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 [email protected] https://www.datacate.net

©2016Datacate,Inc.Allrightsreserved.Reproductioninwholeorpartisprohibitedwithoutthewrittenconsentofthecopyrightowner

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

Page1

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

Page2

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

Page4

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).


Page5

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


Page6

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


Page7

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?


Page8

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


Page9

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.


Page10

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


Page11

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


Page12

flexibility,andinfactyoumayfindthatoneoptionismoreeconomicalorallowsmoreroomforexpansionthananother.

TOPIC RECAP: COLOCATION POWER


Datacenterpowerisexpensive,soitpaystofigureoutexactlywhatyouneed

Powersupplyratingsarenotagoodindicatorofactualpowerrequirements

Equipmentmanufacturersshouldbeabletoprovidepowerdataforpurchasedsystems

DellandHPprovideonlinetoolsforaccuratelycalculatingpowerneedsfortheirbrandedsystems

Youcanmeasurethepowerusageofyourequipmentwithaninexpensiveconsumerappliancemeter,suchastheKill‐A‐Watt

Powerrequirementsforyourequipmentwillbede‐ratedvalues,sotake80%ofanyratedpowerquotedbyaprovidertogetanequivalentnumber

Powerrequirementsinwattsareindependentoflinevoltage


Page13

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


Page14

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


Page15

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


Page16

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.


Page17

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


Page18

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


Page19

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


Page20

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


Page21

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


Page22

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.


Page23

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.


Page24

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.


Page25

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”


Page26

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


Page27

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.


Page28

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.


Page29

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

Page31

PlanningForYourColocationDeployment

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

Thissectionwillcoverthevariouspreparationsthatarenecessaryforasuccessfulcolocationdeployment.


Page32

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.


Page33

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


Page34

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


Page35

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!


Page36

TOPIC RECAP: PREPARING EQUIPMENT


Doasmuchasyoucantoprepareeverythingforinstallationbeforeyouheadtothedatacenter

Doaburn‐inandtestingcycleonallserversandotherdevices.Useavailabletoolstodothiswhereverpossible

Installoperatingsystemsandsoftwareonallsystemsanddoasmuchsetupasyoucan

SetupaprivateIPnetwork,thenconfigureandtestallnetworksettings.ChangetorealproviderIPswhenyoudoyourinstallation

Makealistofthequantity,lengthandtypeofallcablesyouwillneedtointerconnectandpoweryourequipment–don’t’forgetabouttheuplink

Verifythatyouhaveallneededmountinghardwareandthatyouknowhowtouseit.Getmountingguidesfromthemanufacturerwhenpossible.Testhowthingsfittogether

GiveeachpieceofequipmentauniquelabelandcreateadocumentoftheresourcesandIPsforeach


Page37

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


Page38

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


Page39

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


Page40

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


Page41

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

Page43

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


Page44

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.


Page45

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


Page46

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


Page47

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


Page48

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)


Page49

Theproviderwillmonitornetworkingandpowerforfacility‐wideevents;individualuptimemonitoringofyourcolocationisuptoyou

Buildafileonyourcolocationtocontainallvitalinformation,andmaintainittoensurethatyoualwayshavethemostup‐to‐dateinformationatyourfingertips

Setcalendarremindersforimportanttechnicalandbusinessmilestones


Page50

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


Page51

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


Page52

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:


Page53

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


Page54

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


Page55

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.


Page56

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


Page57

magnitudeorincrease.Upgradestofullcircuitcommitswillinvolverunningnewcircuitsandmovingpowerconnections.Sharedpowercircuitlimitsmayforceyouontoadedicatedpowercircuit,whichmayinturnforceyouintodedicatedprivatespace

IPsubnetsgenerallycannotbeexpandedonceallocated,soadditionalIPaddressspacewillbeissuedasadditionalsubnet(s).DuetoIPv4globalexhaustion,IPv4addressspacemaybescarceandwillcostyou

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


Page58

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.


Page59

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


Page60

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


Page61

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)


Page62

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,


Page63

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


Page64

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


Page65

moneyunlessyourexistingcommitiswellabovetheprovider’sminimum

Reducingspacecommitisunlikelytosaveyoumoneyunlessyoualsoreducepowerusage.Ifyouhaveaprivatespace,you’llneedtomovetoasmallerspacetoreducespacecommit

Reducingpowercommitcanpotentiallysaveyoumoney,thoughinsomeinstancesyoumayalsohavetoreducespaceusage,duetoestablishedfacilitypowerdensities.Reducingpowercommitonafullcircuitmostcommonlyrequiresorderingasmallercircuitandmigratingpowerconnections

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

Iftheservicesyouwishtoreduceorgiveupareundercontract,you’llhavetowaituntilendofcontractterm(withnotice)tomakethechanges.Beawareofdependentpricinganddiscountsthatcouldbeaffected


Page66

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


Page67

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.


Page68

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.


Page69

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.


Page70

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



Page71

Providenoticeinconformancewiththetermsofyourserviceproviderandgetanacknowledgement

Sinceyouwillloseuseoftheprovider’sIPaddressspace,useDNStoforwardalltrafficforanycontinuingservicestothenewhost

Makearrangementstoyouhaveyourequipmentun‐rackedandmovedoutnolaterthantheprovider’sspecifieddeadline

Ifyouwillnotrepurposetheequipment,sellitorputitintoane‐wasterecyclingprogram

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

Page73

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

Page75

BonusMaterial

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

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

BONUS MATERIAL

Page76

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

Page77

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

Page78

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

Page79

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

Page80

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

Page81

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

Page82

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

Page83

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

Page84

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

Page85

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

Page86

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

Page87

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

Page88

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

Page89

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

Page90

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

Page91

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

Page92

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

Page93

/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

Page94

/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

Page95

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

Page96

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

Page97

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

Page98

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

Page99

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

Page100

theactivationkeysandsubscriptionplansforyoursoftware.Whilethemajorityofsoftwareprogramsaredistributedasdownloadableinstallers,itisbetternottocountonthatmethodbeingreadilyavailable,sostoreinstallationmediaaspartofyourDRplan.

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

.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Page101

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 [email protected] 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...

Documents