<s>
A	O
colocation	B-Application
center	I-Application
(	O
also	O
spelled	O
co-location	O
,	O
or	O
colo	O
)	O
or	O
"	O
carrier	B-Application
hotel	I-Application
"	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
data	B-Operating_System
centre	I-Operating_System
where	O
equipment	O
,	O
space	O
,	O
and	O
bandwidth	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
rental	O
to	O
retail	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Colocation	B-Application
facilities	I-Application
provide	O
space	O
,	O
power	O
,	O
cooling	O
,	O
and	O
physical	O
security	O
for	O
the	O
server	B-Application
,	O
storage	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
networking	B-Architecture
equipment	O
of	O
other	O
firms	O
and	O
also	O
connect	O
them	O
to	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
telecommunications	O
and	O
network	O
service	O
providers	O
with	O
a	O
minimum	O
of	O
cost	O
and	O
complexity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
the	O
customer	O
owns	O
the	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
IT	O
)	O
equipment	O
and	O
the	O
facility	O
provides	O
power	O
and	O
cooling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Customers	O
retain	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
design	O
and	O
usage	O
of	O
their	O
equipment	O
,	O
but	O
daily	O
management	O
of	O
the	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
and	O
facility	O
are	O
overseen	O
by	O
the	O
multi-tenant	O
colocation	O
provider	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cabinets	O
–	O
A	O
cabinet	O
is	O
a	O
locking	O
unit	O
that	O
holds	O
a	O
server	B-Application
rack	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
multi-tenant	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
,	O
servers	O
within	O
cabinets	O
share	O
raised-floor	O
space	O
with	O
other	O
tenants	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
sharing	O
power	O
and	O
cooling	O
infrastructure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cages	O
–	O
A	O
cage	O
is	O
dedicated	O
server	B-Application
space	O
within	O
a	O
traditional	O
raised-floor	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
;	O
it	O
is	O
surrounded	O
by	O
mesh	O
walls	O
and	O
entered	O
through	O
a	O
locking	O
door	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cages	O
share	O
power	O
and	O
cooling	O
infrastructure	O
with	O
other	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
tenants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Suites	O
–	O
A	O
suite	O
is	O
a	O
dedicated	O
,	O
private	O
server	B-Application
space	O
within	O
a	O
traditional	O
raised-floor	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
;	O
it	O
is	O
fully	O
enclosed	O
by	O
solid	O
partitions	O
and	O
entered	O
through	O
a	O
locking	O
door	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Suites	O
may	O
share	O
power	O
and	O
cooling	O
infrastructure	O
with	O
other	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
tenants	O
,	O
or	O
have	O
these	O
resources	O
provided	O
on	O
a	O
dedicated	O
basis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modules	O
–	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
modules	O
are	O
purpose-engineered	O
modules	O
and	O
components	O
to	O
offer	O
scalable	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
capacity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
typically	O
use	O
standardized	O
components	O
,	O
which	O
make	O
them	O
easily	O
added	O
,	O
integrated	O
or	O
retrofitted	O
into	O
existing	O
data	B-Operating_System
centers	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
cheaper	O
and	O
easier	O
to	O
build	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
colocation	O
environment	O
,	O
the	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
module	O
is	O
a	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
within	O
a	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
,	O
with	O
its	O
own	O
steel	O
walls	O
and	O
security	O
protocol	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
own	O
cooling	O
and	O
power	O
infrastructure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
A	O
number	O
of	O
colocation	O
companies	O
have	O
praised	O
the	O
modular	O
approach	O
to	O
data	B-Operating_System
centers	I-Operating_System
to	O
better	O
match	O
customer	O
demand	O
with	O
physical	O
build	O
outs	O
,	O
and	O
allow	O
customers	O
to	O
buy	O
a	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
as	O
a	O
service	O
,	O
paying	O
only	O
for	O
what	O
they	O
consume.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Buildings	O
with	O
data	B-Operating_System
centres	I-Operating_System
inside	O
them	O
are	O
often	O
easy	O
to	O
recognize	O
by	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
cooling	O
equipment	O
located	O
outside	O
or	O
on	O
the	O
roof	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Colocation	B-Application
facilities	I-Application
have	O
many	O
other	O
special	O
characteristics	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
electrical	O
power	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
electronic	O
equipment	O
is	O
converted	O
to	O
heat	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
rejected	O
to	O
the	O
ambient	O
air	O
in	O
the	O
data	B-Operating_System
centre	I-Operating_System
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
controlling	O
the	O
space	O
air	O
temperature	O
,	O
the	O
server	B-Application
components	O
at	O
the	O
board	O
level	O
are	O
kept	O
within	O
the	O
manufacturer	O
's	O
specified	O
temperature	O
and	O
humidity	O
range	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Colocation	O
data	B-Operating_System
centres	I-Operating_System
are	O
often	O
audited	O
to	O
prove	O
that	O
they	O
attain	O
certain	O
standards	O
and	O
levels	O
of	O
reliability	O
;	O
the	O
most	O
commonly	O
seen	O
systems	O
are	O
SSAE	O
16	O
SOC	O
1	O
Type	O
I	O
and	O
Type	O
II	O
(	O
formerly	O
SAS	O
70	O
Type	O
I	O
and	O
Type	O
II	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
tier	O
system	O
by	O
the	O
Uptime	O
Institute	O
or	O
TIA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
data	B-Operating_System
center	I-Operating_System
compliance	O
standards	O
include	O
Health	O
Insurance	O
Portability	O
and	O
Accountability	O
Act	O
(	O
HIPAA	O
)	O
audit	O
and	O
PCI	O
DSS	O
Standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Colocation	B-Application
facilities	I-Application
generally	O
have	O
generators	O
that	O
start	O
automatically	O
when	O
utility	O
power	O
fails	O
,	O
usually	O
running	O
on	O
diesel	O
fuel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Generators	O
do	O
not	O
start	O
instantaneously	O
,	O
so	O
colocation	B-Application
facilities	I-Application
usually	O
have	O
battery	O
backup	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
colocation	B-Application
facilities	I-Application
can	O
provide	O
redundant	O
,	O
A	O
and	O
B	O
power	O
feeds	O
to	O
customer	O
equipment	O
,	O
and	O
high	O
end	O
servers	O
and	O
telecommunications	O
equipment	O
often	O
can	O
have	O
two	O
power	O
supplies	O
installed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Colocation	B-Application
facilities	I-Application
are	O
sometimes	O
connected	O
to	O
multiple	O
sections	O
of	O
the	O
utility	O
power	O
grid	O
for	O
additional	O
reliability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Colocation	B-Application
facility	I-Application
owners	O
have	O
differing	O
rules	O
regarding	O
cross-connects	O
between	O
their	O
customers	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
whom	O
may	O
be	O
carriers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
colocation	B-Application
centres	I-Application
feature	O
a	O
"	O
meet-me-room	B-Architecture
"	O
where	O
the	O
different	O
carriers	O
housed	O
in	O
the	O
centre	O
can	O
efficiently	O
exchange	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
peering	B-Protocol
points	I-Protocol
sit	O
in	O
colocation	B-Application
centres	I-Application
and	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
high	O
concentration	O
of	O
servers	O
inside	O
larger	O
colocation	B-Application
centres	I-Application
,	O
most	O
carriers	O
will	O
be	O
interested	O
in	O
bringing	O
direct	O
connections	O
to	O
such	O
buildings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
many	O
cases	O
,	O
there	O
will	O
be	O
a	O
larger	O
Internet	B-Protocol
exchange	I-Protocol
point	I-Protocol
hosted	O
inside	O
a	O
colocation	B-Application
centre	I-Application
,	O
where	O
customers	O
can	O
connect	O
for	O
peering	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
