[ale] Data center space?

[Chris Fowler]

On Mon, 2010-09-20 at 15:11 -0400, Michael B. Trausch wrote:
> 
> I'm wondering, at what point does it become more worth it to just put
> my
> own real systems in a data center and manage them myself?  I don't
> mind
> managing things myself; my plans would essentially be to have a big
> friggin' storage unit and then run multiple systems off of it.  I
> realize that I would be spending a bit more in terms of the hardware,
> and that doesn't really bother me either.  My real question is to
> someone that has done all this already, should I be doing it yet?  Or
> should I wait until I'm paying more than I am now?  And why does it
> seem
> that all the data centers are very hush-hush about what they charge?
> I
> can't seem to find rates for the life of me.
> 
> 

When you are ready to spend about $500/mon for a half-rack then you are
ready to go colo.

Look at what you are brining in (sales) and then look at the costs
involved.  Data centers are very hush-hush because this is not DSL like
pricing.  The colo service is negotiable.  The best thing to do is get a
survey of what people on ALE pay and use that as a guide to what you'll
end up paying.  If you don't have this info you'll end up paying "list"
and the sales rep will make a good commission.

You can also look at sub-leasing space from people in a colo.  We
started doing this but were burned twice!  We got a much better rate and
shorter commitment from our vendor then we were going to get with QTS.
However, our vendor sold their service at QTS to a company that sucked.
That company moved to Peak 10 and later failed.  We negotiated a rate
with Peak 10 that was very close to what we were paying and stayed in
their data center.  It is much better for us and the service from Peak
10 is above excellent.

Peak 10 is more about colo. As Greg said, you should probably look at 1U
rental.  Peak 10 may even offer it.  I know this "data center" in Buford
offer 1U or even a shelf to put a tower on but I would not classify them
as a "data center".  I think they were $75-$100/mon for that service.

Good luck and congratulations on your growth!

Chris