Dave Hatz wrote: > I would like to get some feedback from the network gurus on this list. We > are currently hosting our servers with a hosting company, but they are now > offering us a Managed Server option.
I currently have both co-lo servers and managed servers for our hosting. We maintain a private suite at Hostway in Tampa where we run our own network, equipment, etc. Having the flexibility of running your own stuff is nice as you have complete control over the environment (important for some regulatory compliance, etc.). The managed boxes we run are with SoftLayer out of Dallas and Seattle. We have full remote access to them, so we still installed our own ColdFusion servers and manage them. SoftLayer only gets involved if something is wrong with the hardware (disk failure, whatever). One major difference is in the billing models. We own our equipment in Tampa, so once we buy it we just rack it and there isn't any additional monthly cost (except when we need more electricity or bandwidth to power additional equipment). If we need more storage, we add a file server. If we need to further segment the network, we buy another switch or firewall, or whatever we need and deploy it. It's a lot more flexible and the overall cost is lower for co-lo in our environment. In a managed server environment, like the one offered by SoftLayer, everything has a monthly fee attached to it. Need to add a server, that's another $200/mo. You want a hardware firewall? $50/mo. Additional storage? Your monthly just went up. The managed option has a lower barrier to entry, but over the long run you'll pay more for the equipment, especially if you want nicer equipment (hardware raid, redundant power, etc). The other big factor is responsibility for maintenance. In a managed environment, if a hard drive fails, your provider will be monitoring that and resolve the issue on their end (look for response times as part of your agreement with them). If you co-lo your own boxes, well, they're yours. If you have a hardware failure you have to correct it yourself (or have a contract with someone who will come do it for you). If you have the resources (money, time, and knowledge) to co-lo your own equipment, that's the route I would go. If you need something up today and don't want to outlay a lot of money up front or sign a long-term contract, the managed option can be great until you have the ability to move up to your own equipment. -- Justin Scott | GravityFree Member of the Technical Staff 1960 Stickney Point Road, Suite 210 Sarasota | FL | 34231 | 800.207.4431 941.927.7674 x115 | f 941.923.5429 www.GravityFree.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;207172674;29440083;f Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-talk/message.cfm/messageid:320449 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-talk/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4
