What is Colocation? One of the most common questions that Best Dedicated Web Host gets asked is what is colocation and is it worth it? This tutorial was designed by Best Dedicated Web Host to answer some of the common questions about colocation.

So just what is colocation you ask…Colocation is simply when you place your server at an offsite location or rent space on a rack at a different location than yours. Typically at these off site locations there are multiple people taking part in the colocation. There are many pros and cons of colocation. Below are some of the highlights and lowlights of colocation.

Benefits of colocation:

• Potentially cheaper: When you are using colocation, the owner of the colocation has numerous renters thus allowing them to provide services such as faster data transfer for a lower price than you can get on your own.
• Control over software and server: Because you own the server and software you are able to change it out when you see necessary.
• Uptime protection: A good colocation offers back up power which in turn can save your website during normal downtimes.
• Offsite location: Because your server is at an offsite location, you never have to worry about moving it from office to office should you choose to move.

Disadvantages of colocation:

• You own the server and software: While this might sound good that you own your own stuff, what happens when they break down or need service. You have to pay for it and that can get costly. This far outweighs the advantage of owning the server and software.
• Offsite location: While it might be nice not to have to store your server at your location, housing it at a colocation can cause issues if you ever needed to access your server.
• Prices: Colocation is a lot more expensive over normal web hosting. With all the cheap web hosting companies you are able to find one for a lot less than colocation.

In the end, Best Dedicated Web Host prefers dedicated web hosting over colocation. Dedicated web hosting costs you less and you have less headaches! Check out one of our recommend best dedicated web host companies before you commit to colocation.

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