[asterisk-users] Asterisk Hosting (Dedicated Servers)

[Gordon Henderson]

On Tue, 17 Jul 2007, marcelobiz at comcast.net wrote:

> Hello guys,
>
> Does anyone has an Asterisk server hosted off-site ? Like in those data 
> centers that do web hosting in dedicated servers ?
>
> Is there a hosting company that has a special plan to host voip services 
> like this, or usually is hosted in those dedicated servers like the ones 
> I asked above ?
>
> What about QoS ? I know that most (if not all) are connected to their 
> switch through a 10Mbps/100Mbps port ? But ... without a QoS rule ... 
> even with that speed doesn't it affect the quality of voice ?
>
> Can you please tell me your experience ? Or point me some good hosting 
> companies ?

It can be a bit of a minefield - especially if it's an area you've not 
looked into before.

I've been doing this (in a very minor way) for over 10 years now.

So I run what could be described as a small hosting company, however, my 
hosts are currently inside another ISPs data centre rather than in a 
"neutral" data centre, so I get 100% of my Internet connectivity from my 
upstream ISP, and I am relying on them to do the right thing with having 
multiple transit providers and redundant network routing, UPSs and 
generators, all of which they have to my satisfaction.

The next step for me would be to host in some neutral facility, get my own 
IP address space, my own AS number, then connect into multiple transit 
providers and arrange peering through the various neutral connection 
points that exist in the UK (LINX, MaNAP, etc.) I'm not big enough for 
that ... yet ;-)

So I have routers and switches and connect into the ISP via a redundant 
mechanism (VRRP). I can apply QoS in my own routers, so that traffic from 
the Asterisk servers can be prioritised over the traffic from the LAMPy 
type servers, however, without the co-operation of the upstream ISP(s), 
you can't effectively apply QoS to the incoming traffic. (Fortunately in 
my instance, incoming is so much lighter than outgoing, and their network 
in not oversubscribed, so it's not really an issue)

The easiest way to start, would be to simply place hosts inside another 
ISPs network, and rely on them for "quality" transit - ie. make sure they 
have multiple transit providers themselves, good power supplies, UPS, 
generators, etc. and if they are good and don't oversell their bandwidth 
then for the most part you'll be just fine. Once you have several hosts 
you might want to look at having your own router(s) and switch(es), but 
this will depend on how the hosting company operates (and your budget!)

Finding that hosting company where you live is the challenge though! You 
need to ask lots of questions - can you get physical access to the 
servers? is it within driving distance? do you have remote screen & 
keyboard facilities? (or if they offer "remote hands" and if so, how much 
do they charge?) How well do they connect to the world in general, and do 
they charge separate for power or bandwidth (and is bandwidth in terms of 
speed, or is it per bit pricing, or some combination of the 2?)

Start phoning & emailling - how fast do they answer the phone, or return 
email will be a good metric too...

In the UK, London appears to be power starved right now - it would appear 
that bandwidth is virtually free, but you'll get charged per amp used! 
Outside London you rarely have this restriction, but then bandwidth is 
costly as it's got to be back-hauled to London (or Manchester), so "local 
knowledge" is something you'll need to find out about.

Good luck!

Gordon