Using colocation services enables businesses to maintain full control over their web servers with minimal financial commitment and maximum convenience. Here is a simple guide to how using colocation services can help you to control your web servers.
The term “web servers” is generally used as shorthand for systems dedicated to delivering online content to end users over the internet. Servers used for delivering online content over internal networks are known as intranet servers rather than web servers. The name, however, is the only real difference between them.
Colocation services allow businesses to own and customize their physical servers while leveraging the advanced infrastructure of a professional data center. Colocation facilities provide a secure and compliant environment with advanced infrastructure. This ensures the equipment hosted in it is kept in optimum conditions.
The unique selling point of colocation services is that they combine the key benefits of both on-premises data centers and public clouds. More specifically, they are customizable, scalable, and very cost-effective.
Customizing the hardware, operating system, and software of a web server can make a huge difference to its performance.
The foundation of any web server system is its hardware. Here is a quick overview of how businesses that use colocation services can customize their hardware for peak performance.
The CPU is the brain of the server, responsible for executing instructions. Through customization, businesses can optimize performance by selecting CPUs with higher core counts, increased clock speeds, and specific architectures tailored to their application’s computational requirements.
RAM is crucial for storing and quickly accessing data that is actively used by applications. Customization allows businesses to optimize memory by selecting RAM modules with the appropriate capacity, speed, and latency, ensuring efficient data retrieval and processing.
Businesses can optimize storage by choosing between HDDs for cost-effective, high-capacity storage and SSDs for faster data access. RAID configurations can also be customized to enhance data redundancy and performance.
Customizing storage capacity ensures that web servers have sufficient space to store data and applications without running into limitations.
Customizing the motherboard allows businesses to choose the form factor that best suits the physical dimensions of the web server. This facilitates efficient use of rack space in a colocation facility.
Businesses can also choose the right number and type of expansion slots for additional peripherals or future upgrades.
Customizing the PSU involves selecting an appropriate wattage and efficiency rating to ensure reliable power delivery. Redundant power supplies can also be configured to enhance system availability.
Customizing the cooling system involves selecting the most efficient form(s) of cooling to maintain optimal operating temperatures. This prevents overheating and ensures hardware longevity.
Fans and heat sinks are the traditional cooling options and can still be very effective. For more advanced setups, however, businesses may prefer to implement liquid cooling solutions.
Customization allows businesses to optimize networking by selecting high-speed NICs that align with their bandwidth requirements. Additionally, businesses can choose between wired and wireless options based on their specific needs.
Customizing the operating system (OS) and software stack on a web server is a key part of optimizing its performance for specific application requirements.
Tailoring the OS involves selecting the most suitable version/distribution, kernel parameters, and system libraries, optimizing resource utilization, and maximizing responsiveness. Businesses can streamline the OS by removing unnecessary components. This reduces the attack surface and enhances overall security.
At the software level, customization extends to the web server software (e.g. Apache, Litespeed, Nginx), databases (e.g. MongoDM, MySQL, PostgreSQL), and scripting languages (e.g. Javascript, PHP, Python). Clients can optimize these components by configuring settings, adjusting caching mechanisms, and implementing load balancing for efficient resource utilization and improved response times.
Clients can also customize security measures, such as firewalls and encryption protocols. This helps to ensure a robust defense against potential threats. As such, it may be required to ensure compliance with some data security standards.
The management benefits of using colocation services to control web servers can be summed up as “freedom to concentrate on core tasks”. The colocation provider will provide an agreed level of service for an agreed price. In particular, they will provide a contractually enforceable uptime guarantee. Currently, this is expected to be a minimum of 99.999%.
Many colocation vendors will also offer managed services and ad-hoc technical support, including on-site remote-hands support. Alternatively, businesses are free to use their own preferred vendors. This means that the business is free to concentrate on leveraging its IT web servers in the most effective way possible.
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