Server colocation is a largely commoditized product these days. It's possible to get really cheap rack space, managed servers and data feeds on the mainland. You can even order right online and never speak to a representative. These highly automated, "arms' length" solutions may be right for businesses shopping on price alone, whose primary traffic will also be on the mainland (since geographic proximity does have an effect on both speeds and pricing), and who can tolerate slow or nonexistent customer contact in the case of changes, problems or downtime.
Quality-minded businesses looking for the best overall solution and the best performance for data destined for Hawaii, the US Mainland and the Pacific Rim will want to shop closer to home... and to talk to LavaNet.
Colocation of a company server of any type is a "trust fall". The system administrator is making a strategic choice to sacrifice localized control of network components in favor of a partnership that delivers the fastest, most responsive connection possible with rock-solid uptime and exceptional technical services, from sales team to help desk. Choosing the right partner is critical. There are three main components to an ideal data center partner like LavaNet: Data Center technical qualifications, the availability of qualified professional expertise, and a fair, reasonable price.
1. Data Center Technical qualifications. LavaNet's include:
- physical location on a solid grid for power (downtown honolulu)
- redundant power and cooling (independent rooftop generator)
- redundant routing/backbone connections 90+ Mbps of backbone connectivity over two redundant tier one backbone providers)
- robust "telco grade" routers and switches
- a secure and restricted physical environment
- 24x7 network monitoring and response
- ability to serve either rackmount or desktop server form factors
2. The availability of qualified professional expertise. LavaNet features:
- direct telephone access to data center staff for support (straight to our "tier three" support team)
- a wide array of consulting options including specification, purchase, configuration and maintenance of servers (though clients can also bring and maintain their own as well)
- extensive experience with UNIX operating systems
- expertise without the hype. (for instance, watch out for claims like "Class A Data Center" and "Class 1 Data Center". These terms (though they have a lot of "wow" appeal) are essentially meaningless designations without established standards.
3. Fair and reasonable pricing.
LaveNet offers highly competitive pricing (over and above the open rates shown on our website) to meet the needs of clients looking for a yearly or multi-year contract term. We also can create specific packages to meet specific needs for rack space, bandwidth, power, maintenance and more.
