To start, what is colocation? Colocation is the provisioning of rack space for a customer’s telecommunications or server equipment at the service provider’s facilities also known as a data center. Colocation service providers offer server space in a variety of rack space options – per U, partial racks, full racks/cabinets, private cages and custom suites. Colocation pricing varies all over the US and is impacted by a variety of factors including market competitiveness, real estate costs, power, and bandwidth costs. In this article, we will discuss some of the best US services markets to find cheap colocation.
Along with offering some of the finest tier 2 and tier 3 data center space in the States, the State of Texas is probably the best market to find cheap colocation. In Dallas, several colocation providers offer per U colocation for less than $50 a month. ColoUnlimited offers some incredible packages for clients looking for cost-effective colocation pricing within a SSAE16 SOC –1 Type II compliant data center. 1U packages include 1-2U, 2Amps and 10Mbps unmetered bandwidth for $49 a month. Clients looking for more space can get a full cabinet, a single 20a 110v power feed and 100Mbps unmetered bandwidth for $499 a month. These types of deals are hard to beat!
Across the State in Houston, Oplink offers some great per U options as well. They offer single server 1U colocation for $39.95 a month which includes 1amp of power and 100Mbps unmetered. All of this comes with free reboots, physical access to your server(s) and 24×7 technical support. Best of all, most of these Texas colocation providers offer month to month terms!
Cheap colocation can also be found on the East and West Coasts but you may to have to do some “digging.” Colocation pricing in Atlanta, GA offers a full cabinet with 20amps of power and 100Mbps unmetered on a 36 month term for $499 a month. This is a very hard deal to beat in the metro Atlanta area. In Miami, FL and Fremont, CA, Connex Internet offers a 2U package with 1.5amps of power and 10Mbps unmetered for $79 a month on a month to month term.
Finding a cheap colocation package in your area does not mean you have to sacrifice on quality. Take the time to contact several national and local providers in your area and if you can, make sure you visit a few of the data centers to check out the “bells and whistles.” If you are in the market for colocation services, please check out our free whitepaper on the top 10 things to look for when picking a colocation provider.