Colocating a server directly through genesis

[WhiteOut56]

still haven't found a good solution. Thinking about going retail Genesis and colocating a server there.

I know nothing about networking / setting up servers. Basically all I know is how to enter a user / password.

I heard setting up a server w/ Genesis is like pulling teeth?

anyone able to comment? suggestions?

Thanks

 

[WinstonTJ]

You seem to be bouncing all over the place - very eager to offer programming assistance but then openly admitting you know little about networking.

What is wrong with your current setup – why are you trying to “Colo”? What was the issue with your last arrangement – you posted that you had a colo solution a few weeks ago. Putting a server in racks somewhere in NYC just takes money – either you pay your broker in fees/commissions or you pay in monthly costs. Are you prepared to ship your computer off to an IT guy you have never met and just take their word for it that everything is “all set” in terms of security, networking, latency, connections to your execution engines, etc.? You should know and understand every bit of your hardware and networking or else you aren’t ready to collocate.

Genesis has a pretty good reputation FWIW. I’m no expert but I’d consider them if I needed to go retail faster than IB and didn’t want to go Prime/Mini-Prime.

 

[Steven.Davis]

Quote from WinstonTJ:

You should know and understand every bit of your hardware and networking or else you aren’t ready to collocate.

+1

I have spent many, many hours on the phone with colocation remote-hands who have tried their best to be helpful. You need to know every detail about your hardware and their configuration.

If you don't know which cables plugs from which port to which port based on your constantly updating notes, don't expect the colo guy to figure it out. When you need RAM sticks installed, don't trust that he can figure out how many of what ranks you have installed in which channel based on reading the labels on the risks. Nor what the motherboard requires. Sure he can plug the serial cable from your VPN/Firewall router into the serial port on one of your servers, but don't expect him to know how to config it. Don't expect him to know if leaving the serial plugged-in will cause your server to be unable to reboot unattended.

Regardless of how helpful the salesman says they will be, colocation exacerbated maintenance. Unless you have someone dedicated to maintaining your boxes, there is always a rediscovery process and a number of error iterations.

A tip, keep very,very uptodate notes. I mean, as the guy is moving cables or whatever, update your spreadsheet to show what is happening. An interruption (interrupting phone call / run-over to an unavoidable conference call) can easily cause a big difference between the real state of the servers and your model of the servers. I had so many problems with reconciliation that I built a Win/Web Service which ran on each server so that I could verify the cabling/recabling before I let the guys lock the rack.