Colocation
Colocation is a model of hosting a customer’s server and network equipment in a third-party data center with the provision of physical infrastructure, connectivity, and engineering systems. Under colocation, a company owns its hardware but places it in a professional data center, gaining access to reliable power supply, cooling, physical security, and high-speed network connections.
Unlike cloud services and server rental, colocation assumes that responsibility for the server hardware remains with the customer, while the data center is responsible for operating conditions. This approach is widely used in corporate IT infrastructures, telecom environments, and by service providers.
How colocation works
As part of a colocation service, the customer places their servers in data center racks or rents a dedicated rack, multiple racks, or a dedicated area. The data center provides redundant power supply, cooling systems, physical security, monitoring, and access to network infrastructure.
Server management is performed remotely or through on-site visits by the customer’s specialists. Many data centers also offer remote hands services, where facility staff perform basic equipment operations at the customer’s request.
What colocation includes
A typical colocation service may include:
- server placement in data center racks
- guaranteed and redundant power supply
- air conditioning and environmental control systems
- physical security and access control
- internet connectivity and carrier links
- 24/7 monitoring of engineering systems
The exact service scope depends on the data center tier, customer requirements, and the selected SLA.
Colocation vs cloud and server rental
Colocation differs from cloud services in that the customer uses their own hardware and independently manages operating systems, software, and updates. In the cloud, computing resources are provided as a service and abstracted from the physical infrastructure.
Compared to dedicated server rental, colocation offers greater control over hardware configuration and equipment lifecycle, but requires capital investment in purchasing and maintaining the hardware.
Use cases for colocation
Colocation is widely used to host corporate systems, databases, telecom equipment, network nodes, and mission-critical services. This model is suitable for companies that need to retain control over hardware, ensure predictable performance, and meet security and compliance requirements.
Colocation is also popular among service providers, hosting companies, and telecom operators that deploy their own equipment in large data centers with developed network ecosystems.
Advantages of colocation
The main advantages of colocation include:
- high reliability and fault tolerance
- professional data center engineering infrastructure
- full control over hardware
- access to high-quality network connectivity and traffic exchange points
- compliance with security and data placement requirements
At the same time, colocation requires upfront investment in hardware and may not be suitable for projects with rapidly changing workloads.
FAQ
Colocation is placing a company’s own servers in a professional data center while using its infrastructure.
With colocation, the customer uses their own hardware, while in the cloud resources are provided as a service without direct reliance on physical servers.
Colocation is suitable for companies that require full hardware control, stable performance, and high reliability.
Yes, server maintenance remains the responsibility of the customer, although some tasks can be performed by data center staff upon request.
Yes, colocation is widely used in enterprise infrastructures, telecom networks, and by service providers.
