Colocation services come in a variety of rack space options. Large IT centric companies prefer full racks/cabinets and private cage colocation. Others companies with less server hardware, prefer partial rack options like 1/4 rack, 1/3 rack and 1/2 racks. A “U” can be defined as 1.75″ which is the actually the thickness of the individual server. Major hardware manufactures like Dell and HP offer new 1U “starter” servers starting around $1000 per server. Refurbished 1U servers can be found through a hardware vendor or on Ebay for around $500 per server. 1U Colocation pricing is much more competitive compared to other traditional hosting options.

1U colocation offers plenty of advantages:

1) Cost savings compared to tower server colocation

Compared to colocating a tower server, 1U server colocation is much cheaper. Let’s compare some colocation pricing options. Tower servers typically require a 1/4 rack of colocation space. 1/4 racks typically start at $299 a month in most US cities. In comparison, 1U server colocation can be found at $59-$99 a month. Over a 12 month term, that can result in a savings of $ 3000 a year!

2) Better scalability compared to larger servers and tower servers.

Depending upon your colocation provider’s power and cooling restrictions, clients can “rack and stack” up to 30+ 1U servers in a full rack/cabinet. With tower servers, you are limited to 6 or 8 servers per rack/cabinet. Clients that need to consistently add new servers to their hosted infrastructure are better off using space efficient 1U servers.

3) Long-term cost savings versus a provider supplied dedicated server

Over the last 15 years, we have worked with many clients trying to make the decision between a dedicated server versus buying and colocating a 1U server. When considering long term costs, the 1U server colocation option wins every time. Mid ranged provider supplied dedicated servers generally cost approximately $200 a month compared to $50-$99 a month for 1U colocation. Over a 12 month term, that can result in a savings of $1800 a year!

4) More control and autonomy versus a provider supplied dedicated server

Dedicated servers tend to come with some restrictions. For security reasons, most dedicated server providers will not allow clients to have physical access to the dedicated server. Some clients need to access their servers for special requirements like loading homegrown software and applications. Some dedicated providers will not allow root access to the server depending upon your service contract. Unlike colocation, if you are not happy with your dedicated provider, you can not simply go to the data center to remove your server. The server is the property of the provider and the only thing you own is the data.

1U colocation offers many advantages compared to larger servers and dedicated hosting. Obtain quotes from several providers and weigh the pros and cons for your unique business hosting requirements.

Lets look at some 1U colocation pricing examples on the East Coast of the United States…

Northeast Region – In the Northeast, 1U Colocation server colocation tends to be more expensive compared to other parts of the country.

In New York City, 1U server colocation ranges from $75 to $150 a month. Whitelabel ITSolutions a colocation providers in New York Metro Area offer 1U colo packages with a couple amps of power and basic bandwidth for $99 a month. In Manhattan, downtown NYC and northern NJ, you are likely to pay more – around $100+ a month.