Where to host your own hardware: the colocation guide
You have bought your servers, or you already own them, and the question becomes: where do you put them? Keeping them in an on-site server room quickly hits limits around power, cooling, physical security, and connectivity. The professional answer has a specific name: colocation.
Estimate my cost →Colocation, plainly #
Colocation means installing your own hardware in a third party's data center. You remain the owner of the servers; the provider supplies what they are missing: reliable, redundant power, precision cooling, physical security, and access to many network carriers.
What you actually rent #
- Space: a few U in a shared rack, a full rack, or a private cage.
- Power: a committed capacity in kW, with or without redundancy.
- Connectivity: access to the carriers present and the option of cross-connects.
- Operations: site access and, when needed, hands on site (remote hands).
The selection checklist #
Location, level of power and cooling redundancy, richness of the network ecosystem (a neutral site, open to several carriers?), certifications, access terms, and an all-inclusive, readable price. A good site is judged not on rack rent alone, but on the reliability and balance of these core layers.
FAQ #
There is no absolute threshold: you can colocate a few U. The question is not the count, but the stability and criticality of the workload.
Yes, physical access is provided. For urgent remote interventions, the remote hands service acts on your behalf.
Written on 1 September 2026.
From reading to comparing: relevant data centers
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