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| A typical server "rack", commonly seen in colocation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Having looked at the possibilities of buying, or more accurately renting, hosting resource direct from hosting providers, the second part of this article investigates the two hosting channels which involve consumers actually purchasing and owning their own hosting platforms.
In-House Hosting
Perhaps the most apparent alternative to renting server space and services from a hosting provider, especially for larger scale business enterprises, is to host a web site on their own internal IT infrastructure.
This option does mean that the business will not be reliant on third parties for their hosting needs and therefore will not be exposed to the risks of delays or breakdowns in communication that can arise when dealing with external support and maintenance teams. Internal IT administrators can (theoretically) respond there and then when issues occur or a change to the hosting platform is needed and they should be more familiar and sensitive the business’s requirements. With the right expertise they will therefore be able to completely configure their businesses hosting platform to their needs. The approach also has the added benefit that businesses using it can retain more of the value of their investment through the fact that they will own the physical IT equipment as an asset.
However, as mentioned above, this is all dependent on the organisation having the experience and know-how in-house to maintain the hosting platforms. What’s more, businesses, will likely, at any given time, have a limited level of computing resource and may not be able to respond to fluctuations in demand straight away - instead needing to buy in and install extra resource to increase capacity. There is also a risk that this investment into extra resource will leave the business with wastage if demand reduces and they are left with unused computing resources. On the other hand, smaller businesses with lower levels of demand on resource are likely to find the cost of investing in the hardware they need prohibitive in the context of their needs.
Colocation
There is a hosting option which allows clients to keep control of their hosting platform but still benefit from the advantages of a data center location. This option is colocation and in essence simply involves a client renting physical space (rack space) in a data center in which they house their own servers, away from their business’s premises.
Colocation allows clients to invest in, and customise, their own hardware, maintaining the value of their investment, but at the same time taking advantage of the infrastructure that data centers can offer. The resultant benefits include security, protection against damage such as fire, optimal operating conditions in respect of temperature etc and high levels of bandwidth. As implied above, installing cooling systems, high tech security and accessing high bandwidth connections on a business premises for the sole use of the business can prove very expensive, if not impossible; whereas the data center will exploit obvious economies of scale and pass some of those costs onto the client so that they can access these benefits more cost effectively.
In short, purchasing and owning your own hardware can provide the opportunity for complete control and customisation but you will need deep pockets and a high level of expertise to respond effectively to the demands of your site and for those reasons it is not usually the best option for smaller scale clients. Two channels which are more suitable are discussed in the final part of this article.
© Stuart Mitchell 2012
If you want to find out more about the various options that are available from hosting providers then you can visit this provider.
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