[dc-ops] Colo shopping lists?

[Express Web Systems]

> 
> I'm googling about this afternoon, collecting various places' tick
> lists for
> questions I should be asking colo providers this week while I'm doing
> sales
> calls and tours.
> 
> Anyone got any favorite pointers?

Jay,

Some of the things that I always like to know are hidden charges like setup
fees for power drops, circuit upgrades, cross connects, etc.

I also try and pin them down on how long it takes to get additional power,
etc. Not really helpful for determining the best colo location, but it does
help you understand what sort of lead time is needed for your planning.

I think it is just outside the right time of year, but always try and take a
tour of the datacenter during the hottest part of the year (early to middle
August for the places I was looking). This gives you a good idea of how well
the DC is cooled, since that is going to be the worst case scenario for the
year. I have been in some DCs during the winter months and it was just fine,
but come July and August and you were sweating in the hot aisle. The heat
exchangers outside just couldn't keep up.

Spare power is also a biggie. It doesn't do you any good if you can't grow
into your space. I find this is typically more of an issue with high rise
colo facilities in large cities, than the sprawling colo facilities.

One thing that I have been looking for in my recent colo sites is Starline
Busway power distribution. This is like Legos for electrical power. I love
the flexibility and turnaround times from the facilities that have it
installed. It's literally snap in instant power circuits with localized
circuit breakers. About the only problem I have seen is that they cost a
little bit more, so many facilities only have them as a single feed option
(not many places have them available in an A/B configuration).

One other thing that has bitten me before is load in/load out. Some
facilities just don't have a good way to do this. Other places the building
security guards are raging jerks and caused me nothing but grief on a load
in, I was all too glad to leave that place just because of the security
guards.

One other thing to check is cabinet types. More of a minor issue though.

That's about it off the top of my head from eight years of moving between
data centers.

Tom Walsh