Server Colocation and Off-Site Data Storage

When it comes to finding the best server colocation solutions you have to weigh a lot of varying needs. Of those needs, one of the least talked about is off-site data storage. Due to that, in this article we are going to talk about the aspects of server colocation that always seems to be swept under the rug.

Off-Site Data Storage

On its head, off-site data storage for server colocation services sounds pretty simple. To ensure your server uptime, your server colocation provider will operate out of two different data center colocation facilities. The first facility operates as your web hosting colocation provider’s main data center. In your colocation provider’s main data center, your main servers are stored, kept, maintained and updated. Full with redundant power and cooling supplies, 24/7/365 onsite security and 24/7/365 IT maintenance teams, your colocation server providers main data center should be a top of the line colocation center.

On the other hand, your colocation service provider’s backup data center should be the colocation facility that houses all your backup servers. These servers should be kept in a data center of the same tier and most importantly, should be stored in a data center located in a different geographical location. Geographic separation is the most important aspect of off-site data storage for server colocation.

Why?

The Need for Geo-Diverse Redundant Data Centers

A backup server colocation data center facility needs to be located in a different geographical location for the sole reason of avoiding downtime at the same time. For example, if both of your colocation data center facilities are located in lower Manhattan, if a storm hits the city causing the power to take a nose dive, both of your data centers will be down. On the other hand, if your backup data center is located hundreds to thousands of miles away, both data center locations will not fail due to the same citywide power outage.

Looking at the big picture, the major reason for geo-diverse redundant data centers is to avoid a major storm taking down two facilities at once. As much as we don’t want to think about a hurricane or a tornado or an earthquake taking out cities and states offline for days on end, it happens all too often. Due to this, if your customer facing solutions provided by your sever colocation services are to stay up and running in the face of a massive hurricane, you need to utilize a colocation provider who invests in geo-diverse redundant data centers.

Backup Policy

Once you know where your server colocation provider stands on geo-diverse redundant data center facilities, you need to understand what type of off-site data storage your provider supplies and how you can utilize those services to meet your server security needs.

To understand the off-site data storage policies of your colocation provider, ask the following questions:

–         How often are my colocation servers backed up?

–         Are full colocation server back ups taken?

–         For all new server data, is all new data backed up incrementally on top of an existing full server backup?

–         How many points of restore are there within each backup? How far back do the points of backup go?

–         Can I use my colocation server backup to spin up another colocation server? If so, how long will the process take?

These are all questions you need to ask when considering your colocation web hosting provider’s backup colocation data center facility. Without knowing the answers, you shouldn’t invest your colocation needs with any web hosting provider.