Posting an offer on The Colocation Exchange requires providers to submit answers to a standard set of questions that buyers can then review.  Some of these terms may not be familiar to both buyers and sellers so we have attempted to explain these as follows:

 

 

Asset Type – To confirm what type of facility is being offered.  At present we are only focussing on fully prepared facilities, but may at a later stage introduce different types such as shell and core facilities where buyers can provide their own fit-out to their own specification

 

Operator Type – Most facilities listed are operated on a Carrier Neutral basis, where the colocation customer has the right and ability to choose which ever network or bandwidth providers they want.  We usually list carrier owned facilities where there is no true carrier neutral facility available, such as in markets that are only recently liberated or where the facility is being offered by a carrier but on a carrier neutral basis, ie you don’t have to buy their bandwidth if you don’t want to

 

Occupied – To give a broad feel for how full the facility is we ask providers to give a rough level of the level of occupancy.  For example a new facility will only have a low level of occupation whilst the more established ones will tend to have a higher level of occupancy

 

Number of Customers – Again, a guide to indicate how busy a site is

 

Number of Carriers – To give an indication on level of network options available. Obviously the more the better

 

 

Gross Size – Total floor area of the facility, includes plant room, office space etc

 

Net Size – The total area that can actually be used for colocation, net of plant areas etc

 

Number of floors – To help give a feel for the type of building

 

Fibre Entry points – To indicate if diverse options are available

 

Floor loading – presented as either Imperial as Ibs per square foot or Metric as Kgs per square metre

 

Floor void – If the facility has a raised floor than how high is this from the concrete slab underneath.  You would normally expect this to be at least 30cm, or 12 inches, if not more, but in some retrofitted facilities this can be tight

 

Slab Height – The total void from concrete floor slab to the one above; gives an indication of the total height possible ignoring raised floors or hung ceiling tiles

 

Roof Rights – Can customers place equipment on the facility roof?  Typically used for satellites dishes and wireless or mobile equipment

 

 

220V available – What is the standard voltage of power supplied

 

110V available - What is the standard voltage of power supplied

 

Diverse Grid - To indicate if the facility is supplied by diverse and independent high voltage grid connections

 

DC Available – does the facility offer a separate DC (Direct Current) supply in addition to the standard AC supply?  If not, colocation customers who need a DC supply will have to consider provisioning their own rectifiers to convert AC into DC; a number of systems are available, including those that can be mounted in a rack or cabinet.

 

UPS – Uninterruptible Power Supply – UPS – to confirm it is available and the level of redundancy provided.  The UPS systems ensure smooth transfer of power supply from grid to generator and clean or condition the power supply to remove spikes or sags.  

 

Redundancy –

A+B = means there is a spare unit for each one needed, i.e. if two are required four are provided.  This is the best level of redundancy one could have

N+0 = means no redundancy i.e. only the exact number of units required to meet normal loads are provided, with no spare or backup capacity

N+1 = means a spare unit is provided, so if 3 UPS units required to meet normal load 4 are provided.  Allows units to be taken offline for maintenance in turn whilst still providing service, a fairly normal industry standard

N+2 = same as N+1 except that there are two spare units, so if 3 required 5 are provided

 

Generator – is a backup generator available and if so, what level of redundancy is provided

 

Diverse A+B feeds – can totally diverse supplies be delivered to a rack or cabinet.  This requires A+B redundancy throughout the facility to avoid having a single common point of failure.  In some facilities A+B feeds are supplied as standard, in others, it is available but at extra cost.  Finally in a number of sites a truly diverse and separate power supply to each rack or cabinet cannot be supplied

 

 

HVAC – To confirm the availability of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, used to ensure the temperature in the facility remains in the optimal range for the equipment housed; vital for any modern data centre

 

Air temperature – what is the typical setting for the HVAC?  The reliability of all IT equipment is greatly affected by temperature with the risk of failure increasingly greatly at higher temperatures or if temperatures fluctuate greatly.  A typical range is 19 to 22 degrees Celsius, or 66 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Humidity – what is the typical relative humidity set to? Relative humidity is important for occupiers as if it’s too low the risk of static discharge increases but if too high the risk of water damage and condensation increases.  A typical figure is 50%

 

Amount of cooling per rack – how much HVAC is typically provisioned per rack?  This would normally be a proportion of the amount of power delivered per rack, so a rack provisioned for 1000Watts might expect to have some 500Watts of cooling capacity

 

Cooling per area – how much cooling capacity is typically provided by area, either per square metre or per square foot.  Again, this should be a function of the power delivered per area

 

 

System Type – to determine which type is available

 

Pre-action Sprinkler – a water based system whereby the sprinkler pipes are kept empty until an initial alarm before being “charged”.  Finally sprinklers are only discharged on a second confirmation and only in the affected area.  Fairly typical system in US based facilities

 

Wet pipe sprinkler – more typically found in ordinary offices, this system may be found in facilities that have retrofitted buildings not purpose built for data centre use.  As the name implies, the pipes remain constantly filled with water, thus increasing the risk of accidental discharge or leakage

 

Mist – Or Fog systems use a fine mist to douse fires.  The attractions of these systems are that they do not cause problems with the electrical equipment whilst covering a wider area than traditional sprinkler systems.

 

Gas based – a number of gas based systems exist and are used to prevent water damage to equipment, although they have the drawback of often causing ancillary damage by the release of gas under pressure and the requirement to evacuate personnel in advance of discharge.  Types used range from Halon, carbon dioxide, argonite, Inergen and FM200 and the aim is always to deprive a fire of oxygen

 

VESDA – Very Early Smoke Detection Alarm – is it available?  This is highly sensitive equipment designed to sample the air in a facility and detect smoke particles.  These are set at a suitable level to offer early indications of any potential problems and activate alarms.

 

 

 

To help give some ideas of the sort of security and access arrangements available some standard questions are asked

 

 

What amenities are available to customers, such as meeting rooms for hire, office space, preparation rooms to unpack and prepare equipment prior to installation, on site car parking and storage

 

 

Some colocation providers now provide a range of services over and above the provision of data centre space itself, usually available only if the customer wants it, i.e. they don’t have to buy these services from the colo provider.  We have asked about some typical products but given the bespoke nature more may be available

 

 

The best specified facility is useless without a good choice of network providers.  Here colocation providers can list the carriers and network operators available

 

 

Rack Price – What is the standard price per rack or cabinet?  This only needs to be a typical, benchmark figures and is used by way of a guide.  It is not binding on either party

 

Rack Install Price – What are the typical installation costs for a rack or cabinet?  Details about what this does or does not include can be listed in the Notes section

 

Inc Power – Does the standard price include power charges?

 

Inc Support - Does the standard price include any support or remote hands services?

 

Rack typical power – How much power is typically available per rack/cab?

 

Notes – Providers can place additional information here about their rack or cabinet pricing to help clarify any points

 

 

Space Price – What is the standard price per square foot or per square metre?  This only needs to be a typical, benchmark figures and is used by way of a guide.  It is not binding on either party

 

Space Power Costs – What are typical power costs for customers buying by the foot or metre?

 

Inc Support - Does the standard space price include any support or remote hands services?

 

Space typical power – How much power is typically available per square metre or per square foot?

 

Notes – Providers can place additional information here about their rack or cabinet pricing to help clarify any points

 

Please note we do not ask for typical space installation costs as these could vary greatly, depending on the amount of space involved, fit out standards etc