What Is Offsite Collocation For Webhosting? | The Communication Blog

Monday, January 9, 2012

What Is Offsite Collocation For Webhosting?

By Arlene Parks


Offshore co-location is a way to allow web domains to exceed the space and censorship limits imposed by managed hosting. In a managed hosting arrangement, technical upkeep, equipment, and software are all maintained by the host. In a co-location arrangement, the website owner purchases servers and software, and takes care of all technical problems that arise. Website owners take charge of their own bandwidth, power, and space, while facilities providers only maintain security and upkeep.

The website owner will have to set up and configure his or her own system. When customers have chose the right machine combined with the right software, they go to the host facility and set up all of their equipment. The host facility provides power for equipment, an uplink port for connecting to the network, data cabinet space, and an IP address.

Offshore data storage is the right option when people need bandwidth and customized equipment. If hosting a simple home page, then site owners don't need any specialized equipment. However, if site owners want to host online database applications, set up search engines, or stream video and audio, then they will need more equipment than a managed host can provide. While it may cost more initially, site owners with major capacity needs will find getting their own equipment to be a better deal.

Certain people will benefit from purchasing and maintaining their own equipment. Owners who purchase equipment will be able to use firewalls, load balancers, and multiple servers, adding redundancies and interconnecting equipment as needed. When setup is complete, owners will link to the public internet, using the host facility's provided uplink port.

If owners need to host content, then co-location will be a good solution. Most managed hosts limit the amount of space that users may dedicate to their own hosting, and may also limit the type of content they will allow clients to host. In contrast, host facilities will allow pretty much any type of content, as long as it isn't illegal.

For people needing dedicated telco lines to servers, co-location will work well. Owners will need their own equipment to set up dedicated lines for monitoring, or for setting up network applications like VoIP servers. Owners should just ensure that their hosting facility is carrier-neutral, which means that the facility allows service from all telcos.

Offshore locations will provide multiple benefits to website owners. Some major incentives for offshore re-locating include asset protection, lawsuit protection, and tax benefits. Also, offshore costs tend to be lower, allowing businesses to offer products at a lower price point. Owners will also bypass many business regulations, and guarantee added privacy for their customers, by choosing an international host.

For their own protection, site owners will need to ensure that their offshore hosts maintain a secure environment for local computers. Also, site owners will want to maintain anonymous domain names, and will want to encrypt their communications for safety reasons. For people looking to go beyond what managed hosting can offer, offshore co-location provides a cost-effective and sensible solution.




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