Thanks to BSD and Linux, many thousands of power-users have the knowledge and talents necessary to operate their own servers for e-mail, web, and so on. The traditional models for providing these services are "shared hosting" where a power-user has an "account" on a provider's server, and "dedicated hosting" where a power-user has full administrative control over some "host computer".
Power-users with CableTV or DSL based internet access to their homes often try to operate "dedicated hosting" using personal computers in their garage or attic, but this can be a frustrating experience. CableTV and DSL providers often prohibit "servers" from being connected through their access networks, for business or technical reasons. Lack of uninterruptible power systems, lack of remote-hands when the family is on vacation, and the need to keep personal records in an offsite location are all additional reasons why connecting a "dedicating hosting" server via a CableTV or DSL access network can be less than optimal.
In recognition of this need, the dedicated hosting industry now has a niche for "personal co-location", which is characterized by:
Note that cPCI or ATCA would be a more efficient server co-location design than 1U, but as far as I know nobody offers it yet (where the co-location provider supplies the chassis and the customers provide the blades.)
You won't be able to occupy this niche unless you are an experienced BSD or Linux system administrator. Windows and MacOS don't have good serial console support and are thus very difficult to reliably install and repair without being able to put your own hands on your hardware. Both you and your hardware and your operating system must be capable of working without KVM (keyboard, video, and mouse) 99.9% of the time.
The best way to prepare for this endeavour is to "stage" your system at your own office. Get the software installed and configured, make sure you can access it by SSH (or equivilent) over the network, make sure your serial console is working. Renumber it several times to make sure you know where all the bones are buried. Then ask your personal co-location provider to tell you the IP address, netmask, gateway, recursive DNS addresses you'll need, configure them into your system, then shut it down and ship it out.
That's right -- in most situations FedEx is cheaper than an airline ticket and your server will make the trip without you. This is a little bit like building a ship in a bottle, and it's expensive for you to have to have a box shipped back home if you don't get it right the first time.
If you're an Internet user in a bad neighborhood -- as evidenced by your mail not getting through to a lot of people, who then tell you that they're blocking all mail from your ISP since there's effectively no abuse desk -- but you're unable/uninterested in operating your own secure computer in some remote facility, then you'll need to locate a provider who can offer you a suite of services like e-mail and web hosting, who does not also offer those services to spammers and script kiddies.
The services you probably need are SMTP AUTH (for outbound e-mail), IMAPS and/or POPS (for inbound e-mail), and WebDAV and/or FTP (for web publishing). In this model, you'll use your local cable or DSL spam-haven as an access path toward a real, professionally operated ISP that might be on the other side of the world. Think of your cable or DSL company as "like a modem" and plan on using them only as a way to surf the web and to reach a better neighborhood where your real "network identity" can live and thrive.
It's worth pointing out that a "better neighborhood" might also have as its customers people whose content is objectionable to you, for example, it might also host a lot of web sites offering politics, or pornography, or alternative lifestyles, or alternative energy, or who knows what-all. Don't worry about this. Some of the neighborhoods on the Internet whose reputations are strongest, are the ones with the most diverse customer bases. The point is, don't let your local cable or DSL spam-haven offer you an e-mail account, or web publishing services, or anything else that they can't afford to support. As a rule of thumb, $40 per month is not enough money to pay for an abuse desk; and without a strong, well trained abuse desk, the neighborhood will be "bad".
I am now actively seeking providers for SMTP AUTH, IMAPS/POPS, WebDAV/FTP, and related services. When I learn how to qualify and quantify them, this web site will include a second registry of such providers. You should not have to buy a computer and ship it somewhere just to benefit from the effects of a better Internet neighborhood.
Some providers offer a suite of services which is intentionally equivilent to what many power-users want from their offsite personal servers. This can include MX (with and without spam filtering), SMTP AUTH for outbound e-mail relay, shell access, personal web hosting, DNS hosting (either static or by dynamic update), and other things if you ask them and have a good reason.
Some providers offer "virtual PC" services where you can have complete administrative control of an operating system (BSD or Linux, usually) but the "computer" you're using is fictitious, a figment of the imagination of a much larger computer.
Paul Sladen also keeps a registry of UK-based low-end colo companies.
Mythic Beasts publishes a HOW-TO on the topic of setting up and managing a host that's going to be colocated.
Michael Horn has started a European colofinder which is rsync'd from colofinder.net.
Daniel Feenberg operates a smarthost registry, which allows you to relay your outbound e-mail through good neighborhoods without having to physically move your server. (Note: spammers need not apply; these neighborhoods are good because they're closely managed.)
Your humble narrator is an investor in several hardware and software companies whose products are frequently used for personal co-location. If you decide to join the personal co-location niche, you could end up helping me financially -- especially if you buy something from Sun MicroSystems, Advanced Micro Devices, International Business Machines, Hewlett Packard, Iron Systems, or Novell-Suse.
My past jobs have included executive positions at PAIX and MFN-Abovenet, either of whom could be the home of your next personal co-location provider. Chances are good that I am friends with or have been a supplier to many of the personal co-location providers on this list.
The information presented below was provided by outside parties, and while some effort has been made to ensure its accuracy, no guaranty is offered. (So, if you learn more -- for good or ill -- please share it with me.)
All providers listed here have a self described "strong abuse policy" which means if you use your co-located host to send unwanted traffic (like spam or DDoS) or to control other hosts who send unwanted traffic (like BotNets) then your contract could be terminated and you might not get your hardware back.
Most of the entries in this registry have no restriction on business use, but all of them have a "transfer" limitation, expressed as gigabytes per month or megabits per second (with average and burst limits). Most of these companies can sell you larger blocks of space or bandwidth -- as they'll tell you if you contact them.
To add yourself to this registry or to correct your entry, please use the
view source feature of your web browser, copy and paste an entry
in its raw HTML form, edit it, and mail it in.
(Entries which include a logo graphic would have to be accompanied by proof
of shipment of a bottle of single malt scotch or pre-Y2K Merlot or similar
to my "whois" mailing address -- and I promise to think of you as I share it.)
| Last update | Company; Contact | Setup; Monthly | Bandwidth | Location(s) | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06Mar 2004 | ColoClue ops@coloclue.net | 150 Eur 50 Eur | 400 GB/month | Amsterdam, NL | BYO 1U; serial console; remote powercycle | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | JVDS sales@jvds.com | (none) 35 USD | 1 TB/month (3Mbit/s burst) | Newbury, UK | not adding customers right now; virtual FreeBSD or Linux; many discounts described | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | Bytemark pete@bytemark.co.uk matthew@bytemark.co.uk | 39 GBP 39 GBP | 45 GB/month | York, UK | virtual linux | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | RimuHosting support@rimuhosting.com | 10 USD 25 USD | 30 GB/month | New York City, NY, US | viritual linux | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | Bungi dlr@bungi.com | (none) 50 USD | 512Kbits/sec (95th %) | San Jose, CA, US | BYO 1U; No IRC servers/clients | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | Bogons Ltd sales@bogons.net | 50 GBP 50 GBP | 50 GB/month | $Somewhere, UK | BYO 1U Sun Netra; (or rent one here); No IRC or DoS magnets | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | modwest info@modwest.com | (none) 100 USD | 25 GB/month | Montana, US | (none) | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | Exobit sales@exobitnetworks.com | (none) 100 USD | 128 Kbits/sec | Miller Place, NY, US | BYO 1U | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | JTex / Max Colo dennis@jtex.net | 99 USD 25 USD | (unbundled) 0.75 USD/Gig (95th %) | Dallas, TX, US | BYO 1U up to 4U | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | TowardEX inquiry@towardex.com | (none) 50 USD | 128 Kbits/sec | Boston, MA, US | BYO 1U | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | ServerCondo sales@servercondo.net | (none) $49.95 (BYO 1U) USD | 250 GB/month | NM(ABQ) and CA(LAX) US | BYO(1-5U) | Rent(1-5U), remote reboots GigE redundant transit, hvac, genpak | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | Limelight Networks info@limelightnetworks.com | (none) 50 USD | 1 Mbit/sec | Tempe, AZ, US | BYO 1U | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | SawNet Info@Saw.Net | 150 USD 150 USD | (unknown) | Stevenson, WA, US | BYO 1U | ||
| 13Mar 2004 | Zubr emailaddress | 60 USD 60 USD | 100 KBit/sec | Ashburn, VA, US | BYO 1U; /29 VLAN | ||
| 14Mar 2004 | Gotham Bus Co.+1 888 725 9614
| (none) 68 USD | 128 Kbit/sec | New York City, NY, US | BYO 1U | ||
| 14Mar 2004 | 1&1 info@1and1.com | 99 USD 49 USD | 500 GB/month | Berwyn, PA, US | includes linux server | ||
| 14Mar 2004 | Midas Networks info@midasnetworks.com | (none) 50 USD | (unknown) | Cedar Park, TX, US | BYO 1U | ||
| 14Mar 2004 | Net Access Corp+1 973 590 5000
| 199 USD 61 USD | 1000 GB/month | Parsippany, NJ, US | incl. server (linux/freebsd) | ||
| 14Mar 2004 | 1&1 UK08708 503 305
| (unknown) 29 GBP | 10 GB/month | $Somewhere, DE | incl. linux server | ||
| 15Mar 2004 | Hetzner info@hetzner.de | 59 Eur 39 Eur | 350 GB/month | Nuremberg, DE | BYO 1U | ||
| 15Mar 2004 | Waveform Tech sales@waveform.net | (none) 50 USD | 100 GB/month | Troy, MI, US | BYO 1U | ||
| 15Mar 2004 | Sprocket Data info@sprocketdata.com | (none) 49 USD | 5 GB/month | Dallas, TX | BYO 1U/2U/desktop/tower | ||
| 15Mar 2004 | August.NET+1 972 323 6598
| 100 USD 50 USD | 1 GB/month | Carrollton, TX, US | BYO 1U/2U/3U/4U/5U | ||
| 16Mar 2004 | Neonetix webmaster@nntx.net | 25 USD 60 USD | 10 GB/month | Flourtown, PA, US | BYO 1U; remote powercycle | ||
| 16Mar 2004 | j tan() info@jtan.com | 237 USD 79 USD | (unknown) | Sellersville, PA, US | incl. server (linux os BSD); incl. 158 USD refundable setup fee | ||
| 17Mar 2004 | telerama+1 877 688 3200
| (none) 79 USD | 64 Kbit/sec | Pittsburgh, PA, US | BYO 1U | ||
| 17Mar 2004 | MV Communications, Inc. mv-admin@mv.com 1-800-MVC-NETS
| 75 USD 75 USD | shared pool | Manchester, NH, US | BYO 1U..8U or minitower | ||
| 17Mar 2004 | CluefulColo info@cluefulcolo.com | 100 USD 50 USD | 64 Kbps (95th %) | Boston, MA, US | BYO 1U | ||
| 17Mar 2004 | Layer42 ser@layer42.net | (none) 60 USD | 256 Kbits/sec (95th %) | San Jose, CA | BYO 1U/2U | ||
| 18Mar 2004 | LeaseWeb info@leaseweb.com | (none) 25 Eur | 100 GB/month | Amsterdam, NL | BYO 1U | ||
| 18Mar 2004 | Games on Demand joe@gamesondemand.com.au | (none) 70 AUS | Unlimited WAIX, 2GB External | Perth WA, AU | BYO 1U/2U | NYC, NY, US | BYO 1U/2U, FreeBSD Jailed virtual |
| 01Jul 2004 | Server Shed Ltd websales@servershed.com | 40 GBP 20 GBP | 100 GB/month | RedBus, London, UK | BYO 1U; Remote Reboots KVM over IP, 24x7 phone. | ||
| 01Jul 2004 | support@fraar.com | (none) 55 USD minimum | 10 USD per 100Kbits/sec | Redwood City, CA, US | BYO Remote serial console Remote power | ||
| 04Jul 2004 | metabone AS31333 nibbler@metabone.net | 29 Eur 29 Eur | 25 GB/month | Nuremberg, Germany | 1U/2U | ||
| 10 Aug 2004 | Redwood Virtual support@redwoodvirtual.com | none 10 USD | 10 GB/month 100Mbps burst | Fremont, CA, USA | User Mode Linux Complete root access | ||
| 16Sep 2004 | Toronto Community Co-Location Project ops@tccp.dreaming.org | none CAD$100/mo (1U) | 128 Kbits/sec (95th) | Toronto, Canada | BYO 1U/2U | ||
| 17Sep 2004 | ISOMEDIA.COM sales@isomedia.com | 25 USD 50 USD | 50 GB/Month (Non-Commercial) | Redmond, WA, US | BYO 1U/2U or Rental | ||
| 01Dec 2004 |
Cambridge Bandwidth Consortiumcolo@cambridge.bandwidth-consortium.us | (none) 50 USD | 25 USD/100kbps (100k minimum) | Quincy, MA, US | BYO 1U Serial Console AC Power Redundant A/B DC Power | ||
| 12Jan 2005 | ColoMAX sales@colomax.com | (none) 49 USD | 512Kbps | Los Angeles, CA | BYO 1U-2U + /29 + reboot | ||
| 12Jan 2005 | Network Data Center Hostsales@ndchost.com | (none) 99 USD | 150 GB/month | Irvine, CA, US | Dedicated Servers & Colocation (BSD/Linux/Solaris) | ||
| 12Jan 2005 | proVPS.comsales@provps.com | (none) 20 USD | 20 GB/month | Irvine, CA, US | Virtual Private Servers (VPS) Linux | ||
| 01Mar 2005 | Sprocket Data sales@sprocketnetworks.com | (none) 59 USD | 30 GB/month @ 45 Mbps | Dallas, TX, US | BYO Rack/tower cases, cabinets, cages | ||
| 06Jun 2005 | JohnCompanies info@johncompanies.com | (none) 29 USD | 30 GB/month @ 100 Mbps | San Diego, CA | virtual FreeBSD & Linux (Dual Xeon, 10k RAID1), dedicated managed, BYO | ||
| 09Jun 2005 | Chicago Community Colocation Project exec@chiccp.net | (none) 50 USD (*) | ~128 Kbps | Chicago, IL, US | 501(c)(3) nonprofit; (*) suggested donation | ||
| 11Jun 2005 | San Francisco Community Colocation Project mailto:org@mail.sfccp.net | (none) as quoted | as needed | San Francisco, CA, US | 501(c)(3) nonprofit | ||
| 13Jun 2005 | Seattle Community Colocation Project colo-ops@lists.riseup.net. | (none) 50 USD (*) | ~768 Kbps (suggested max) | Seattle, WA, US | 501(c)(3) nonprofit; (*) suggested donation | ||
| 08Sep 2005 | Worldlink Colocation Services elarson@w-link.net | 40 USD 40 USD | 20 GB/month | Seattle, WA, US | BYO 1U/2U/desktop/tower BSD/Linux dedicated server virtual hosting | ||
| 13Sep 2005 | Basement-Colo.net info@basement-colo.net | (none) USD 25 | 64 Kbps Incl. (95th %-ile) Additional 64 Kbps $10 each | Milton, MA, USA (Near Boston) | Behind a T1 For hobby / small b/w users | ||
| 29Sep 2005 | Linode.com service@linode.com | 10 USD 20 USD | 50 GB/month | Dallas, TX, US Fremont, CA, US | virtual linux | ||
| 04Oct 2005 | acelere info@acelere.net | (none) 50 USD | ~50 GB/month | Pescadero, CA, US | 4 IPs, BYO 1U/2U/3U | ||
| 19Dec 2005 | Rackmounted.Com sales@rackmounted.com | (none) 49 USD | 200 GB/month | Phoenix, AZ, US | includes linux/BSD server | ||
| 13Mar 2006 | VR Hosted sales@vr.org | (none) 99 USD | 1.5Mbits/s 95% (100Mbit/s burst) | San Jose, CA | BYO Rackmount Server, Web Hosting, More. | ||
| 09May 2006 | Nate Carlson Colo colo@natecarlson.com | 50 USD 50 USD | 3mbit Shared | Minneapolis, MN, US | BYO 1U; Remote Console/Power. Backups available. Subletting space in a Minneapolis-area ISP. | ||
| 17Jun 2006 | prgmr.com Xen hosting lsc@prgmr.com | none 5 USD | 10 GB/month | Sacramento, CA, US | 64M ram, 1G SCSI Xen domU image. Linux or NetBSD | ||
| 31Jul 2006 | Skyspan sales@sspan.net | 100 USD 75 USD | 50 GB/month | Hazleton, PA, US | BYO 1U+ Remote Console/Powercycle | ||
| 10Aug 2006 | Rytavi Technical Services sales@rytavi.com | 50 USD 50 USD | 128Kbps 95% (10Mb Port) | Ashburn, VA | BYO 1U Located in Equinix Ashburn | ||
| 12Sep 2006 | Fast PC Networks Colocation NetDojo, LLC presales@netdojo.com | (none) 60+ USD | 128 Kbit/sec (95th %) | San Jose, CA, US | BYO 1U remote powercycle; Strong AUP | ||
| 27Jan 2007 | Intuix LLC sales@intuix.com | 50 USD (mention this registry) 60 USD | 128 Kbps (95th %) 100Mbps uplink | San Jose (HE) and Santa Clara (BAIS), CA US | BYO 1U; Remote Console & Power; /29 (5 IPs) | ||
| 27Jan 2007 | Intuix LLC sales@intuix.com | 15 USD 15 USD | 20GB @ 100Mbps uplink | Fremont (HE) and Santa Clara (BAIS), CA US | VPS - FreeBSD 5.x-based jail environment 1GB disk space | ||
| 07Mar 2007 | dyni.NETsales@dyni.net | 49 USD 65 USD | 250 GB/month or 384kbit 95th | Nashua, NH, US | BYO 1U; VLANd | ||
| 04Apr 2007 | Solar VPS sales@solarvps.com | (none) $45/mon USD | 200 GB/mon | New Jersey, US | Virtual Linux (Debian) 10GB disk, 2 static IPs | ||
| 03Aug 2007 | Linode.com service@linode.com | 10 USD 19.95 USD | 100 GB/month | Dallas, TX, US Fremont, CA, US Atlanta, GA, US | UML based Linux VPS, ssh console access, easy automated distro deployment | ||
| 03 Aug 2007 | Dynamic Hostingsales@dynamichosting.com | 50 USD 50 USD/U | 100Mb/s burst 100GB/month included | Beltsville, MD or Laurel, MD | BYO 1U 3 courtesy reboots/month Real 24/7/365 staff on-site. | ||
| 03Aug 2007 | Nova.org support@nova.org | (none) 40 USD (BYO 1U) | 150 GB/month | Fairfax, VA, US | BYO(1-4U); Symantec Antispam Appliance; Backup MX; No IRC/DoS Magnets; FreeBSD admins can volunteer for discount | ||
| 06Aug 2007 | Slicehost Web form contact | (none) From 20 USD | From 100GB/month | St Louis, USA | Xen Virtual Hosting, for several OS. | ||
| 09Aug 2007 | OVH Web form contact | (none) 23.91 EUR | 100Mbps unmetered | Roubaix, France | inclusive Linux/FreeBSD server (Celeron 2GHz, 256MB, 160GB); no video, no streaming, no content mirrors, no IRC; customers peaking more than 101Mpbs (cumulative for all servers per customer) get throttled at 5Mbps and kicked out at end of contract (no renewal). | ||
| 09Aug 2007 | Dedibox Web form contact | (none) 35.87 EUR | 100Mbps unmetered | Paris region, France | inclusive Linux/*BSD
server (VIA C7 2GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD); no IRC | ||
| 11Sep 2007 | Jump Networks Ltd Colocation Web form contact | 50 GBP setup 16 GBP/U/month (inc 120GB) 9 GBP/0.1A@230V/month | 2x 1000baseT connections per server (redundant switches) | Telehouse North, London, UK | BYO rackmount server. Serial or Ethernet OOB. Remote power cycling | ||
| 07Dec 2007 | Astute Hosting | (none) $50/month USD or CAD | 2x100Mbps (redundant) $90/Mbps (95th) | Vancouver, Canada (Peer 1) | BYO 1U (1.5amps max) 5 usable IP's, private VLAN serial console over SSH remote reboots | ||
| 03Mar 2008 | sales@spectrumnet.us | (none) 75 USD | 1Mbit/sec (95th %) vai 100 mbit Ethernet | Seattle, WA, US (westin) | BYO 1U; | ||
| 05Mar 2008 | Netsville sales@netsville.com | 75 USD 75 USD | 30 GB/month | Rochester, NY | BYO 1U or minitower (BSD/Linux) | ||
| 05Mar 2008 | NayaCo Computer Services sales@nayaco.com | Free USD 75 USD | 30 GB/month | San Francisco, CA | BYO 4U or minitower (BSD/Linux/Windows/Mac |
| Last update | Company; Contact | Setup; Monthly | Quotas | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10Oct 2005 | BCC/SpamCurb | none USD$30/year | 100MByte | user-controlled spam filtering |
| 30May 2004 | Sentinare | none USD$3/user/month | 1GByte (1-10 users) | spam quarantine |
| 30May 2004 | DynDNS.ORG | none ? | outbound only | SMTP AUTH |
| 30May 2004 | LiquidNeon | none USD$10/month (20 users) | 300MByte | unmetered aliases, spam and virus filtering, mysql, secure email (POP3S & TLS), secure webmail |
| 30May 2004 | Pobox.com | none USD$15/year | 10MByte | inbound and outbound |
| 30May 2004 | Midas Networks | none USD$9.95/month | ? | unmetered mailboxes @own-domain |
| 03Dec 2004 | Colynx, LLC. | none USD$10/month | 2GByte | BYO domain |
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