ravim(a)iname.COM (Ravi M) writes:
>In the past few weeks, eBay has been in talks with several Exodus
>competitors for a new contract to move a portion of its Web servers to a
>new vendor, the sources say. Exodus Chief Executive Ellen Hancock says
>its relationship with eBay is in good shape. eBay spokesman Kevin
>Pursglove declined to say whether it was mulling a move of its primary
>Web servers but says that a top priority is to figure out where to house
>a key backup system.
While both eBay and Exodus have problems, I see this as a good thing, not
a bad thing. When looking for a place to house your backup servers, its
smart to have some diversity. The problem with co-location facilities
operated by the carriers themselves is a lack of many types of diversity.
Bringing an AT&T line into a UUNET facility, or a Sprint line into a
GTEI facility can be a problem and sometimes actively discouraged
by the operator. Owning your own fiber doesn't mean you have a clue how
to design or operate a co-location facility (or even an IP network).
So-called neutral facilties like Equinix and maybe PAIX help with carrier
diversity. But even then I would consider putting my backup servers in
a different co-location facility than my primary servers.
Although co-location has become an important and growing part of the business;
many of the "older" (in Internet years, 1 or 2 years) facilities weren't
designed or operated to meet what customers are now expecting. Two words:
MAE-East, Garage.
People are learning how to build these facilities. I've been very impressed
with several facilities built in the last year. Co-location is not just
a telephone office with some computer servers stuck in a corner, nor a
data center with some fiber muxes stuck in a corner.
--
Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO
Affiliation given for identification not representation
