Colocation providers

PeeringDB is a free, public database where networks and data centers publish their sites and who connects to them. Counting those entries shows who owns the most buildings here.

Each company measures its own footprint in its own way, since most also run sites outside these metros. CoreSite says it operates 30 data centers in 11 US markets, while Flexential says it runs over 40 data centers spread across 18 markets.

There is no one right answer for everyone. The right pick comes down to where you are, how many networks you need close by, and your budget. A large operator makes sense if you want the same company in several cities. DataBank and Lumen Technologies cover the most metros.

If network connections are what you care about most, check how many networks sit inside a building. These are the best connected buildings by networks listed:

• Equinix DC1-DC15 and DC21-DC22 in Ashburn, 523 networks
• Equinix MI1 in Miami, 336 networks
• CoreSite LA1 One Wilshire in Los Angeles, 335 networks
• Equinix CH1, CH2 and CH4 in Chicago, 335 networks
• Hurricane Electric Fremont 2, 303 networks

In these metros, 124 buildings have at least 20 networks and an internet exchange too. Think of an internet exchange as a switchboard where many networks link up directly. Every one of those buildings gets its own page here.

eStruxture calls itself the largest Canadian data center provider. Counting what PeeringDB shows for the 8 Canadian cities covered here, these are the operators with the most buildings.

Operator	Buildings in Canada
Cologix	22
Equinix	14
eStruxture Data Centers	14
CentriLogic	4
Telehouse	3
Cogent Communications	3
Digital Realty	3
EXA Infrastructure	3

Toronto, with 46 colocation buildings, tops every other Canadian city covered here. eStruxture has buildings in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

When a city has more buildings, you usually have more providers to compare. New York is first with 92, followed by Ashburn at 80, Chicago at 68, Dallas at 58, Silicon Valley at 56, Los Angeles at 49, Toronto at 46 and Atlanta at 42. Each city page shows every operator there along with its networks, internet exchanges and address.

How old a building is and where it sits both push the price. Buildings outside the urban core usually cost less than downtown ones. Anything built within the past 5 to 7 years comes at a premium. A carrier hotel, a building full of telecom networks, charges more because of that density.

Scale plays a role as well. The biggest customers get the lowest rates, and staying with one provider for years usually earns you better pricing.

List prices that providers publish give you somewhere to start. The numbers below are based on rack packages providers have made public.

A kW, short for kilowatt, measures the power your equipment pulls. Anything above the included amount costs more. Across 16 markets, CBRE asking rents range from $155 to $275 per kW each month. Denver, Seattle and Central Washington sit at the low end, and Silicon Valley at the top. As a rough example, a full rack in the Dallas-Fort Worth area drawing 5 to 10 kW would land somewhere around $1,350 to $2,410 monthly. The price tool on this site asks for your location, space and power needs, then hands back a monthly range.

One form asks up to three providers or brokers with room in your city for prices, and they reply by email. Asking is free, and providers may pay the site for the introduction.