ravim@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