Question

As a programmer I need a place to store my stuff. I’ve been running a server in my parents closet for a long time, but I recently came across a decent 2U server.
I have no experience dealing with hosting companies, beyond the very cheap stuff, and I’m wondering what I should look for in a colo or if I should just keep my closet server.

Answer 1

There are three major factors here.

1. Cost. The colo will obviously be more expensive than sticking a server in your parents’ closet.
2. Quality. The colo should be a lot more reliable than the server in your parents’ closet. They aren’t as likely to go down when there’s a power surge. They should provide some support if things do go wrong on their end. They will also likely give you better bandwidth.
3. Convenience. It is a lot easier to fix a broken box when you can walk over to it and plug up a monitor. Going to the colo to troubleshoot is probably not going to be convenient, if it’s even possible. Transferring files from your laptop to the server in the closet is also going to be a lot faster than transferring over the Internet. On the other hand, if it’s your box in the closet, you have to deal with the hardware problems, so it can balance out.

Personally, I pay for a (shared) server. I find that having someone else handle the server is worth it. Uploading large files can get really frustrating, but having to maintain an extra box in the closet is too much hassle for me.

You really have to decide what you value most. Is it worth the extra money to you to have a more reliable, more hands-off server?