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Frequently Asked Questions
This page contains answers to frequently asked billing and technical questions. In case your question isn't answered here, please give us a call or feel free to write us an email at support [at] colomax [dot] com. We're here 24/7 to assist you!
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Billing Questions
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1. |
When does billing start? |
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Billing starts once the server(s) are installed and up and running on our network. Once ColoMAX receives the server(s) and payment for setup fees (if any) and first month's charges installation generally occurs within 1 business day. ColoMAX does not bill customers until their service is fully operational. |
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2. |
Do I have to sign a long term contract? |
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Of course not. Our colocation services can be purchased on a month-to-month basis. However, ColoMAX does offer attractive term discounts. |
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3. |
I need something that is not listed on your site, what do I do? |
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Contact us immediately at: sales@colomax.com . Your business is important to us and we will definitely try and do anything we can to meet your special needs.
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How do you bill for bandwidth? |
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If you buy bandwidth by the GB, ColoMAX bills you based on the amount you transferred rounded to the nearest GB. If you buy dedicated burstable lines in Mbit increments you are billed by the 95/5 rule.
Billing for connectivity beyond the committed level ("burst" bandwidth) will follow the "95th percentile" rule: Usage samples will be collected and sorted from highest to lowest and the top 5% discarded. The next highest sample (the 95th percentile number) will then be used as the basis in computing the charge for the month for bandwidth beyond the committed level.
ColoMAX's customers are billed based on the 95th percentile adjustment of their bandwidth usage. The minimum monthly rate is dependent on the amount of space required to co-locate your servers and is available by the shelf, rack or cage.
On average, this method of calculating bandwidth results in you paying for only 70% of your peak bandwidth usage. 95th percentile pricing is based on a plotted graph of 5 minute averages taken over a monthly period. The busiest 5% of the five minute samples (equivalent to the busiest 37 hours of usage every month) are discarded. The next highest sample is used to calculate the customer’s bandwidth charges. A detailed explanation of this 95th percentile billing can be described as follows.
4.1 Traffic to and from a customer’s router is accumulated over a five minute period. The total amount of data transferred over this period is divided by 300 seconds to get a sample plot measured in bits per second, bps.
4.2 The larger of the input or output sample rate is used for this plotting point.
4.3 Over a period of one month (i.e. 30 days) there are 8640 points plotted. The busiest 5% or 432 points are discarded, leaving you with 8208 points plotted. The largest of these points, measured in kbs , is used to calculate your bandwidth charge.
4.4 If your monthly billing program is based on 512kbs bandwidth and your busiest sample, after discarding the top 5% of the plotted points, is 540kbs, then you would be billed for an additional 28kbs for that month. The top 5% of the highest points would be taken out and the next highest peak would determine the bandwidth used for billing purposes. The 95th percentile billed usually equates to about twice the average daily throughput, +/- 15%.
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Technical Questions
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What type of support is included? |
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We offer around the clock 24/7 support. Free support includes e-mail technical support regarding PPP (Ping, Power, and Pipe) issues. We also have staff on hand to help with basic and advanced technical needs for an additional charge. We offer Remote Hands packages for basic assistance and any advanced technical support is billed at the ColoMAX standard $120/hr rate (billed in 15 minute increments).
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What is the Remote Hands service? |
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Remote Hands by the ColoMAX 24x7 on-duty staff, are services performed with "eyes", "ears" and "fingers", but without involvement of tools or equipment.
- Pushing a button
- Switching a toggle
- Setting a dip switch
- Power cycling (turning on and off) equipment
- Securing cabling to connections
- Observing, describing or reporting on indicator lights or display information on machines or consoles
- Basic observation and reporting on local environment on ColoMAX's premises
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3. |
Do I have to sign a long term contract? |
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Of course not. Our colocation services can be purchased on a month-to-month basis. However, ColoMAX does offer attractive term discounts.
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4. |
The hardware on one of my servers has gone bad, what do I do? |
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You have 2 options: 1) Ship the replacement part to us for replacement and we will install it for you. 2) ColoMAX can arrange to have the item purchased for you. All charges for labor are billed at the standard $120/hr rate (billed in fifteen minute increments).
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5. |
Does ColoMAX only accept servers that are rack-mountable? Is there a need to buy a new case? |
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ColoMAX will make accommodations for any server in any case. Keep in mind the dimensions of your server(s) in part determine your monthly bill so case considerations are up to you. Simply fill out the Install Checklist with the dimensions of your server so we can accurately bill you for the space your server takes up.
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What is a U? How do I know how many U’s tall my server is? |
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U is the standard measurement for a single rack Unit (also known as an RU). A U is equal to 1.75". So for example a 4U server is 7" tall.
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7. |
What are the dimensions for the rack that the servers are going into? |
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Depending on the facility and setup you choose this can vary. Click here for an example of one of our open racks.
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8. |
What type of power is included for the servers? |
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20 amp spec grade AC receptacles are generally provided. Other solutions including DC power and 30 amp receptacles are available on request.
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