Cloud & colocation
Server colocation
Put servers you own in a professional data center: stable power, multi-carrier bandwidth and 24/7 on-site staff. The hardware stays yours, billed per rack unit. Deploy in Beijing, Guangzhou, Dongguan or Guiyang, or use two sites for backup.
Common problems
Power, bandwidth and overnight coverage usually fail first when servers stay in an office or a room you built yourself.
Building your own server room is expensive
You pay for power, cooling, fire protection and security, plus someone to watch the room. With only a few servers, that fixed cost is often higher than colocation.
Office bandwidth isn't enough
Public services are limited by office broadband. Slowdowns and outages at peak times hurt the business. Sites offer China Telecom, Unicom, Mobile and BGP, matched to your users' carriers.
No one is there when things fail
A failure at night or on a holiday often waits until the next day. After colocation, the site is staffed 24/7. Reboots, button presses and disk swaps go through a ticket.
An office is a weak place for servers
Power cuts, air-conditioning faults and people walking through the office all affect the machine. Data centers use access control and entry logs. Visits need an appointment.
You already bought the servers
Moving hardware you own onto a cloud bill means paying twice. Colocation charges for the slot, power and bandwidth. The equipment stays yours.
Users are in different cities
One office makes distant users wait. Place servers in Beijing, Guangzhou, Dongguan or Guiyang near the workload, or use a second site for backup.
Colocation options
Billed by the rack units the server occupies. If you have many machines, need a locked cabinet, or draw more power than a standard slot, switch to cabinet rental.
| Size | Best for | Power, lines and sites | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1U | One entry-level server, a light app, or a jump host | Standard power, checked before racking. China Telecom, Unicom, Mobile or BGP. Beijing, Guangzhou, Dongguan or Guiyang. | On request |
| 2U | Everyday apps, databases and application servers | Standard power, checked before racking. Same carriers and sites as 1U. | On request |
| 4U | Storage servers, or a single GPU box whose power draw fits | Higher draw is reviewed separately. If a standard slot is not enough, use a 15 / 20 / 40 kW cabinet in Guiyang. | On request |
| Several | Three or more servers that need shared cabling and asset records | If combined draw exceeds a standard slot, rent a full or half cabinet. Lines and IPs are planned for the whole set. | On request |
Price depends on city, power, bandwidth, IP count and contract length. A consultant quotes after you submit the requirement. Guiyang also has 15 kW, 20 kW and 40 kW cabinets for multi-GPU servers.
What to have ready for a quote
The more specific this is, the faster the quote. Leave blanks if you are unsure; a consultant will check them with you.
- Preferred city, and whether users are mainly in North, South or Southwest China
- How many servers, the height of each in rack units, and approximate power draw
- Bandwidth, carrier (Telecom / Unicom / Mobile / BGP) and how many IPs you need
- Whether the service is a public website (ICP filing required) and when you want it racked
Which site to use
Place the server near your users. Production can sit in one city and backup in another.
Beijing
North China, close to headquarters and public-sector users
- North China access, HQ systems and latency-sensitive online services
- Standard power, per-U colocation or full and half cabinets
Guangzhou
South China and the Greater Bay Area
- South China access, and a north-south pair with Beijing
- Standard power, per-U colocation or full and half cabinets
Dongguan
Pearl River Delta manufacturing, backup pair with Guangzhou
- Manufacturing, industrial internet and cross-border commerce
- Same region as Guangzhou, useful as a second node
Guiyang
Southwest China, including 15–40 kW cabinets
- Off-site backup, offline compute, and high-power gear such as GPUs
- Standard slots, plus 15 / 20 / 40 kW cabinets
From racking to go-live
Once the configuration is confirmed, ordinary servers can be scheduled for delivery. Timing depends on shipping, ICP filing and circuit turn-up.
- 01
Describe the servers and city
Tell us the count, rack units, power draw, bandwidth and preferred city. A site visit can be booked first if you want to see the room.
- 02
Confirm the quote and contract
The quote covers site, power, bandwidth and IPs. Sign the contract and submit real-name documents. Public websites start the ICP filing in parallel.
- 03
Receive, rack and cable
Ship to the site for us to receive, or book a self-delivery. Engineers rack the server, dress the cables, label it and record the asset.
- 04
Turn up the network
After the circuit and IPs are live, we hand over the connection details. Later reboots and disk swaps go through tickets to the on-site engineers.
What's included
The colocation fee covers the slot plus the power and bandwidth you agree. On-site work follows a ticket. Spare parts come from the equipment owner.
Racking and cabling
We receive shipments or booked deliveries, then rack, dress cables, label and register the asset, and hand over slot and connection details.
Remote hands
Reboots, button presses, cable reseats and disk swaps are done on site by the duty engineer against a ticket.
Uptime and bandwidth watch
We watch whether the server is online and whether bandwidth looks abnormal, and notify your contact when something is off.
Bandwidth and IP
China Telecom, Unicom, Mobile and BGP, alone or combined, matched to where users connect. Bandwidth and IPs can be added later.
Access and visits
Visits, entry and self-delivery need an appointment and a valid ID. Courier shipments can be received for you.
Failure handling
Staff are on site 24/7. You supply spare parts; engineers help swap them. Response time follows the contract.
Multi-site backup
Keep production in the city where the business runs, and a copy in another site. The same city can also use more than one cabinet.
Use it with cloud
Keep steady load in colocation and elastic load on a public cloud. When the two need to connect, see multi-cloud solutions.
FAQ
What do I need to prepare for colocation?
Prepare the server and rack-mount accessories such as rails or a shelf, sign a contract, and submit real-name documents. Websites also need an ICP filing, China's mandatory website registration. Your consultant will send a checklist for power draw, network ports and how the hardware will arrive.
How is server colocation different from cloud servers?
Colocation places servers you own in a data center. The hardware stays yours, which suits long-running workloads that need control over performance and where data sits. Cloud servers rent virtual resources on demand, which suits workloads that swing and teams that do not want to manage hardware. You can use both: steady load in colocation, elastic load in the cloud. A longer comparison is in this article.
Should I choose per-U colocation or a full cabinet?
One or two servers billed per rack unit belong in colocation. If you have more equipment, need a locked cabinet, or draw 15 kW or more per cabinet, rent a full or half cabinet. Guiyang offers 15 kW, 20 kW and 40 kW cabinets for multi-GPU servers.
How do I choose bandwidth and IP addresses?
Pick China Telecom, Unicom, Mobile or BGP based on the carrier your users mainly use. Combinations are available. Bandwidth and IP count are set in the quote and can be increased later.
Can I visit the data center or deliver the server myself?
Yes. Visits, data-center access and self-delivery all need an appointment and a valid ID. You can also ship the server to the site and our engineers will receive and rack it. The address is shared when you book.
What happens if my equipment fails?
The data center is staffed 24/7. After you open a ticket, an engineer can reboot, press buttons, or swap a disk you provide. Response times follow the contract. Spare parts are normally supplied by the equipment owner.
Can I colocate a GPU server or other high-power hardware?
Normal power draw is colocated per rack unit, and we check power before racking. A single high-draw server or a multi-GPU machine does not fit a standard slot. Use a 15 kW, 20 kW or 40 kW cabinet in Guiyang. Beijing, Guangzhou and Dongguan currently offer standard power.
Why is the price on request, and how short can the term be?
City, rack units, power, bandwidth, IP count and contract length all change the price, so the page does not publish a fixed rate. The term follows the contract. Short-term or trial needs can be discussed with a consultant.
Related
Tell us what you need
A consultant will reply during business hours (China Standard Time) with site, configuration and pricing recommendations.
- leo@hs.com.cn
- 24/7 technical support