Colocation Management Service
Colocation is rapidly becoming a popular solution for many small to mid-sized companies. Colocation facilities can provide quality cooling, power and connectivity networks, as well as security protocols. In addition, a colocation center can offer server management services. As such, a trained staff of IT professionals is present onsite 24/7 to handle a variety of issues. For this reason many companies are evaluation colocation pricing.
Management Concerns at Colocation Facilities
A colocation facility differs greatly from an in-house data center although both serve the same general purpose. A private data center is setup by an enterprise that is solely responsible for building and maintaining the facility. This can be quite costly and is often cost prohibitive
On the other hand, a colocation facility is setup in the same way as a data center. The only difference is that such a facility is used by a number of different clients. Companies purchase their own equipment, and then place it within the center. Once the equipment has been installed, the facility staff is responsible for making sure the servers remain online and in operation.
Types of Management Services
There are a number of things that require technical services. For instance, if a server crashes due to network overload, a reboot might be required. Any server downtime can be extremely costly for companies. Therefore, maintaining the functionality of servers is very important.
In addition, servers are connected to a high-profile Internet connection. Other equipment is also connected to the servers in order to create a fully functioning IT environment. If anything affects the server, other equipment is affected, as well. Therefore, issues such as replacing a cable or even a circuit board need to be handled instantaneously.
There are some situations in which companies also require hardware upgrades. This type of service usually comes under the agreement that has been drafted between the colocation provider and a company. In fact, it is very important for a company to read each and every detail of the service agreement plan. A service agreement plan is signed between both parties before the equipment is installed. The agreement contains all of the services that the colocation vendor is responsible for providing. Those services that fall outside of the contract can be added on at extra cost. A company must be confident the colocation facility it contract with. This is because once an agreement is signed, it is not easy to get out of.
Also, operating systems as well as other applications are installed within a server. Software upgrades direct from the manufacturer is released frequently. These upgrades contain performance upgrades, as well as security patches. For a fully functioning server, it is important to install these upgrades as soon as possible.
Moreover, file system as well as database maintenance should be performed routinely. Both hardware and software aspects of IT equipment need to be kept in consideration. A server is an expensive piece of hardware that needs to be closely monitored for optimal performance.
Lastly, a colocation vendor is also responsible for backing up data in case of a disaster. The number of backups that exist as well as their frequency is mentioned within the service agreement.
For all of these issues, someone must be on hand at all times – evenings, weekends and holidays – to address these issues as soon as possible. Colocation technicians are onsite around the clock to fill that need.
Without management services, companies would have to take care of all of the above factors. Consequently, colocation management services are extremely important.
