Cloud Services Vs Colocation: Where To Host Your Server

The traditional business applications are always very complicated and expensive, to the point that needs of hardware and software necessary for their implementation are such that it cannot be met. Moreover, the complexity of some software platforms requires specially trained personnel for installation, configuration, testing, implementation and upgrade. The costs to support this complexity can be unaffordable for small and medium enterprises.

On the other hand, companies need to use their own resources, and safety, and also the need to use an experimental platform hardware or software, or proprietary, and thus cannot be shared with other companies, can make all the infrastructure necessary to take network under control and did not entrust the management of external services, not always easy to monitor. Thus the need to understand the distinction between Cloud Services and data center colocation was born, and where to start and finish each others advantages and disadvantages, in order to make the choice to be the best compromise between cost, quality of service, and real needs of end users.

Cloud Services

The term Cloud Services came with bullying in recent years in most discussion related to the computer world, becoming the main actor, without that most of the experts know what it is.

We have a lot of  articles on our blog that explains a lot of things related to Cloud Services and all types attached to it.

The term Cloud Services is a set of technologies that allow the use of hardware resources such as CPUs and disks, or software distributed in remote, in other words: the ability to access services and data via internet without any information infrastructure that keeps them and makes them work.

Cloud Services allows you to do all the traditional activities that concern the use of a PC, except that the software is no longer performed locally, for example, to open a text document, instead of clicking the icon editor and making the modifications we will click on browser and enter a web address from which a text editor application can be used. The same operating system, desktop, folders and files will be displayed and used as if they were on local pc, but this is only an abstraction of reality, as it will be installed in a physically secure location, remote, within a set of infrastructure, data center, equipped with high-performance servers that store the data.

Typically, the graphical representations of the Internet, represent the network as a cloud they are attached to individual host or service provider. Cloud Services is what is in the cloud, without the end user, who needs to know how it is actually structured.

Cloud computing, in technical terms, is then offered as a series of virtual machines that allow you to spread the load and balance the resources between them, being able to add resources only when these are necessary. The cloud of ESDS for example, allows the creation of virtual instances on demand, only when these are really necessary, and this approach has led to a number of uses that favor cloud services for online high-traffic area, with sudden bursts of Use .

Pros And Cons Of Cloud Computing

• Architecture of this type has advantages such as lower costs, as software in the cloud “significantly reduces the investment to do than buying licenses to install the software locally;
• lower support costs, since the update to the latest release is without a dedicated IT department maintains, updates and installing new software;
• reduced risks relating to bugs and attacks, as data security becomes an issue of the hosting provider;
• access to services at any time, any place, without the need to carry, portable devices such as smart phones, tablet, XPAD, or removable storage;
• The advantages are obvious, but at the same time, the adoption of such a technological solution for the end user has disadvantages that must be taken into account.

Access to the cloud is online and you need a reliable and fast connection, and one that also includes a subscription, and then the choice of provider must be made with caution, as the provider will be responsible indirectly for the productivity of their employment and security of their data. A situation of failure of network access, or inaccessibility of the provider, can lead to loss of use of services, and lack of access to their data remotely, resulting in suspension of work activities, having moved all in remote, we have no control over what happens, I can actually know how data will be processed, or whether they will be used without consent and notice. A secure solution would be the replication of some services, and all the data locally, with the consequent need for periodic synchronization and increased costs.

Cloud infrastructure solutions are also always shared , in terms of resources, which means that the user may incur risks of sharing data with other users or to share the same problems that plague the entire platform.

Usually the Cloud Services provide for contracts with very few fixed costs, most of the billing service is on-demand, when the customer starts using the service and creates the first instances in the cloud: the same storage happens, in optical cloud, this is billed according to consumption, and the customer should not purchase a cut of space, as it is the case for a normal server.

Colocation And Dedicated Server Rental

The colocation service allows you to locate one or more servers, network devices, or storage of customer property in a single data center, their dense structures and spaces of the same way as a hotel room for people, these devices are also hosted a variety of related service provider (network and telecommunications), with a reduced cost and complexity for end users. A colocation center is a special type of data center and systems are placed inside a standard rack cabinet in the structures used by the provider.

The co-location provides an effective and safe way to host services with related equipment. The server is owned by the customer, but it is also possible to rent a server from the colocation service provider. The installation, setup and maintenance are charged to the customer, who has a difference of architecture cloud control hardware and software, and can be accessed in a manner similar to how you access a website.

• Colocation solutions are offered either in a shared environment, mostly, and the provider takes care of backup and disaster recovery solutions in demanding environments for providing electricity for environmental systems and levels of physical security. A colocation provider usually provides:
• space, with different sizes and slot within the rack;
• bandwidth, dedicated or shared;
• power, which can be single or redundant with remote control;
• Access to and support during office hours, access and support H24, H24, or with access badges;
• IP addresses, IPv4 and / or IPv6;
• any managed care services, with the support of technical staff in the data center, either locally or remotely;

In the final analysis, particular attention in selecting the data center should be given, since it must represent the structure and the ideal environment to host the server , observing certain requirements in order to provide suitable infrastructure for companies that need a customized solution for the implementation of web-based services, and that in particular need to use proprietary hardware.

The colocation and dedicated server rental solutions are still preferred by customers who want to maintain complete control over their data, preventing external access or problems to the whole cloud, could endanger their services. This is especially true in business environments where process information is critical, especially in the context of Public Administration, where it is unthinkable to entrust their data to an external manager.

Cloud Services And Your Server Colocation

What can be the Cloud Services management with respect to a colocation data center, and vice versa, what are advantages and disadvantages.

Much depends on the kind of vision we have for the business, and also how you will organize it. Many companies are wary of Cloud Services, because of its “without control” structure, and therefore it is strictly linked to the impossibility of having specific well-defined and clear architecture of cloud. But this happens particularly for large companies, which in principle have the economic resources to cope with the investment in a complex IT infrastructure, efficient and scalable.

Small businesses that may require large computational resources are faced with the problem of costs, and therefore are more likely to accept a cloud solution.

If your company has financial resources to invest in the IT department, which is always less likely in view of the crisis still exists, Cloud Services may be a test solution, but nothing more, in case you should have the resources to invest in IT Infrastructure, using the co-location, to overcome problems of space and maintenance of the physical server environments.

Cloud Services, and its continued evolution is certainly a desirable solution for companies that have few resources to invest in the architecture of the network and are willing to greater flexibility , especially in the context of a service due to connection problems, the provider network may degrade.

The colocation is suitable for companies who need to expand their hardware without losing the current level of security, and this is an effective way for companies to manage the company’s software securely from anywhere in the world.

To be more specific, the world of online services, from web hosting to the online applications, can greatly benefit from Cloud Services, especially if you do not want to initially invest in the purchase of their hardware resources: however, this has a negative return in terms of customization, often Cloud Services environments, totally virtual and dispersed data centers abroad, do not allow for action at all levels of its infrastructure, so they cannot meet the demands of some customers.

The choice of a Cloud Services service, in this context, it is preferable when you are faced with resource consumption variables from month to month, with the need to make available its online service to thousands of people, in a few days, and with a zero investment in terms of hardware.

The co-location, as well as direct hire dedicated servers, is now the leading solution for those who must maintain tight control over their data: this also means the ability to create own private cloud, in order to enjoy the benefits of maintaining cloud however, control over infrastructure.