasis,butatasignificantlyhighercost.Providersthatutilizeauto‐renewingcontractsmayhaveapolicysuchthat,noticetoterminatenotwithstanding,yourcontractrenewsforanothertermifyouarenotoutbytheendofthecurrentterm.

Thetake‐away,asalways,istoknowallthedetailsofyourservicepertainingtotermination,milestones,deadlinesanddelays,soyoucanmakeaninformeddecisiononhowtoproceed.

DISPOSING OF EQUIPMENT

Onceacolocationhasbeendiscontinued,whatdoyoudowiththeequipment?Theanswersvarywidely.Someoftheserversandotherhardwarecanpotentiallyberepurposedforotheruses–andifyourcolocationisbeingmigratedtoanothersite,someoftheequipmentcouldbeusefulthere.

Failingthat,youcanlookintosellingit.EBayhasbecomeagiganticmarketplaceforsecond‐handserversandnetworkingequipment.Aquicksearchforsimilarunitswillgiveyouanideaofwhatkindofpriceyourequipmentmayfetch.However,don’t’betooshockedifthedollarfiguresaremuchlowerthanexpected;computersandelectronicsdepreciatefasterthanjustaboutanything.

Ifyoucan’tusetheequipmentanddon’twanttodealwithsellingit,thenlookintoane‐wasterecyclingprogram.Justabouteverymetroareahasone,andyoucanstartbyinquiringwithyourprovider:theymayworkwitharecycler,orhavetheirownin‐houseprogram.

TOPIC RECAP: PLANNING FOR TERMINATION

Providenoticeinconformancewiththetermsofyourserviceproviderandgetanacknowledgement

Sinceyouwillloseuseoftheprovider’sIPaddressspace,useDNStoforwardalltrafficforanycontinuingservicestothenewhost

Makearrangementstoyouhaveyourequipmentun‐rackedandmovedoutnolaterthantheprovider’sspecifieddeadline

Ifyouwillnotrepurposetheequipment,sellitorputitintoane‐wasterecyclingprogram

CONCLUSION

Conclusion

Ifyou’vearrivedatthispoint,we’llassumethatyou’vereadallthewaythroughthisguide.Congratulations!There’salotofmaterialheretoabsorb,andsoaftertakingabreatherforacoupleofdaysit’sstronglyrecommendedthatyougiveitasecondread.Studieshaveshownthatrepetitioniskeyforretention.

Thisguidecouldhaveeasilybeentwiceaslong(ormore),andfutureeditionsmayexpandonsometopicsorincludenewmaterial.Thelimitedfocusofthisfirsteditionwastocovertheinformationthatwouldbeimportantandrelevantforthevastmajorityofcolocationprojects.Afterreadingthisguide,youshouldbewellpreparedtodiscussandevaluateserviceoptionswithproviders,planacolocationproject,andmanagethedeploymentandmaintenanceofacolocationprojecttotheendofitslifecycle.However,youshouldanticipatetheneedforassistancealongtheway.

Whilequitecomprehensiveoverall,thisguideisnosubstituteforpersonalassistancefromindustryprofessionals.Whilecolocationprojectsareoften‐timesstraightforward,complicationscanarise,andcontingencyplanningisalwaysabigpartofthepicture.Workingwithqualifiedindustryprofessionalswillgoalongwaytowardsensuringsuccessandminimizingupsetsordisruptions.

Itisexpectedthatyoureadthisguidebecauseyouareresearchingthefeasibilityofdeployingacolocation,orarealreadyintheplanningstages.Jumpinandgetstarted!Thebestlearningcomesfromdoing.

BONUSMATERIAL

BONUS MATERIAL

BonusMaterial

Whatfollowsisaselectionofbonusmaterialwhichwe’vebundledwiththisspecialprinteditionoftheColocationSurvivalGuide.SomeofthismaterialrevisitstopicscoveredpreviouslyintheGuide,withadditionalinformationoragreaterlevelofdetail.Othermaterialdelvesintocompletelynewtopicsthatnonethelesshavethepotentialtoaugmentthereader’sunderstandingofoneormorefacetsofthetotalcolocationpicture.We’veroughlygroupedthematerialintothreemaincategories:PhysicalLayer,NetworkLayer,andMiscellaneous.

Wehopethatyoufindthisbonusmaterialuseful.IfyouwouldliketogetmoremateriallikethisdeliveredtoyouremailInbox,simplyvisithttps://www.datacate.net,andusethenewslettersubscriptionformthatappearsatthebottomrightcornerofanypagetosignupforourinformativeperiodicemails.

BONUS MATERIAL

PhysicalLayer

COLOCATION AND MANAGED HOSTING COMPARED

Ifyou’veeverregisteredadomainname,theregistrarprobablyofferedtohostyourwebsiteforasmallfee.Ormaybeyousignedupwithathird‐partyhostingcompany,eitheroneofthe‘freewebsitehosting’vendorsoronethatchargesafee,andreceivedan‘account’withwhichyoucouldcreateoruploadyourwebsitecontent,setupemailboxes,andsoon?Ineithercase,whatyoureceivedwasaManagedHostingaccount.Simplyput,thismeansthatthehostingprovider‘managed’everythingthatwasrequiredtogiveyouanonlinepresenceforyourwebsite–thehardware(webserverandnetworkingequipment),software(webserverandemailsoftware,sitecreationsoftware),theinternetbackboneconnection,maintenance,upgrades,backups,andsoon.Oncesignedup,allyouhadtodowascreateyourwebpages,setupyouremailboxes,andorderanyotheradditionalservicesyouwanted.

Incidentally,theabovescenariodescribedatypicalsharedhostingaccount–whichjustmeansthatmanycustomerssuchasyourselfsharedspaceandresourcesonasingleserver,whichhasbeendesignedtohostmultipleaccountssimultaneously.Analternativetothisisadedicatedhostingaccount,oftenreferredtoasadedicatedserver,orinsomecases,avirtualprivateserver.Aswithsharedhosting,yourproviderownsandmanagesthehardware,andtakescareofalltheinfrastructuredetails(networkingandinternetconnectivity),backupsandmaintenance.Butinthiscase,theentireserverisdedicatedforjustyouruse.Typically,the

BONUS MATERIAL

softwareinstalledontheserverwillallowyoutohostmorethanonewebsite,andoftenyouareallowedsomecontroloverhowtheserveritselffunctions,whichisNOTthecasewithsharedaccounts.Therearevariationsinbetweensharedanddedicatedhosting–offeringscalled‘virtualdedicated’and‘resellershared’andsoon,butsufficetosaythattheyarealldifferentformsofManagedHosting.

Colocationisaverydifferentanimal.Withcolocation,youpurchaseandownboththehardware(servers)andsoftwarethatwillhostyourwebpresence,ANDyouareresponsibleforproperlysettingupandconfiguringboth.Dependinguponyourneeds,youmayalsopurchaseanetworkdeviceortwo(switch,router,firewall,vpnappliance,etc.)tomanagetrafficinandoutofyourservers.Usuallythesearenotsoldtoyoubythecolocationprovider,nordotheydictatewhatyoucanorcannotbuy–youarefreetochoosethecombinationthatbestfitsyourneeds.Onceready,youinstallyourequipmentatthecolocationprovider’sdatacenter.Theymayprovideassistancewiththis,butnormallythisisyourresponsibility.Theyprovideyouwithspaceinadatacabinetintheirfacility,powerforyourequipment,IPaddressesforyouruse(oracross‐connecttoadedicatedcarrierifyouarebringingyourownbandwidth),andanuplinkportforyoutoconnectyourequipmenttotheirnetwork,whichleadstotheInternet.Thebetterfacilitiesarestaffed24/7,andwilloffersomebasicsupportonrequest,butyouareresponsiblefortheupkeepofyourequipment,andwillbeallowedphysicalaccesswheneveryouneedit.Thecolocationproviderisresponsibleforthesecurityandupkeepofthefacility,sothatthespace,powerandbandwidththattheyprovideyouarenotcompromised.

BONUS MATERIAL

Let’stakeamomenttodiscuss‘bandwidth’abitmore–partofanyonlinepresenceisthatall‐importantpathwaytotheInternet.Withmanagedhosting,Internetbandwidthisanintegralpartoftheoffering,withtheonlyquestionsbeinghowmuchinitialbandwidthyouneed,ratesforoverages,etc.Inthecaseofcolocation,bandwidthmaynotbeautomaticallyincludedintheprovider’soffering.Manycolocationprovidershavea‘house’bandwidthoffering,whichwilltypicallybeablendoftwoormoremajorInternettrafficcarriers,thattheycandelivertoyoucolospaceatareasonablecost.Formanycolocationprojects,thehouseofferingmaybeallthatisneeded.Colocationdatacenterswilltypicallyhaveseveralmajorcarriers‘on‐Net’,meaningthatthecarriershaveactiveservicealreadypresentinthefacility.Ifyouprefertogetservicefromoneofthesecarriers,eitherinsteadof,orinadditionto,thefacilityhouseblend,youcanorderservicedirectlyfromthecarrier,thengetanetworkcross‐connectfromthefacilitythatwilldeliverthecarrierbandwidthtoyoucolospace.Dependinguponthetypesofservicesandamountofbandwidthneeded,oneoptionmaybemoreaffordableormakemoreoverallsensethantheother–somethingthatyoumustdetermine.

Asyoucansee,Colocationismuchmoreofahands‐on,do‐it‐yourselfsolution,asopposedtoManagedHosting.It’scalled‘colocation’becauseyouactlikeyouownmanagedhost,co‐locatingyourequipmentinadatacenter,insteadof,say,tryingtohostityourselffromyourhomeorofficeinternetconnection(notrecommendedifyouwantgoodthroughputandstability!).

BONUS MATERIAL

IS COLOCATION YOUR BEST CHOICE?

WithColocation,youprovidetheserverhardware(andsometimesnetworkinghardware)andtheexpertisetoconfigureandmaintainit–yourcolocationvendorprovidesthedatacentercabinetspace,power,security,environmentalcontrols,andinmostcasestheInternetconnectivityandIPaddressspace.YouralternativetocolocationwouldbesomekindofManagedHosting,eitherphysical,virtualoracombinationofthetwo,inwhichyourprovidersuppliesthehostingplatformandyouneedonlybeconcernedwiththeservicesyouwillrun.Therearemany,manyfactorsthatwillgointodecidingwhichsolutionmakesthemostsenseforyou,makingitnearlyimpossibletoemployasimple‘checklist’approach.But,therearesomemajorconsiderationswhichcangetyougoingintherightdirection,asfollows.

YouNeedRobustOrCustomHardwareAnd/orLotsOfBandwidth.AbiglimitationofManagedHostingisthatyourproviderwilltypicallyselectthehardwareandsoftwarethatyouget,thoughtheymaygiveyousomechoicesastothe‘class’ofproduct.Ifyouonlywishtohostasimplehomepage,almostanybasicserversetupwilldo.Butifyouneedtohostdatabaseapplications,audio/videostreaming,websiteslikesearchenginesandportalswhichgeneratelotsoftraffic,onlineapplications,oranythingelsethatrequireslotsofbandwidthorhardwareresources,typicalmanagedsolutionsarelikelytocomeupshort.WithColocation,YOUareincontrolandcanimplementthehardwareandsoftwarethatwillgiveyouthemostbangforyourbuck–andyoucangetitfromthevendorofyourchoice.Whiletheinitialentrycost

BONUS MATERIAL

foraColocationplancanbehighascomparedtoasimplemanagedplan,you’llgenerallyfindthat,whendealinginlargeamountsofbandwidth,you’llgetabetterdealwithColocation.

YouNeedToSetUpServerClusters,LoadBalancing,RedundantHardware,Etc.Thesekindsofthingswilllikelyrequireacustom‐tailoredsolution.Whilesomevendorsspecializesinthiskindofservice,mostmanagedhostingprovidersemployacookie‐cutterapproachtohostthousandsofaccountsinexpensively;enterprise‐classstufflikethisisusuallytooexoticforthem.Colocationallowsyoutousemultipleservers,dedicatedinternetappliances(suchasfirewalls,loadbalancers,etc.)andcustomdevices,andtointerconnecttheseasyouseefit,evencreatingyourownmini‐network,whichyouthenuplinktothepublicinternetusingtheinterfaceprovidedbyyourColocationvendor.

YouNeedToHostContentOrServicesNotAllowedByMostManagedHostingProviders.ItisnotuncommonforManagedHostingproviderstoplacerestrictionsonthetypesofcontentandservicestheywillletyouhost.Manywillnotallowanyadultcontent,orhostingofIRCchannels,forinstance.Ontheotherhand,Colocationserviceprovidersgenerallywillallowanycontentorservice,aslongasit’slegal.

YouNeedADedicatedTelcoLineToYourServer(s).Ifyousimplywantadedicatedlineforremotecontrolormonitoring,oryouaresettingupaVoIPserver,aVPN,joiningtoanMPLS,orsomeotherspecialnetworkingapplication,aColocationprovider–especiallyonewhousesacarrier‐

BONUS MATERIAL

neutralfacility(meaningthatthefacilityisavailableforservicefromalltelcos),regularlydoesthisandwillbeabletoaccommodateyou.

YouWantFreedomFromArbitraryOrCostlyLimits.Asyoumayhavegleanedatthispoint,ManagedHostingproviderswilltypicallyimposearangeoflimitsonyourservice.Theymayseeminsignificantatfirst,butwhenyoufindyourselfbumpingupagainstlimitsonthenumberofdomainsyoucanhost,typesofservicesorcontentyoucanuse,processoroverheadavailabletoyou,IPaddressesavailabletoyou,etc.,thingscangetfrustrating–andiftheselimitscanbelifted,youwillpayfortheprivilege!Colocationtypicallyimposesnosuchlimits–youwillpaymoreifyourpower/cabinetspaceorbandwidthusageincreases,butyouwillenjoy‘bulkrates’thatwillbecomeevenmorecost‐effectiveasyougrow.

YouWant/needToBeInControl.Therecouldbeathousandreasonswhy,butthebottomlineisthatYOUwanttobeinthedriver’sseatofyourInternetpresenceproject.Colocationputsyouthere.

BONUS MATERIAL

U’S, CABINETS, RACKS AND CAGES

Thesmallestmeasurementofdatacenterspaceistherack/cabinetUnit,typicallyreferredtoasa“U”.Datacentercabinets,whichresemblelargelockers,aswellastheiropenrackcousins,aredesignatedashavingafixed19″usableinternalwidth(whichisactuallyless,aswe’llexplainbelow).Thedepthofthecabinetsvaryabitbymanufacturer,with36inchesbeingquitecommon,thoughsomeareasdeepas42inches.Thecabinet/rack“U”definesthethirddimension:height.OneUisasliceofcabinetorrackspacethatisthefulldepthandwidth,andexactly1.75incheshigh.Dataracksandcabinetsusethesame“U”designation–thechiefdifferencebetweendatacabinetsanddataracksisthatracksareopen(nosidewalls),whilecabinetsareclosedonallsides.Secondarily,somerackshaveonlyonemountingpointoneachside,locatedinthecenteroftherack–thisiswhat’scommonlyknownasa“2post”rack.Datacabinetsarealmostoutfittedwithtwopairsofposts,onefrontandonerear,knownasa“4post”configuration(someopenracksarealsosuppliedinthe4postversion).Racksaretypicallyonlysuppliedforuseinsideprivatecages(seebelow),sounlessyouareshoppingforacage,you’llbegettingcabinetspace.

Wikipediahasagoodarticleon19″datarackswhichisworthreadingifyouhavethetime–youcanfinditathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19‐inch_rack.Colocationproviderswhoallowsharedcabinetusage(purchasingfractionalspaceinacabinetthatalsocontainsotherclients’equipment)willsellyouspaceinoneormoreU’s.Rackmount‐readyequipmentisdesignedtoworkwiththesedivisions–inshoppingforequipmentyouwillfindthatthe

BONUS MATERIAL

formfactoroftheequipmentchassisisdesignatedas“1U”,“2U”,“4U”etc.Thistellsyouexactlyhowmuchdatacabinetspaceisrequiredtoaccommodatethatunit,sodeterminingyourtotalspacerequirementsisasimplematterofaddinguptheformfactorsofallofyourequipment.Privatecabinetspaces,whicharemostcommonlyavailablein1/2‐cabinetandfullcabinetconfigurations,willvaryinsizeslightlybymanufacturer,butingeneralwillbenolessthan20Ufora1/2cabinet,and42Uforafullcabinet.

Theverticalmountingpostsmentionedearlierarelocatedinsideofthe19″horizontalwidthofthecabinetorrack.Rackmountequipmentisdesignedtofitbetweentheseverticalposts,soconsequentlythewidthofanyrackmountchassisisnomorethanapproximately17.5inches.Rackmountequipmentisdesignedtousethemountinghardwaretypicallysuppliedwiththeequipment:wingbrackets,fixedorslidingrails,orboth.Iftheequipmentthatneedstobeco‐locateddoesnothaverack/cabinetmountinghardware,theusualsolutionistomountadatacabinetshelffortheequipmenttoreston.Thisislessdesirablethanhavingthepropermountinghardware,butisaworkablesolution.

Onemorethingaboutverticalmountingposts–themostcommonconfigurationsaresquare‐hole,orthreadedround‐hole,eachwithfourholesperU.Mostmodernrackmounthardwareisdesignedasa‘snapin’fitforthesquare‐holeconfiguration,buttherearestilltheoddsituationswheretheneedtouseafasteningboltrequiresathreadedroundhole.Notsolongagotheoppositewastrue,andthereforthethreadedroundholepostswereconsidereddesirable,astheywerethemostflexible.Thesedays,the

BONUS MATERIAL

square‐holeconfigurationisalmostcertainlythefirstchoice.Intheraremountingsituationthatrequiresathreadedhole,racknutsthatsnapintosquareholesareeasilyobtained–manydatacenterskeepthemonhandforjustsuchanoccasion.

Forverylargecolocationdeployments,onemaylookbeyondoneorevenseveralfullcabinets,andinsteadconsideraprivatecage.Thiskindofspaceisjustwhatitsoundslike–afullyenclosedwirecagewithalockingmetaldoor,towhichonlythecolocationcustomeranddesignatedfacilitystaffhaveaccess.WherecabinetspaceisrentedbytheUorbyunitofprivatespace(1/2caborfullcab),cagespaceistypicallyrentedbythesquarefoot.Sincecagespacesareprivate,youcanuseopenracksinsidecagesinsteadofenclosedcabinetstoholdyourequipment–doingsocanmakeaccesstoequipmentabiteasierandpromotemoreevencooling.Cagespaceisnotforeveryone–theentrypricepointforacage,whichwilltypicallybe100squarefeetatminimum,isgenerallymuchhigherthanforothertypesofcolo.Cagesprovideunmatchedflexibilitywhenitcomestohowyoustackyourequipmentandallocatepower,andifavailablespaceallowsityoucanevensetupasmallworkstationinsideyourcage.

BONUS MATERIAL

NetworkLayer

MEGABITS AND GIGABYTES

Ifyoucurrentlyuseanykindofhosting,oryou’vebeenlookingintoit,youknowthatoneoftheimportantconsiderationsishowmuch‘bandwidth’(sometimesreferredtoas‘traffic’or‘transfer’)yougetwithagivenplan–inotherwords,howbusyyoursitecangetbeforeyouexceedyourallotment.Nearlyallhostingplanswillspecifyafixedamountofbandwidth,usuallyonamonthlybasis,withtheirplans–themoreexpensiveplanstypicallygettingmorebandwidthincluded.Ifyoursite(s)becomebusyenoughtoexceedthistrafficlimitinanygivenmonth,youwillbeassessedanoverage,andpayforthedifference,thoughyoumayinsteadbeofferedtoupgradetoaplanthatincludesmorebandwidth.

ManagedHostingproviderswillmostcommonlyexpressthesebandwidthlimitsinunitscalled‘Gigabytes‘,abbreviatedas‘GB‘.ButifyouareevaluatingColocationplansthatincludebandwidth,oraseparatebandwidthplanfromacarrier,youwillmostcommonlyfindbandwidthbeingexpressedinunitscalled‘Megabits‘,whichiscommonshorthandforMegabits‐per‐second,abbreviatedas‘Mbps‘.SomeColocationprovidersdopricebandwidthinGB,butitislesscommon.

IfyouareusedtothinkingintermsofGigabytes,thiscanbeconfusing.Whythedifference?WhatexactlydoesMegabits‐per‐secondmean,andhowdoesitcomparetoGigabytes?Well,MegabitsandGigabytesarebothmeasuretraffic,buttheydoitindifferentways,asfollows:

BONUS MATERIAL

Megabits‐per‐secondisameasurementoftherateoftrafficacrossacertainpoint(youruplinkconnectioninacolocationdatacenter,forexample).Giventhetimeconstantofonesecond,agreaternumberofbitsacrosstheinterfaceindicatesanincreaseintraffic.AMegabitisjustoveronemillionbits,andisequivalentto128kilobytes(eightbitsequalonebyte).So,togiveyousomethingofaconcretepicture,ifyouhadawebsitewithanaveragewebpagesizeofabout50kilobytes,anditwasconstantlyserving2to3webpagespersecondaroundtheclock,thatwebsitewouldbedoingapproximately1Mbpsoftraffic.

SincetheswitchesandroutersthatprovideyouwithaconnectiontotheInternethavebuilt‐incounterstocaptureratedata,measuringitandloggingitisastraightforwardtask.YouractualtrafficusageinMbpsistypicallyevaluatedoveramonth’stimebyyourconnectivityprovider,andmostproviderswillusethe95thpercentilemethodtoarriveatthefinalnumber(moreaboutthatlater).Megabits‐per‐secondcanbechartedonanX‐Ygraph,withtheverticalaccessrepresentingthedatarate,andthehorizontalaccessrepresentingthepassageoftime,likethis:

BONUS MATERIAL

Asyoucansee,theabovegraphshowsthevaryingtrafficratesovera24‐hourperiod,basedonsamplestakeneveryfiveminutesandalsogives,peak,averageandcurrentvaluesfordatainbothdirections.

Incontrast,Gigabytesaresimplyacumulativetotalofthebytesofdatainandoutofacertainpoint.TrafficthatismeasureisGigabytesiscommonlyreferredtoas‘transfer‘,sinceitisameasurementoftheamountdatatransferredinandoutofyourwebsiteornetworkinterface,irrespectiveofthespeedofthetransfer.Theoretically,thenumberiscomputedbydirectlytallyingallbytesastheygoinandout.Inpractice,usuallyonemonth’sworthoftrafficwillbetalliedtoarriveatthefinalnumber–andtoseeifitexceedstheGigabytespermonththatwasincludedwithyourhostingplan.

OneGigabyteisequaltojustoveronemillionKilobytes–soasyoucanimagine,computingtrafficinthismannerforabusywebsitecanbecumbersome!Inpractice,hostingcompanieswillusuallyuseavarietyoftechniques,includingscanningoflogfiles,orconvertingratedata(Mbps)toGigabytesbywayofaformula.Theendresult,whilenotentirelyinaccurate,mustoftenbeconsideredanapproximation.

So,tosumup,Mbpsexpressesadatarateorspeed,GBexpressesatotalamountofdata.Isonemethodbetterthantheother?Notnecessarily.Abitofadjustmentinthinkingisneededwhenswitchingbetweenthetwo.1Mbpssustainedovera30‐dayperiodisequivalenttojustover320GB,soonecanusethatasabasisforcomparingbandwidthpricing.Itis

BONUS MATERIAL

importanttokeepinmindthattrafficrateswillebbandflowconstantlyovertime,sothatyieldispurelyhypothetical!

IP SUBNETS

Ifyou’velookedintocolocationbefore,youmayhavefoundthat,whenitcomestogettingIPaddressesforyourequipment,thecolocationserviceproviderornetworkcarrierhasindicatedthattheywillassignyouoneormoresubnetsforyouruse.Whatdoesthatmean?

AnIP‘subnet‘(shortfor‘subnetwork‘),isjustagroupofcontiguousIPaddressesofapre‐determinedsizethathasbeencarvedoutofalargergroupofIPs,inawaythatallowsittobetreatedseparatelyfromthosethatcomebeforeandafterit.Thereisamoreconcisetechnicalexplanationtobesure,butit’sreallynotnecessarytogointothat.Theimportantpointisthat,ratherthangivingyouarandomscatteringofIPsfromwidelyvaryingranges,asubnetisauniformchunkofaddresses,allfromthesamerange,assignedsolelytoyou.Thesizeofthesubnetcanbevaried,fromaslittleasasingleIPaddress,onuptothousandsormillions…butinalllikelihood,yourproviderwillassignyouasubnetofperhapseight,16,or32IPaddresses,dependinguponhowmanyyoucanjustify.

WhenyougetanIPsubnet,you’llfindthatnotalltheIPsintherangecanbeusedashosts.Oneormoreoftheaddressesareusedforinternalnetworkingtasksthatareimportanttomakingsub‐nettingpossible.HowmayIPsarereservedinasubnetwillvarybythenumberingversion(v4orv6–moreonthisnext)andhowthenetisconfiguredandroutedforyouruse.

BONUS MATERIAL

Thesizeofasubnet–meaningthenumberofIPsincludedinthesubnet–isdeterminedbyapplyinganetworkmask(commonlycalledanetmask).ThenetmaskisessentiallyanumberstringthatfollowsthedottednotationusedbyIPaddresses.Alongernetworkmaskwill‘blackout’moreofarange,resultinginasmallersubnet(fewerusableIPs).Ashorternetmaskwillresultinalargersubnet(moreIPs).Auniquesubnetisdenotedbyitsnetworkaddress,followedbya‘/’,followedbythelengthofitssubnetmask,i.e.192.168.1.0/24(v4),fd7e:e657:486d:9bcf::/64(v6).

IPV4 ADDRESSES

TheIPv4addressingschemeisthe“original”IPnumberingmethodemployedinthepublicInternet(andstillinusetoday),whichistheschememostpeoplearepassinglyfamiliarwith.IfsomeoneasksyoufortheIPaddressofyourdesktopcomputer,serverorotherdevice,theyinvariableareaskingfortheIPv4address.

IPv4usesastringoffournumbers,eachrangingfrom0to255,joinedbydots,i.e.192.168.111.200.ThechartbelowshowsatypicalrangeofIPv4subnetsizes–a“classC”isanothernamefora/24,whichcontains256uniqueaddresses.Notethat‘hosts’indicateshowmanyoftheIPsintherangewouldbeusablebyyouoncethereservedaddresses(mentionedinprevioustopic)aretakenaway.Thiscountincludesthegatewayaddress,whichistechnicallyassignedtoyou,butcannotbeusedasahostinitsgatewayrole–sosubtractonefromhoststogetthetrueminimumnumberofusableaddresses:

BONUS MATERIAL

NET ADDRESSES HOSTS NETMASK N/CLASS C

/30 4 2 255.255.255.252 1/64

/29 8 6 255.255.255.248 1/32

/28 16 14 255.255.255.240 1/16

/27 32 30 255.255.255.224 1/8

/26 64 62 255.255.255.192 1/4

/25 128 126 255.255.255.128 1/2

/24 256 254 255.255.255.0 1

/23 512 510 255.255.254.0 2

/22 1024 1022 255.255.252.0 4

/21 2048 2046 255.255.248.0 8

/20 4096 4094 255.255.240.0 16

/19 8192 8190 255.255.224.0 32

/18 16384 16382 255.255.192.0 64

/17 32768 32766 255.255.128.0 128

/16 65536 65534 255.255.0.0 256

Thissystemallowsamaximumof4,294,967,296possibleuniqueaddresses.20+yearsagoitwasgenerallybelievedthattheworldwouldneverneedanywherenearthatmanyIPaddresses.

Fast‐forwardtotoday–asofmid‐summerof2015,ARIN(agoverningbodytaskedwithhandingoutIPaddressestocarriers,ISPsandlargeend‐users)haslessthan50,000IPv4addressesleft,andhasenteredthe4thandfinalphaseoftheirIPv4depletioncountdownplan.ClearlythehungerforIPaddressspacefarexceededtheexpectationsofthoseearlypioneers.

Whatdoesthismeantotheprospectivecolocationclient?IPv4isstillthedefactostandardaddressingschemeontheInternet,andwillbeusedandsupportedforyearstocome,butIPv6–thesuccessorschemewhichwewilldiscussnext–willneedtobeanactivepartofyourcolocationstrategy.Be

BONUS MATERIAL

preparedtosupportandimplementIPv6inyourcolocationsetup.Furthermore,don’texpectyourprovidertobeparticularlygenerouswithIPv4space.Youmayfindthattheyofferyouaveryminimalamountofv4space,withanyadditionalspacerequiringwrittenjustificationandanadditionalmonthlyfee.

Finally,ifyouareconsideringaproviderwhois(still!)notrunningaproductionv6network,moveon.Theyarenotworthyourtime.

IPV6 ADDRESSES

Overthelastfewyears,providersofInternetserviceshavebeenactivelyworkingonrollingoutsupportforthenextgenerationofIPaddressing,namedIPv6.TheIPv6addressspaceismanyordersofmagnitudelargerthantheolderv4space.IPv6addressesuseeightgroupsofhexadecimalnumbersjoinedbycolonstoexpressauniqueaddress.BecauseIPv6addressesaresolong,ashortenednotationisallowedinwhichconsecutivegroupsofzerovaluescanbesummarizedwithadoublecolon.Forexample,fd7e:e657:486d:9bcf:0000:0000:0000:0001canbemoresimplywrittenasfd7e:e657:486d:9bcf::1.TheIPv4addressingschemeallowsamind‐blowing340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456possibleuniqueaddresses.IPv6alsoimplementsnewmethodsdesignedtomakeiteasierv6addressesanddatapacketstofindtheirwayaroundnearbydevicesandtheInternetatlarge.

IPv6usesasub‐nettingschemethatissimilartothev4schemeonthesurface.Certainsubnetsizeshavebeen

BONUS MATERIAL

designatedasbeingthedefaultforagivenentitytype(i.e.,“residential”,“business”,“ISP”),butaswithv4,subnetsizescanbetailoredtoaparticularneedaslongastechnicalrequirementsareconformedto.AtableoftypicalIPv6subnetsizes:

IPv6 CIDR Subnet Number of IPs

/128 1

/127 2

/126 4

/125 8

/124 16

/123 32

/122 64

/121 128

/120 256

/119 512

/118 1,024

/117 2,048

/116 4,096

/115 8,192

/114 16,384

/113 32,768

/112 65,536

/111 131,072

/110 262,144

/109 524,288

/108 1,048,576

/107 2,097,152

/106 4,194,304

/105 8,388,608

/104 16,777,216

/103 33,554,432

/102 67,108,864

BONUS MATERIAL

/101 134,217,728

/100 268,435,456

/99 536,870,912

/98 1,073,741,824

/97 2,147,483,648

/96 4,294,967,296

/95 8,589,934,592

/94 17,179,869,184

/93 34,359,738,368

/92 68,719,476,736

/91 137,438,953,472

/90 274,877,906,944

/89 549,755,813,888

/88 1,099,511,627,776

/87 2,199,023,255,552

/86 4,398,046,511,104

/85 8,796,093,022,208

/84 17,592,186,044,416

/83 35,184,372,088,832

/82 70,368,744,177,664

/81 140,737,488,355,328

/80 281,474,976,710,656

/79 562,949,953,421,312

/78 1,125,899,906,842,624

/77 2,251,799,813,685,248

/76 4,503,599,627,370,496

/75 9,007,199,254,740,992

/74 18,014,398,509,481,985

/73 36,028,797,018,963,968

/72 72,057,594,037,927,936

/71 144,115,188,075,855,872

/70 288,230,376,151,711,744

/69 576,460,752,303,423,488

/68 1,152,921,504,606,846,976

/67 2,305,843,009,213,693,952

/66 4,611,686,018,427,387,904

BONUS MATERIAL

/65 9,223,372,036,854,775,808

Residential – /64 18,446,744,073,709,551,616

/63 36,893,488,147,419,103,232

/62 73,786,976,294,838,206,464

/61 147,573,952,589,676,412,928

/60 295,147,905,179,352,825,856

/59 590,295,810,358,705,651,712

/58 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424

/57 2,361,183,241,434,822,606,848

/56 4,722,366,482,869,645,213,696

/55 9,444,732,965,739,290,427,392

/54 18,889,465,931,478,580,854,784

/53 37,778,931,862,957,161,709,568

/52 75,557,863,725,914,323,419,136

/51 151,115,727,451,828,646,838,272

/50 302,231,454,903,657,293,676,544

/49 604,462,909,807,314,587,353,088

Business – /48 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176

Ifyouarewonderingwhya“residence”wouldneed18,446,744,073,709,551,616IPaddresses,youarenotalone…butinanyeventyoucanseethatthev6addressingschemeiswell‐suitedfortheIPaddressneedsoftheworld(andperhapsbeyond)wellintothefuture.

Adoptionofv6hasbeenslow,butwiththerapiddepletionofv4addressesmentionedearlier,v6willbecomeincreasinglyimportantinthenearfuture.MakeIPv6apartofyourcolocationstrategynowtoavoidheadacheslater.

BONUS MATERIAL

Miscellaneous

FEES, GUARANTEES AND CONTRACTS

ServiceLevelAgreements,GuaranteesandUptime.Acolocationprovidermaywishtoimpressyouwiththestatementthatthey“guarantee”theirserviceaccordingtoaServiceLevelAgreement(SLA),whichisoftendeceptivelyreferredtoasa“100%uptimeguarantee”.Whiletheseagreementsdotechnicallyapplyaguaranteetosomeaspect(s)ofservice(typicallypowerandnetworking),theyaresomethingofamarketingtactic,designedtoconvinceyouthattheproviderbelievestheirservicetobesosolidtheyarewillingtoputitinwritingandputmoneyontheline.IfyoubothertoactuallyreadtheirSLA,youwilldiscoverthatallitsaysisthis:iftheyhaveaserviceoutagethataffectsyou,youcangetacreditagainstyourbillfordowntime,providedthatyoureportitinatimelymanner(rightaway,insomecases)intheprescribedmanner(usuallyinwriting,withsupportingdetails),andthatareviewoftheirlogscorroboratesyourreport.ThisisNOTaguaranteethattheirservicewillnevergodown,orthatifitdoesgodown,itwillberesolvedinatimelymanner.It’salsonotaguaranteethatyou’llgetthecredit(ifyoureportittoolate,oryoucan’tprovetheoutage).Andinanycase,youcanneverreclaimthetimethatyouweredown–it’sgoneforever,andnoSLAwillreimburseyouforlossofbusinesscausedbythedowntime!Soifyouareworriedaboutalotofdowntimewithaprovider,anSLAmightbeagoodservicefeature–butthenagain,whywouldyouchooseaproviderwithalotofdowntimeanyway?Chooseaproviderwithareputationforstabilityinstead,anduptimewilltakecareofitself.Any

BONUS MATERIAL

providerworthyourtimeshouldbeabletoprovideyouwithuptimestatsforthepasttwelvemonths–iftheycan’t,orwon’t,moveon.

SetupFees.Hey,nobodylikespayingsetupfees,right?Thelackofsetupfeescanbeveryattractiveinthatitsavesout‐of‐pocketmoneyupfront.But,justlikeprice,don’tputtoomuchemphasisonthis.Foronething,youcanprettymuchassumethattheproviderwillrecoupanycostsassociatedwithprovisioningyourserviceonewayoranother–soiftheydon’tcollectthemupfront,they’llburytheminyourrecurringmonthlyfees,plusinterest,therebydrivingthatcosthigher.Thebottomlineisthatyouwillonlypayasetupfeeonce;areasonablesetupfeeshouldnotdisqualifyacolocationprovider.Ontheotherhand,acut‐rateproviderwhoismorelikelytowaivesetupfeescanendupbeingmuchmorecostlyinthelongrun.

Contracts.Thevastmajorityofdatacentercolocationsareacontract‐basedservicewithaterm,withaoneyearcommitmentbeingacommonstartingpoint.Whensolicitingcolocationoffers,youcanassumethattherewillbeatermcommit;iftheproviderdoesnotspecifyitinthequote,ask.Whenjuststartingout,ayearcansoundlikealongtime–youmaychafeattheideaofsigningonthedottedlineforthatlengthofcommitment.Buthere’sthething:onceyou’vegonethroughthetroubleofgettinginstalledandsetupinacolocationfacility,youarenotgoingtowanttoleaveanytimesoon–especiallyonceyou’vegonelive!Furthermore,ifyou’vetakenanInternetbandwidthdropfromthecolocationprovider,youcan’ttakethoseIP

BONUS MATERIAL

addresseswithyou,whichmeansthatmovingwillinvolvere‐configuringyournetwork,inadditiontoserverdowntimeandtimeoutofyourbusyscheduletomakethemovetoanewdatacenter.Ontheotherhand,thecontractoffersyousomethingthatyoumaynothaveevenconsidered:priceprotection!Withoutacontract,theprovidercanraiseyourfeesatanytime,becauseyouhavenoagreementlockinginyourpricingforthelengthoftheterm.Ultimately,ifyou’vedoneyourhomeworkinselectingyourprovider,signingacontractshouldpresentnoproblem.Afterall,thepointistoNOTmove,sodon’tbeafraidofthatcontract!

DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING

DisasterRecovery(DR)planningisveryimportantforeveryorganization.ThestressesofdailyworkmakeitalltooeasytoputDRplanningonthebackburner,buthavingasolidplaninplacewillbecrucialif(when)disasterstrikes.ThefollowingtipsandpointerswillbothilluminatetheimportanceofaDRplan,andgetyoustartedtowardsbuildingandmaintainingyourplan.

AssessRisks.Catastrophicdatalossduetohardware/mediafailures,hacking,accidentsandthelikearethemostobviousconsiderations,buttheDRplanshouldconsiderallofthepossiblerisksinvolved.ADRplanislikeaninsurancepolicy:youneedtoidentifywhatkindofinsuranceisrequired,aswellasthetypeandlevelofrisksyourorganizationiswillingtotake.Thingslikeseismicevents,floods,fires,weathereventsandmoremustbeamongthecontingenciesbeingplannedfor.Theremayalsobeelementsparticulartoan

BONUS MATERIAL

organization’senvironmentthatmustbetakeninconsiderationwhendeterminingwhatconstitutesadisaster.

Formulatearecoveryplan.DisasterRecoveryplanningcanbeadauntingtask,especiallywhenoneconsiderstheplethoraofsituationstobeaccommodated,andthemanyalternativesthatcanbepursued.TheDRplanshouldcoverofallthefunctionalareasofyourorganizationthataretouchedbyIT,withfullcontrolsforthebefore,during,andafter‐disasterstates.Importantandseeminglyobviousdetailsthatareoftenoverlookedinclude:designatingwhowillconfirmthedisasterincident,determininghowthenotificationwillbecirculatedtopersonnel,assigningresponsibilitiesforcarryingoutvariousaspectsoftheplan,andintheeventthatthedisasteraffectscustomer‐facingsystemsorprocesses,providingfortheassurancetoclientsthattheorganizationisstillfunctioningandreadytoassistthemwiththeirneeds.

Selectlocationsforbackupstorageandoperationsrecovery.Investingthetimeandeffortupfronttoselecttheproperlocationsforstorageofbackups–andforremoterecoveryifthatispartoftheDRplan–willpayoff,shoulddisasterstrike.Ideally,morethanonegeographicallydisparatestoragelocationwouldbeused.Whileacopyofbackupscanbestoredlocallyforconvenience,itisimperativethatcompleteandcurrentbackupsbestoredoff‐site.Timelyrecoveryfromamajordisastermayrequirerelocationofbusinessoperations/personnelforsomeperiodoftime;inthatcase,theDRplanshouldincludeanalternatephysicallocationifthemainbusinesslocationisdestroyed.Ingeneral,properlymanagedredundancywillhelptominimizethe

BONUS MATERIAL

chancesoflosingtheentireoperationsandincreasethebusinesschancestogetreworkingquickly.

Overseetheimplementationprocess.Onceaplanhasbeenformulated,implementation,testingandmaintenancemustbecarriedoutdiligently.PropermanagementofaDRplaniscriticalforsuccessfulexecution;apoorlymanagedplanisessentiallyuselessandwilldolittlemorethanprovideafalsesenseofsecurity.TheITindustryaswellastheneedsofthosethatisservesisconstantlyevolvingandchanging,sotheDRplanmustbedesignedtoaccommodatethis.ADRplanthatdoesnotkeeppacewiththechangeoftheorganizationwillultimatelybecomeobsolete–it’sonlyamatteroftime.

Testtheplan.TheDRplanshouldbetestedonaregularbasis,withboththespeedandthecompletenessofrecoverybeingevaluatedtoensurethatthosefactorsmeettheorganization’sgoals.Thecapabilityofanyplanisverymuchdependentonthemeasurementofitsfunctionalitywhiletestingitinrealisticconditions,bymimickinganactualdisasterascloselyaspossible.TestingunderavarietyofsimulateddisasterconditionsisthemosteffectivewaytoexposeanyweaknessesintheDRplan.Theoutcomeofplantestingshouldbedocumented–boththesuccessesandthefailures,sothattheplan’seffectivenesscanbemeasuredandimproved.

Safeguardcopiesofsoftwarelicensekeysandsubscriptions.Therearesomanyprogramsandsoftwarethatareaddedtoabusinessonadailybasis.Safeguardandkeepcopiesofall

BONUS MATERIAL

theactivationkeysandsubscriptionplansforyoursoftware.Whilethemajorityofsoftwareprogramsaredistributedasdownloadableinstallers,itisbetternottocountonthatmethodbeingreadilyavailable,sostoreinstallationmediaaspartofyourDRplan.

TheDRplanisonethatyouhopeyouwillneverhavetoputintopractice,butsoundplanningtopreventthelossesthatcantakeplaceduringadisastercanhelplessenthedamage.Ifanincidentdoesoccur,onemustviewitasanopportunitytoimproveandrefinetheDRplan.Withawell‐designedDRplan,youwillhaveacompleteauditofwhathasworked,aninfrastructureinplacetoreducethedamageandateamthatiswell‐trainedandpracticedinmitigatingdisastersandgettingtheorganizationbacktooperatingstatusasquicklyaspossible.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

AboutTheAuthor

In1997,EdstartedNewMedia,anInternetservicescompanyofferingwebhosting,colocation,e‐Commerceprogrammingandpaymentprocessingservices.Asthebusinessevolved,colocationandInternetbandwidthbecameamajorfocus,andeventuallyNewMediawastransformedintoConnexInternetServicesInc.,acolocationandInternettransitproviderservingfiveregionalUSmarketsandbeyond.

InJanuaryof2014,DatacateandConnexmergedintoonecompany,withEdtakingonfull‐timesalesandmarketingduties.ThenewDatacategainedamorediverseclientbaseandmulti‐sitecapability.Whilecontinuingtoservetheneedsofthecolocationmarketplace,EdandhiscolleaguesatDatacateareforgingaheadintothedecentralizedfutureofavirtualandcloud‐basedcomputinguniverse.

AboutDatacate,Inc.

Datacateisacolocation,cloudandmanagedservicesprovider,headquarteredinSacramento,CaliforniaandcurrentlyofferingservicesinseveralregionalmarketsthroughouttheUnitedStates.Datacate'sfocusishigh‐quality,high‐valueofferingsforSMB,enterpriseandgovernment.

Datacate, Inc. 2999 Gold Canal Dr Rancho Cordova CA 95670 USA 855.722.2656 sales@datacate.com https://www.datacate.net

COLOCATION SURVIVAL GUIDE ‐ EXPANDED EDITION

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

AVOID COMMON (AND COSTLY) MISTAKES

This book is an in‐depth examination and discussion of the specifying, planning, implementing and maintenance of a colocation deployment. The Colocation Survival Guide is a must‐have, whether you are exploring the feasibility of colocation, working on your first colocation project, have performed multiple deployments, or are just looking for general information and knowledge pertaining to the subject.

You will face a myriad of factors and an abundance of decisions throughout the life cycle of a typical colocation project. This Guide will serve as an aid and a constant point of reference. Things you’ll learn from reading the Colocation Survival Guide:

Howtoquantifyyourneedssoyoudon’tover‐orunder‐buyresources;

Importantelectricalcodeandfirecoderulesthatyouareexpectedtoknow;

Waystonegotiateagooddealonyourcolocationpackage; Howtogetfreebandwidth; Lawsandrulesthatwilldictatewhatyoucan(andcannot)buy; Hidden“gotchas”andcoststhatyouwon’tnecessarilybetold

aboutupfront; Commonmisstepstoavoid; Howtoproperlydetermineandspecifypowerrequirements

(includingacommonmistakethatmostpeoplemake); Criticalbusinessfactorsthatareoverlookedalltoooften;

… and many, many more important topics, too numerous to mention. The Colocation Survival Guide takes you through the entire colocation life cycle, from determining specifications and obtaining bids, to planning and deployment, to maintenance, upgrades, downgrades and termination.

colocation survival guide - datacate · the colocation survival guide has been designed to assist...

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