A colocation service is one that will connect your server that you own to the Internet. Many of these companies will actually build you your own server if you don’t already have one. While this might sound a lot like dedicated servers, there is a huge difference because with a dedicated server the web hosting company owns the actual server, but with colocation the web hosting company simply connects the server that you own to the Internet. Colocation services are not for everyone, they are for those companies and individuals that want to have complete control over their server configurations.

When you are considering purchasing colocation space you will need to think about rental fees as well as connection fees. Rental fees are the costs that you will incur as a result of having your server located in the host’s data center. The space is measured from one unit to a full rack, with most servers in the 1U or 2U category, though they can be as big as 3U or 4U if the server has many hard drives. Rental fees vary and will depend on how big your server is as well as all of the services that may or many not be included.

You should also expect to pay connection charges when you are looking into colocation charges. Connection charges are not measured in the total number of gigabytes that may be transferred; instead an average will be used. This can be a very confusing aspect of colocation charges, so be sure that you read and understand all of the information before you rent space with a colocation service.

Before you buy colocation space with any company you’ll want to know where they are physically located as well as the type physical infrastructure where your server and personal data will be stored for safe keeping. You should also ask questions about who will be able to access your server as well and bandwidth available to you. You’ll also want to inquire about what other options and services will be made available to you. It’s also important to consider uptime guarantees that the company will offer you. With any web host or server you want to know that your information will be available to visitors and customers all of the time, and because you will be paying for the premium of a colocation service, you need to ask these questions to decide which service is right for you.