Colocation, a primer
Server colocation is an economical way to run a high bandwidth web site without maintaining a network or managing the necessary atmospheric controls. You buy and program a server, then ship it to a server colocation facility, which plugs it into the facility's established network. What is involved in server colocation? The colocation company maintains a network and offers IP addresses, low cost bandwidth, and all the other services servers need to connect to the Internet. The company's facility is kept at the ideal cleanliness level and temperature for servers, and the power supply is maintained through backup systems in order to keep your server up and running no matter what. Businesses ship their servers to the server colocation facility, where the facility techs connect them to the network.