Data Centers

About a year ago I spoke with Senior Analyst Patrick Christian about the local exchange of content in Africa. He gave me a crash course in capacity—how content providers in Africa generally host their content abroad because the cost to do so has always been much lower.

We talked caching, local exchange, and traffic.

With Patrick prepping for a presentation at the 2017 African Peering and Interconnection Forum, it was the perfect opportunity to check in. I got lots of updates about the state of local content, as well as the scoop on the big new story in Sub-Saharan Africa: the coming of the cloud.

A colocation center is a data center that provides shared space for network storage and interconnection.

Unlike a web hosting site, a colocation facility provides storage for the customers' own equipment. The facility typically provisions power, cooling, security, and intra-site connectivity, among other offerings.

Understanding the norms, trends, and pricing of colocation centers is a must for the modern network manager. That's why today we're sharing our best and brightest colocation resources. We've got info on colocation hubs, cross-connects, costs, and more.