Summing Up
That about wraps it up for our Colocation Primer. Upon reaching this point, you should have a solid grasp of the fundamentals of colocation, specifically:
- You should understand what colocation is and how it differs from the various types of managed hosting;
- You should understand the reasons for selecting colocation instead of other hosting options;
- You should understand the various ways that physical space can be allocated in the colocation data center;
- You should understand how bandwidth is supplied and measured by the colocation provider and/or Internet carrier, as well as the difference between the various ways of measuring and billing bandwidth usage;
- You should understand how IPv4 and IPv6 address space differs, and how each type is supplied to you by the provider;
- You should have a good overview of the various ways that power can be provisioned, supplied and billed in the data center.
Whew! Yes, it’s a lot of information. Don’t hesitate to go back to the beginning and read it again, after a short break or in the near future. Not everything will sink in at once. Otherwise, a good place to go from here is our (thankfully shorter) missive on choosing a colocation provider.