Colocation vs Managed Hosting
With Managed Hosting (also known as Web Hosting or Managed Dedicated Hosting / Dedicated Servers), typically you provide just the data portion of the hosting presence: domain name, web page design/content, media files, etc. All other aspects - server hardware, software, administration, DNS, email and support services - are provided for you by your host.
 With Colocation, you are expected to provide your own server, and install and configure all the software on it that you will want/need. Once ready, you take or ship your server to the location of the colocation service provider and it is installed in their data cabinet or rack. They provide you with the IP(s), bandwidth, and power to your server, and sometimes some basic support services. Once it's up and running, you access it much like you would access a Web site on a hosting provider.
One can surmise the differences from this brief description. Managed Hosting is obviously easier (especially for the neophyte) and less expensive to get into, but offers limit control and options. Essentially, you get what you are given, and if you are happy with that, great, but if you want or need something else in the way of hardware, software or services, it may not be available to you (and rest assured that you will pay if it is). Also unless you are on a truly dedicated server, you are sharing hardware resources with others and could potential suffer from degraded performance because of this.
With Colocation, you will need to obtain your own hardware and software up front, then set it up and configure it to perform the tasks you need and desire - a considerable investment of time and money on your part before you are even online. But, you are in complete control of the resulting hardware and services, with no artificial limitations on what you can do. Also, while Managed Hosting is initially less expensive, Colocation is generally more economical as your hardware and bandwidth usage grows.
|
