Choosing a colocation provider

Looking to colocate a server? Well, you can’t trust your server with anyone, can you? Selecting a colocation provider can be a difficult task. While cost is often of most importance to buyers, here are some other factors you should consider before making a decision:

1. Location. Pick a location that is easy for you to get to. You may think you can just ship your server or drive it to the data center once and forget about it, but what about maintenance and upgrades? Not all colocation servers will do these things for you at a fair price.
2. Bandwidth. Can you get a good connection at the data center? Make sure your provider has hook-ups to all the major upstream providers. Servers in “Internet hubs” like Chicago, Dallas, and New York will get better latencies than their counterparts in out-of-the-way places.
3. Security and reliability. How secure is the data center? What sort of backup measures are in place in the event of power failure or a natural disaster? Do the people working there seem to know what they’re doing? Be sure to visit and ask for a tour before handing over your precious server to a colocation provider.