DataCenters...

[ps2cho]

Hey guys, i was considering buying into some dedicated servers and possibly start a small Ventrilo/Teamspeak business...

Now i would need to have these servers placed in a datacenter for fast internet.
I have never looked into this...

Are there any websites of datacenter places where i could talk to them about setting me up?

What would be my best move?

Thanks, ps2cho

[Ebola]

Depends where you are located. I share some rack space with a friend at a time warner data center. I used to work for a small business that used rack space at inflow. I think they have locations accross the US.

Correction they are now Sungard
http://www.availability.sungard.com/Inflow/home.htm

Unless you know someone, it costs serious bucks. I believe racks usually avg arround $500 per month plus bandwidth.

You might want to start with a t1 and an uptime agreement.

[ps2cho]

Sorry, i was unclear...
I wish to purchase the server myself, and just stick it into a datacenter building.

[PLOBBY]

Sorry, i was unclear...
I wish to purchase the server myself, and just stick it into a datacenter building.


Is that possible to do? How much would they charge your for bandwith then?

[nikhsub1]

Is that possible to do? How much would they charge your for bandwith then?
Yes it is called co-location. Your box, their bandwidth...

[ps2cho]

Thats the plan...I gotta find where the nearest datacenter is and find what type of backbones they have.
Looking preferably for Internap or some other level 3 provider...Maybe Hybrid depending on how much Internap is, if its available.

[9mmCensor]

Yes it is called co-location. Your box, their bandwidth...
Yeah.

When you put your box in someones DataCenter, its called Co-Location or Co-Lo.

You rent space by the U (1U, 2U, ect) and pay for bandwidth. Power is normally included in the space rental fee.

[ps2cho]

Just a question...Does it have to be a rackmount server? Or could it be a tower? Does it matter? Cost more for one or the other?

[9mmCensor]

Just a question...Does it have to be a rackmount server? Or could it be a tower? Does it matter? Cost more for one or the other?
pricing is usally based on size. so a tower is expensive cause its big, and doesn't fit in racks very well.

[Ebola]

Is that possible to do? How much would they charge your for bandwith then?

It cost a lot. Didn't anyone read my post?

[ps2cho]

It cost a lot. Didn't anyone read my post?

I thought you were refering to renting a rackmount server from them, not using your own.
Or were you?

Thanks, ps2cho

[Ebola]

No the rack itself will cost quite a bit to rent plus bandwidth. Don't be surprised if the datacenter wants $500 or more for the rack plus bandwidth. The contracts seems to always be lopsided against you.

If you have to buy your own rack its about $1000 for a good rack. Probably $500 for a four post rack.

For servers there are a few ways to go. If you live a ways away from the datacenter, I would get ones that have remote management cards so you don't have to go to the datacenter everytime you want to make changes. These can add about $300-400 to the server price but for remote management they are worth their weight in gold. They let you power on/off the server, load virtual images, open a remote vnc type console over ip, etc. Most HP servers have these. Look for ILO in the description.

Some datacenters have monitors, keyboards, etc you can roll up to your servers and use but some don't. I'd invest in a kvm and 1u monitor drawer.

The startup cost is a bit steep which is why it might be best to get a uptime agreement and initially host from your house or somewhere like ev1 till you can build a client base.

[ps2cho]

ok thanks.
I'll look into this further until i make a decision.

Thanks again, ps2cho

[PLOBBY]

Yeah, sorry about that. I thought you meant renting a server. Yeah i was just looking at some prices, they are pretty exspensive. I wasnt exactly expecting that much. But Ill look into it because im interested in this too.