A colocation contract lasts for years and moving your servers is not easy. That is why the cost of choosing the wrong provider is far higher than the difference in monthly price. For two quotes to be comparable, the same questions have to be put to both. The list below groups fifteen items you can use when evaluating a colocation quote under five headings; for each item we have also stated SistemDC's answer.
Short answer: The three most critical items are: (1) whether power is included or metered, and the unit price per kWh, (2) whether the network is carrier-neutral, (3) and the exit terms and price increase clause. Until these three are clear, comparing monthly prices is meaningless.
A. Infrastructure and Facility (1–4)
- What Tier level is the facility, and is it documented?
Tier 3 means infrastructure that is concurrently maintainable: service is not interrupted while a component is under maintenance. SistemDC: Istanbul, built to Tier 3 standards.
- How is power redundancy set up?
UPS architecture (N+1 or 2N), is there a generator and how much fuel autonomy? How many feeds reach the rack? SistemDC: N+1 redundant UPS, generator backup, dual PDUs (A+B) in racks.
- What is the cooling architecture?
Is there cold-aisle containment, or is the whole hall cooled? A contained aisle is both more efficient and more predictable. SistemDC: cold-aisle containment.
- What is the maximum power capacity per rack?
With dense hardware the ceiling arrives quickly. Ask about your needs two years from now, not today's. SistemDC: scalable from 2 kVA–20 kVA.
B. Network (5–8)
- Is the facility carrier-neutral?
This is one of the most valuable questions on the list. In a carrier-neutral facility you choose among several carriers; you are not dependent on a single provider. That means both bargaining power on price and redundancy. SistemDC: carrier-neutral, 6+ Tier-1 upstreams.
- What are the backbone capacity and equipment class?
Your port speed loses its meaning when the backbone behind it is saturated. SistemDC: 140 Gbps main backbone, Juniper and Cisco enterprise equipment, connectivity scalable from 1 Gbps to 100 Gbps.
- Are BGP, your own ASN and IPv6 supported?
Being able to announce your own IP block greatly reduces migration costs when changing providers in the future. SistemDC: BGP peering, announcements with your own ASN, /29–/27 and larger blocks, IPv4 and IPv6 dual-stack.
- At which layers does DDoS protection work?
L3/L4 volumetric protection alone is not enough; application-layer (L7) attacks require a separate capability. SistemDC: L3/L4/L7 protection, an additional layer for game traffic.
Verification tip: Test network claims yourself before the contract. Use the
Looking Glass tool to run ping, traceroute and MTR to your target network; repeat at different times. We shared the expected latency ranges in the
ping guide article.
C. Commercial Terms (9–12)
- Is power included or metered? What is the unit price?
This is the one thing that makes two quotes comparable. In the metered model the kWh price should be written in the contract. SistemDC: metered at 13₺/kWh in rack plans; power included in the price in shared rack plans (~220W; Advanced ~440W). How the calculation is done is explained in the power and PDU guide.
- Is there a setup and migration fee?
One-off items noticeably change the first-year cost. SistemDC: setup and migration support from your old data center are free.
- How is the traffic quota defined?
Port speed and monthly quota are different items. Ask in writing for the fair use policy behind the word "unmetered". SistemDC: 33 TB in colocation and ATX plans; a 100 Mbit committed line in rack plans.
- What are the contract term, exit terms and price increase clause?
Is there an early termination penalty? Which index is the annual increase tied to and is there a cap? This clause often goes unread and causes trouble in the third year. SistemDC: flexible contracts from a 1-month trial period up to 36 months, no early termination penalty.
D. Operations and Support (13–14)
- What are the scope of Remote Hands, the free hours and the response time?
Is KVM charged for? Is there an extra charge at night and at weekends? SistemDC: 1 hour of free Remote Hands per month, a 30-minute intervention target, 24/7 NOC, free KVM in all plans. Details are in the Remote Hands and SLA guide.
- What is the SLA percentage and how does the credit mechanism work in the event of a breach?
The percentage alone has limited meaning; how the credit is calculated, within what period it must be claimed and what is excluded are what count. SistemDC: 99.98% for colocation, 99.9% for rack rental.
E. Security and Compliance (15)
- What are the physical security layers and compliance documents?
Biometric access, CCTV and retention period, visitor procedure, early smoke detection, fire suppression and locked rack spaces. Can a data processing agreement (DPA) be signed under the KVKK? SistemDC: biometric access, 24/7 CCTV, visitor logging, VESDA early smoke detection, fire suppression, locked rack spaces and a private cage option. The model comparison is in the private cage guide.
Comparison Table Template
You can use this table to put the quotes side by side. Every cell left blank is a risk to be closed before the contract is signed.
| Item |
SistemDC |
Quote B |
Quote C |
| Tier level | Tier 3 | | |
| Power model | Metered, 13₺/kWh | | |
| Setup fee | Free | | |
| Carrier-neutral | Yes, 6+ upstreams | | |
| BGP / own ASN | Supported | | |
| SLA | 99.98% / 99.98% | | |
| Free Remote Hands | 1 hour per month | | |
| KVM | Free | | |
| Early termination penalty | None | | |
| Monthly total (including power) | | | |
When filling in the last row, be sure to include power: in dense racks, power exceeds the rack fee. Example calculations are in the rack rental prices guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is carrier-neutral so important?
In a facility tied to a single carrier you have no bargaining power on price, and that carrier's problems hit you directly. Multiple upstreams provide both redundancy and cost control.
Should I sign a contract without seeing the facility?
If possible, no. For business customers, facility visits and physical security details are shared on request. If you cannot visit, at least test the network with the Looking Glass.
Is choosing the lowest-priced quote a mistake?
Without equalising the power model, traffic quota and exit terms, a price comparison is misleading. A low rack price can be more than offset by a high kWh unit price.
How many years should the contract be?
If there is no early termination penalty, the risk of a long-term contract is low. If there is a penalty, it is safer to start with a short trial period first.
Does this list apply if I have no hardware?
Partly. If you want to start without buying hardware, a dedicated server may be a better fit; for the decision, see the TCO comparison for more.
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Built to Tier 3 standards · Carrier-neutral · Transparent power at 13₺/kWh · No early termination penalty
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