Rack Space: DC1.AMSTERDAM makes it clear

What is rack space?

Rack space refers to space in professional racks intended to house servers, routers and other IT hardware. This is done with standardized server cabinets located in a data center. The set of services that comes with providing rack space in a shared data center is called colocation. Monitoring and (fire) protection of the servers and the other hardware in your racks are inextricably included in the colocation services. The same goes for power supply, cooling, certification and remote hands. Furthermore, connectivity such as business internet and redundantly designed network connections are also closely tied to rack space.

Rack space rental
Reliably placing and running enterprise servers and IT infrastructure by renting rack space can be done on a smaller and larger scale. Depending on the need, the business (or individual) can opt for part of a rack, an entire rack or even a series of racks in a shielded environment. The former form of rack space is known as a shared rack. The second as a full rack. A private space with server cabinets can be offered as a private cage, a private corridor or a private suite. An explanation of these different forms of rack space can be found later on this page.

Role of the colocation provider
A characteristic of purchasing rack space is that the servers and hardware you place are and remain under your own management and ownership. Whether it is one or more Rack Units (RU or U) or one or more full racks; the shared colocation provider acts purely as a facilitator. In this way, the business, organization or other owner of the IT equipment benefits from all associated, shared facilities and staff deployment, and thus shared, lower costs.

Rack space:

• Is professional, standardized space for reliably placing and running servers and related IT hardware
• Comes with colocation services such as climate control, security and backup power
• Can be in the form of shared rack space, with x number of rack units as desired, or full rack space
• In addition to the ‘shared’ variant, is also available in the form of renting multiple racks in a shielded private rack space; a private cage or private corridor
• Is intended for placing one’s own IT infrastructure, under one’s own management and responsibility
• Is located in a shared data center, with joint benefits of shared facilities, manpower and costs

Full rack, half rack, shared rack and rack units

Rack space for your server(s) in a data center. For large, but certainly also for small businesses, shared colocation offers flexible options. You purchase a certain number of rack units from your colocation provider, tailored exactly for the number of servers and supporting equipment you want or need to put in the data center. This can be a full rack, a half rack or simply just a few rack units. To know exactly what this means, we will now explain the different variants of rack space.

Full rack
A full rack for placing and running servers in a data center has fixed dimensions. The most commonly used variant is the 19-inch-wide full rack. The length (height) varies and is usually 42 to 47 rack units at 1.75 inches per unit. Depending on the exact type of hardware, one server or related equipment occupies one to several units. The depth of a full rack is usually 100 or 120 centimeters. Full racks are efficiently set up in cooled, secure data center locations. They also provide uniform options for redundantly connecting required power and network connections.

Half rack
Renting half a rack as rack space for your server setup usually involves renting an average of 21 rack units in one of the 19-inch server cabinets. These days, a 19-inch full rack consists of 42 to 47 units. Like with full rack space, a semi-rack is usually 100 or 120 centimeters deep and each rack unit is 1.75 inches high. Obviously, a fixed number of units per server unit, or other unit of IT hardware in accordance with worldwide standard dimensions, is also required in the half rack. For example, there is 1U networking equipment that fits in one unit, but there are also 2U servers that require two rack units. Except for the height and thus the number of rack units available, semi-racks are no different from full racks. The same goes for the centrally located data center and colocation services that ensure optimal use of the rented rack space.

Shared rack
The term shared rack (space) is closely related to shared colocation. It indicates that you can use shared rack space in a shared, commercially managed data center, including all essential, shared facilities. For the latter, consider security and safety, including physical and electronic surveillance and fire safety. With a shared rack, or shared rack space, you rent x number of Rack Units (U) to safely run the company’s servers, routers and related hardware. What exactly a (U) means, you will read in the next section.

Rack Unit (U) or (RU)
You can only rent rack space if you can also specify exactly how much of it you want. We therefore apply a specific unit for this: the Rack Unit, abbreviated U or RU.

A U (1U) has the following specifications:

1U in the world of colocation and rack space is 1.75 inches high, or 4.445 centimeters.

One such unit fits one so-called flat server (1U) or other ‘plat’ piece of 1U hardware. In addition, there are 2U and 3U servers and hardware, for example, which then logically require two and three rack units, respectively, and so on.

The width of 1 rack unit is normally 19 inches, or 48.26 centimeters. The vast majority of server cabinets have this width, and the 1U unit runs from the far left to the far right.

The depth of a rack unit is 100 centimeters or 120 centimeters; depending on the type of server cabinet that has that same overall depth. The better colocation providers today provide the latter; a depth of 120 centimeters.

How many times 1U a full rack has varies by cabinet. Full racks are designated by the height, which is usually between 42U and 47U. In other words: 42 to 47 times one rack unit.

Rack space rental at DC1.AMSTERDAM

DC1.AMSTERDAM invariably puts the rack first. With us, rack space is available from as little as one rack unit. Want to rent a shared rack or full rack space? Our colocation services are business class level. With server spaces in modern, energy-efficient data centers and – with us – also the associated facilities around business (internet) connectivity (1 or 10Gbps) and, among other things, cloud connect. We offer a complete rack space service. Everything surrounding the rack; and with only one point of contact.

Why DC1.AMSTERDAM

If you are looking for rack space – which data center and colocation provider do you go to? What kind of rack space do you need? What is available on the market? And what services, specifications and conditions are important to you and/or your company in this regard?

There are plenty of rack space providers. What this service entails and what purpose it serves, we explained earlier on this page. Now we also explain why DC1.AMSTERDAM can and will be a good choice for arranging rack space – and everything surrounding that.

First, an important starting point. DC1.AMSTERDAM and its founders and employees prioritize professionalism, efficiency, appropriate action and helpfulness from a cooperative approach, but always driven by the basics. Namely, our ongoing enthusiasm for the sometimes complex but always extremely interesting and challenging technology that makes good rack space and colocation possible.

Back to the (more) business side of things.

Rack space? That’s about… racks. So we literally put these at the center of all our colocation services as well. We don’t care whether you rent a full rack, several perhaps even, or a shared rack. Or a single unit. Whatever the company or organization’s need for a professional server room, DC1.AMSTERDAM handles everything surrounding the rack. We offer a complete colocation service. A place in a modern data center, but also cloud connect and, among other things, business internet, business class.

Other benefits of our rack space services

Choosing appropriate rack space is something you do carefully. And after that, it’s not a matter of ‘choice made and done’. Which rack space package you choose, which specifications add value for you, which data center you and/or your colleagues feel at home in, and much more: we help you with this, as one partner, with one point of contact.

This is how we help you get customized rack space. And how we help you centrally maintain a complete overview of all data center services. Furthermore, we have the answer to all relevant rack space issues; from service to billing and everything in between.

In addition to a single contact for all your colocation and rack space needs, we also offer integrated connectivity. We provide the entire network ourselves, supplemented by fiber pathways for connection between geographic locations. We have a partnership with established fiber optic partners for this. Furthermore, through DC1.AMSTERDAM you take care of cloud connect, hybrid IT and business internet, with the highest speeds and performance, in one go. As well as 24/7 monitoring and security, 24/7 on-site engineers and backup power in our modern and energy-efficient rack space data centers.

In addition, services, orders, invoices, networks, connectivity and related settings are centrally visible through the clear and user-friendly DC1.AMSTERDAM dashboard.

For our complete rack space services, we put reliability before budget. So we let quality prevail, but in a price-conscious way, so we don’t have to be expensive either. This provides a good balance between an attractive price and high quality.

In short, the reasons to choose DC1.AMSTERDAM

1. Rack space at the highest professional level
2. We take care of everything surrounding the rack, fully in-house
3. One partner, one point of contact for colocation and connectivity
4. Driven by a passion for the technology
5. Colocation services from a cooperative approach
6. Modern, secure and energy-efficient data centers
7. Colocation, Data Center Advice, Cloud Connect and Business Internet
8. Favorable rack space prices without concessions in assurance and quality
9. DC1.AMSTERDAM Partner Portal: clear and easy to navigate
10. Rack space from as little as one rack unit; we always put the rack in focus.

Choosing rack space: which solutions?

A separate rack unit or a private suite. And the many possibilities in between. For every size when it comes to renting a server room, and every business need for the degree of privacy, there is a suitable rack space solution. Want to rent a half rack or shared rack? Or one or more full racks, either in a professionally secured standard server room or in a private cage? DC1.AMSTERDAM, together with our partner data centers, provides a One Stop Shop solution to any colocation demand.

Earlier in this article, we provided an explanation of server room solutions in the form of a full rack, half rack, separate rack unit or other size shared rack. We will now explain what a private cage is, as well as exactly what a private suite entails.

A private cage in a data center consists of several full server racks enclosed by a transparent fence. A range of full server cabinets are available to the company renting this private rack space. The latter can arrange and set up those racks itself, fully customized, with the servers and hardware under their own control.

A private suite in a data center consists of several full server racks that are not only enclosed, but even completely walled off. This separates that server room entirely from other data center customers, with private access for their own employees. This results in an even more luxurious image toward customers. As with the private cage, the company can completely arrange and furnish the private suite itself. Moreover, by renting a private suite, the company immediately has secured growth opportunities as well.

Server room in a professional data center in the Netherlands

Our customized server room rental solutions, combined with a full colocation package, can take a lot of worry off your hands. As a company, do you want to house IT infrastructure elsewhere? Want to get rid of maintaining the server(s) in your own office? And/or do you place a high value on running IT in-house? These are potential reasons to consider rack space and colocation services of DC1.AMSTERDAM. The reason for this may also be the desire to consolidate data center usage. Or the need to house proprietary hardware, for compliance reasons, in a professional data center in the Netherlands.

Sound familiar?
Do you recognize one or more of the desires and situations described above? Then that’s the perfect time to get in touch with DC1.AMSTERDAM.

Focus on personal approach, price and quality
Are you not just looking for rack space, but also for continuity? And can you appreciate a personal approach, with a full and enthusiastic focus on technology and quality? We offer the complete colocation package, including connectivity. Through one point of contact. We provide overview, peace of mind and security, for the long term.

What does rack space cost? Prices and specifications

See pricing and specifications for rack space solutions of DC1.AMSTERDAM here. As you can see, redundant power (A + B feed) is of course included in each package. The 19″ colocation racks have a depth of 1.20 meters. Power costs are based on consumption, except for the shared rack space package. We offer a redundant internet uplink (1Gbps or 10Gbps) with half and full racks. Internet data traffic and bandwidth are always included (flat fee). Also included are IPv4 (8x) and IPv6 addresses. The same goes for the best security and surveillance, and you have 24/7 access to your own (company) rack space.

“We were looking for a party that could take care of our backup storage 12U rack space and internet at a fixed cost. So we ended up at DC1.AMSTERDAM and they helped us with this in a pleasant way. Even with the physical move; DC1.AMSTERDAM also helped us place the equipment in the new rack.”

What services are included?

DC1.AMSTERDAM provides a complete package of rack space services. After all, we are a so-called One Stop Shop solution for colocation. You can purchase both colocation and connectivity from us in one go, and at a lower cost as well.

And you don’t have to go through any unnecessary trouble for future rack space scaling, either.

What are the included services when you purchase rack space through our business class colocation? First, you get a wide range of high-quality data center facilities. Our data center locations at Digital Realty and NorthC provide all the conditions for achieving the desired uptime of your servers and smoothly operating other hardware.

Cloud connections
Furthermore, we take care of hybrid cloud connections: cloud connect for added flexibility and performance. Through us, direct, low latency connections can be configured between your IT infrastructure and global cloud solutions.

Business internet? Our independent connectivity service offers low latency, stable connection and clear insight into the (high) speeds. Easily move all your DSL and fiber optic connections with you. And as for IPv4 and IPv6 connections, both are available by default.

Also included in our services is redundant internet connectivity based on 1Gbps or 10Gbps, at one fixed price with a half or full rack. And regarding the power costs: if you opt for a full rack, they are variable, so you only pay for what you actually consume. We also keep power costs as low as possible for rack units (shared rack). In fact, in addition to the number of rack units per device, we also tune the power consumption as efficiently as possible for each device; with a power package choice of 0.5A (115W), 1.0A (230W) or 2.0A (460W).

Rack space rental and data center selection

The data centers where DC1.AMSTERDAM offers rack space belong to the international network of our strategic data center partners Digital Realty and NorthC. These are high quality, well equipped, conveniently located and thus easily accessible. They offer the highest standards of security, safety and redundancy.

To this end, our rack space rental data center sites offer monitoring with strictly enforced security protocols, emergency power with backup facilities, cooling and climate control in accordance with the highest security classes (ISO, NEN, SOC).

As a full colocation service provider, DC1.AMSTERDAM focuses on the rack, SMEs and parties requiring customization when it comes to server rooms and network connections. As a central point of contact, we tailor the connectivity issue to the specific business needs. Thus, through us, you combine a prime spot in a great data center with a turnkey, favorably priced connectivity solution.

Hybrid IT
Through us, direct, low latency, hybrid IT connections can be established in the data center to Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Salesforce Cloud, SAP Cloud Platform and Nutanix Enterprise Cloud. For redundant internet connectivity, you can choose either 1Gbps or 10Gbps.

The data center locations of DC1.AMSTERDAM at Digital Realty and NorthC also have excellent secondary facilities. Think of fully equipped office, meeting and reception areas, the availability of coffee and snacks, and a pleasant (work) environment. Furthermore, our data centers are easily accessible and offer good parking.

Need advice on renting rack space? And/or further information to choose the data center that best suits your business needs and situation? We are happy to help you get started, and without obligation.

More about colocation of DC1.AMSTERDAM

Looking for quality rack space, but without frills, at a fair price? A reassuring place for your rack, racks or rack unit? With all the associated colocation services and up-to-date technologies under one roof?

DC1.AMSTERDAM supports business class colocation in professional, state-of-the-art data centers. From a cooperative approach and pooled expertise. With us, as mentioned, you will find colocation and connectivity in one, including cloud connect and business internet.

Rack space and colocation: complete services, simple and cheaper
DC1.AMSTERDAM Colocation was born from a strong desire. The desire to do something about the reduction of colocation services at less modern data centers. And around 2020, the founders had another personal motivation. Namely, to get ahead of a forced move, following a unilateral termination from said data centers. Moreover, they felt that renting rack space with all the necessary colocation services could be made easier and more affordable for each customer. Today, DC1.AMSTERDAM offers both better quality and favorable prices by joining forces as one party.

Want to rent rack(s) or units (RU)? Inquire without obligation!

Want to rent rack space? The first step is to contact us without obligation.