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Non-Commercial Colocation?
ASyndicate asks: "I've been looking for a Cheap Midwest (Michigan) Colocation provider for NON-commercial use, and I have yet to find one. All of the providers that I have found are more geared toward businesses (Understandably). Is colocation so Outrageously expensive that I should just purchase Business Class Cable or DSL? The Cheapest I have seen is for $99/Month, 15GB Transfer on a DS-3 (Dantor Communications) But they would not let me run a game server. I intend to use it for a game server and for hosting email. Does anyone know of cheap, fast, colo-providers or should I be looking for a different service?" Come to think of it, are there any services like this for locales outside of Michigan, USA? I'm sure others might appreciate such services as well.
Colocation Guide
It's a database of colocation providers and sellers (if you have extra space). Hopefully this can provide some leads for you.
If I weren't nailed to the penis, I'd be pushing up the daisies!
There is a fairly good co-location provider in Arlington, Texas (it's actually in Mannsfield, a suburb of Arlington).
http://www.tacni.net/
They don't care what you put on it as long as it isn't against the law.
See if you can find a local isp willing to let you do colo inexchange for some help or even as a local game server for their customers as well
-- TIm
TKrabec Pahh
www.speakeasy.net has some nice packages where you can control your upstream/downstream ratio. Would colo'ing on a T3 offer significantly better performance?
:).
Before everyone starts going nuts because I just asked if a T3 is better than a DSL, let me just say that I mean, how much would the gameplay be improved? Would it mean that you could handle more 'players'? Are you sure your hardware could support more users than the DSL could?
I'm not giving you a hard time, I'd really like to know how all this stuff works. I just play games, I don't host them
there are 2 kinds of people. those who divide people into 2 kinds, and those who don't.
Basically, you buy in as a member of the co-op, then pay at cost. Excess funds are returned to the members. You can do as you please, so long as it doesn't harm anyone else. (Full details in their AUP.)
ISPFH's bandwidth isn't oversold (except 2x on DSL), and I've heard nothing but good things about them. Me, I'm still doing the speakeasy DSL thing - cheap, fast. But if covad ever goes belly up, ISPFH's my next step.
And if your budget is limited, you should consider doing without a dedicated server. Not all virtual host providers would let you run a game server -- but there are a lot of providers!
From what I'm reading, it seems to me that the poster simply wants to run a game server. This really only requires two things: a place to put the machine, and an ISP with a big pipe and easy-going attitude. CoLo is usually only a good idea when you absolutely, positively have to have a server (or several) running 100% of the time. CNN is a great example. Companies that don't want to waste employee bandwidth sometimes choose CoLo as well. It's pretty rare for individuals to get CoLo service, mostly because it's so expensive but also because it's not quite as important that the server be accessible 100% of the time.
Almost certainly, you can find an ISP in your area that will give you a fat pipe for an extra $100 a month from what you pay now. Since it would be a business-type of connection, you would be allowed to run any type of server you wanted... though with some exceptions (kiddy porn, spam, etc). The actual server would be your business, so you would have to ensure availablility there. This is almost certainly the cheapest solution one can find.
On the other hand, if you desire to have the security of having the server located remotely; then by all means find someone to do colocation for you. Heck, for $100 a month I'd let you put whatever machine you want in my basement with my other servers (though I'm in Columbus, OH). I'd place bets that some of your friends would feel the same way.
Long, cute, or funny Sigs are just another form of over compensation, used by geeks, nerdz, etc.
Try Dialtone (http://www.dialtoneinternet.com). $195/mo gets you a dedicated box sitting on multiple OC-3s, on which you can run whatever the hell you want, as long as you're not spamming people or being otherwise obnoxious. They also occasionally have some great closeout specials.
Rackspace offers similar services, but I think they're a bit pricier.
You might check RackShack.net. They offer a RAQ4i for 99/month. The rules are basically no DoSing, no Pr0n. I've been very satisfied with them.
Hi, You might want to try QCI Internet He Currently is one of our colo customers in Southfield Michigan. I'm not sure what his pricing is like, but it should be more than competive.
If on the otherhand you would like more space, We Have full racks available in the 500 per month range with a 100MBit Connection to Level 3, I'm pretty sure that is for this month only. www.123.net.
Hope you find your solution soon!
Dave
A friend of a friend of mine has serving and colo business that serves our area of North Dakota. I think he has a fractional T3 with lots of elbowroom. My dad's car dealership has his site on one of thier severs and it costs next to nothing. Don't quote me, but I think they charge $75 - $125 a month to colo your own box (you mail it to them). Bandwidth is "unlimited unless we see any sort of problem and then we'll let you know". It might be an option for you. The website (www.beyondboxes.com) seems to be down right now but you can reach him at info@beyondboxes.com.
A few months ago, I studied the feasability of putting together a colocation cooperative in the northern virginia / washington dc area. Unfortunately, the amount of money that most folks are willing to pay ($100 / box, or there abouts) just isn't enough to pay for space in a rack anywhere with descent bandwidth. Companies are able to offer it if they own the whole facility... but even then colo doesn't have a lot of margin or markup.
I've thought quite a bit recently about putting together some cooperative stuff for all kinds of computer parts and services... but I'm afraid that no one will buy. Do we _really_ like local providers? If so, why do we all go to pricewatch first, and not the local computer store? It's these small local providers that are most apt to meet these low-end colo needs, etc... not the big guys.
-jbn
They have the most reasonable colocation system
;)
i've used....
Yes, am partly biased, i did work for them
http://nyi.net/
Check out:
http://www.istop.com/collocation.html
Hello,
i am interested in getting somehosting. I want he.net cause they rock but they are a little skimpy on space. I am not looking for huge data transfers just a little space. Any good hosting company suggestions?
Douglas Calvert
From the looks of this thread, colocation has been on the minds of quite a few slashdoters. For those that haven't dealt with the wonders (and horrors) of colocation, here are some pointers from my personal experience:
1) "Mom and Pop" vs "Brass and Glass"...
The huge datacenter colo facilities make any geek drool and may even be a requirement for the hosting of a site requiring tremendous bandwidth and security, but are they what you need? For my business's servers we initially went with a mega-huge provider and were very dissapointed. "24-hour tech support" and "24-hour staffed datacenter" often required a daytime call back to reach a tech with any sort of skill, or more often, authority to make changes. Sales departments were often a nightmare to deal with. Change orders would take weeks for the paperwork to reach the proper people. We eventually tried another provider before finally switching to a small local internet services group that offered colocation at their office just 90 miles from here. Their rates are a good deal cheaper, their bandwidth is sufficent, and the ability to call their real techs at any hour of the day has been a godsend. Never again will I do business with the big boys when I can do business with a real person.
2) Bandwidth Usage...
Some providers have fixed rates for your monthly usage (often expressed in GB/month), other have a bandwidth cap (so many Kbps/sec). Often you can pay for more bandwidth or arrange to be billed depending on the month's usage. Understand what you're getting into. 10 GB/month might sound like a lot, but that's just 2500 MB/week. More than enough for most sites, but if you plan on shuffling a lot of data to your server every few weeks it may not be enough. Obviously you're not going to have a solid sustained rate over the course of a month, but if you were, that 10 GB/month would be just 32 kbps over a month's time. Again, this has no meaning for the average bursty website, it's just that a 33.6 kbps modem can transfer about 10 GB per month if it were dialed up 24-7. A major advantage to many "Mom and Pop" colo providers is that they have a very lax bandwidth policy. Typically if you stay away from kiddy porn, warez, and spamming, they won't care how much bandwidth you use just as long as it's not a tremendous amount for a tremendous period of time. My provider and I agreed to discuss any major changes and thus far things have worked out well. I have no bandwidth cap or monthly limit. Some months we use 25 GB other months it's 75. My usage is very bursty (new product releases stir up a lot of hits for a few days) but overall it's a general few-hits-a-second "noise" traffic. However, I'm quite certain that if I were to set up a huge FTP site on my server that would generate massive traffic around the clock, my ISP would call at the end of the month to request that we make changes for the following month.
3) The server itself...
Be upfont with potential providers with the size of your server. It does make a difference. A 1U rackmount server takes up much less space than a full tower ATX case. The size often has a factor on the price. Some providers don't care. It's best to ask right away. Unless your provider is nearby, you'll probably be shipping your server to him. For your benefit and his, enclose information with the server, including your name and email address along with any important setup instructions. **Test your server before shipping it** Be sure that it'll work properly without the usual I/O accessories hanging off it. Most providers won't plug every single server into a massive KVM switch. If your server does not work without a keyboard attached, then let the provider know and enclose something that can be plugged in and hang behind the server. Most providers will provide you with network config data (IP address, etc). You can attempt to configure this before you ship the server, but it may be best to leave it in the config that works in your home/office and include simple instructions for the provider to change the IP address for you. This prevents nasty config surprises. Again, ask the provider for more info on this.
From my experience and having talked with others, I would highly recommend a qualified Mom & Pop provider over the brass and glass type... unless you do need the level of security offered by the hardcore pros. If there is one thing I can stress, it's to ASK QUESTIONS! And take note of how many people you need to talk to for an answer. You should be able to get a solid price quote from no more than two emails. You should be able to talk with a real tech (someone that maintains the network and works with the hardware) without having to talk to several people inbetween. Basicly, if you can't get ahold of these important people now, as a business prospect, then why expect to get ahold of them at 4am when everything's going wrong? Again, ask questions and be somewhat patient. The big boys often have untrained people answering the phones and Mom & Pop are often busy during key hours of the day. Don't be afraid to send some emails, fax some questions, or leave a voice mail.
Is it possible to buy access to a virtual Linux server anywhere, e.g. on an IBM S/390?
It would seem like a good business idea for someone to sell 10,000 virtual Linux servers to amateur users for $10-$20/month.
/Krister
Freevo - Linux Multimedia Jukebox
If you're willing to travel to Chicago, DLS.net does 10mb/sec unmetered colocation for $300/month. I didn't go with them and thus have no personal experience, but they seemed pretty good, and they're much better-connected than most (100mb/sec to Genuity, 45mb/sec to UUNet).
BTW, I'm using my colocated box for pretty much what you're using it for -- a couple Quake III servers, e-mail, and whatnot -- and it works out pretty well. I pay $250/month, though, which is more than you seem to be looking for.
Hey, I've actually been working for the past three months or so at assembling a proper non-profit colocation facility in Northern California. We're investigating non-profit incorporation or a partnership with an existing 501(c)(3) organization. There are about 40 folks on our mailing list (see our site for info on how to subscribe) and we just today signed an agreement with Hurricane Electric for preliminary hosting (DNS, mail, and monitoring tools).
We've found a real gem of a place in Palo Alto one block away from a major net drop that already is airconditioned and that we may be able to freely use (no rent!). We're putting together a setup where responsible admins can come, drop in a box (no commercial content, banner ads, pr0n, or warez) and be connected at 10mbps (unmetered) for less than $100/mo; we have a target goal of $50/month for our users, which should be low enough to not be a barrier to entry for interested parties, including individuals, nonprofits, open source projects requiring dedicated hosting, and independent researchers.
Send me an email at dweeklyATlegatoDOTcom to let me know you'd like to either help out or have your box hosted and I'll give you more information. We're probably having a face-to-face get-together next week in Palo Alto! If you know any lawyers who could do pro bono work on assisting our 501(c)(3) incorporation, too, that'd be a huge hand! =)
Cheers,
-david
David E. Weekly
Code / Think / Teach / Learn
h4x0r for
You might consider rackmy.com in St. Louis. Their colocation starts at $50/month, but I don't have any experience with them.