Server Colocation Hosting and Bandwidth

Colocation Bandwidth

Colocation hosting at FastServers.Net offers high speed bandwidth from multiple Tier-1 providers. Each colocation solution has a pre-set allocated amount of bandwidth, with measurement taking place from the 1st day until the last day of each month.

95th Percentile Measurement:
Colocation traffic measurements use the industry standard 95th percentile method. This allows FastServers.Net to maintain a network with capacity and to provide clients with the most accurate reading possible. Measurements use RTG and all colocation clients are given access to their stats. On the first of the month, our system generates a bandwidth usage report which is sent to our System Administrators for review. Once the review is complete, it is sent to the billing department for verification. Clients that have exceed the allotted amount of bandwidth are charged for the overage and notified via e-mail.

It is important to understand the calculation method and the bandwidth usage on the server. In some cases, if a server traffic has risen, the amount of bandwidth used will go beyond the initial allocated amount.

All servers are plugged into a Cisco Catalyst Switch with 100 MB/s capacity. The RTG server, which monitors and records bandwidth usage, polls all the switch ports in 5 minute intervals. From the 1st to the last day of the month, this data is stored on the RTG server. At the end of the month, a final calculation is made providing a report of what the 95th percentile usage was for all of the servers. The calculations ensure that the usage for a given client has not exceeded the amount of bandwidth agreed upon. If this does arise, a "bandwidth overage" is charged for that exceeded amount. The actual technical procedure that takes place is as follows:

• First day of the month 12:01am - the first RTG reading is polled on the switch and stored in a database.

• Every 5 minutes thereafter - the switch is polled to get another reading which is stored in the database.

• By the last day of the month - @ 9,000 readings have been stored in the database.

• The entire month's readings are sorted from highest to lowest. The top 5% of these readings are discarded.

• The amount remaining is the 95th percentile reading that is recorded for monthly bandwidth usage.

Day View:


Week View:


Month View: