If you've ever wanted your very own server colocated in a professional secure environment but the cost has always been a restricting factor, then maybe our Mac Mini Colocation service might just suit your needs.

With our Mac Mini Colo service we'll colocate your Mac Mini for you in one of our racks in the Telecity data centre in Londons Docklands. Included in the monthly fee is 200GBs of bandwidth, a remote power switch and proper help and support when needed.

How does it work?

You send us your Mac Mini for Colocation with the original Mac OSX operating system in place, we will then reformat the disk and install a copy of CentOS 5 and a Linux Kernel customised for the Mac Mini. We will then send you access details for you to login and setup your server however you wish.

Can you help with setting up my server?

As a hosting company ourselves we can offer you assistance setting up your server. If you plan to offer hosting services to your customers then we highly recommend cPanel.

cPanel is an automated web hosting control software package which takes away many of the mundane tasks required when maintaining a server. In addition to this, if you use cPanel we can offer you DNS clustering which enables you to use our DNS servers and automate the DNS updates.

We can supply you with a cPanel license for £19.00 which would be billed monthly on top of your colocation invoice.

Does the Mac Mini work well as a Web Server?

Mac Minis work really well as Web Servers, the newest machines are fitted with Intel 2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo processors which are extremely fast. In addition you can upgrade the RAM to 2GB and the hard drives to 300GB. If you need help upgrading your Mac Mini please let us know and we'll try to help.

How reliable are the Mac Minis?

We have been testing a number of Mac mini servers for over a year now and after some initial problems we are pleased to report a total clean sheet with no Hardware failures or server crashes.

How long does it take to get up and running?

Once we have your Mac Mini we can normally get you installed and setup within 2-3 working days

What level of redundancy do the Minis offer?

Being a desktop PC and in such a compact unit there is no redundancy available with a Mac Mini itself. However we do have a very good infrastructure in place and offer the following included services with our Mac Mini Managed Colo packages:

• Remote NFS storage device for your backups
• MySQL real-time database replication facility
• Remote power cycling
• Recovery console for fixing boot issues

How many IP addresses can my Mini have?

You can have as many IP addresses as you can justify, your Mac Mini will be setup initially with its own dedicated IP address. Additional IP addresses can be assigned as necessary.

Who will do my reverse DNS setup?

We will setup and manage your reverse DNS for you.

I'm new to this and I don't understand many aspects of running my own server?

Don't worry, we will always be on hand to help you where necessary. We can help with many problems that start-ups have to face, we will take care of your DNS, server monitoring and remote backup storage.

What happens in the event of a hardware failure?

This is the worst case scenario, if your Mac Mini dies then we will notify you within a few minutes of the failure. We always keep a hot spare waiting in the wings so we could restore your system back to a working state within an hour. In addition, we also keep spare PSUs, RAM and hard drives which can be swapped out if required.

Can I visit the data centre myself?

Unfortunately we cannot give you unaccompanied access to your Mac Mini because of the security implications. All of our servers are in multiple racks in a single cage, this means we cannot give you access to your Mac Mini alone. We can however accompany you on site if necessary, please see below for charges.

Are there any hidden charges?

The only additional charges you might incur are as follows:

• One time setup charge: £75.00 (Setup is free if paying yearly)
• Hardware Swap (PSU, Memory, HDD): £75.00 + Hardware cost.
• IP Addresses: £10.00 per address per year.
• cPanel installation and setup: Free if purchased with initial order otherwise: £45.00
• Accompanied access to the data centre: £75.00 per hour
• Additional bandwidth: £15.00 per 100GB
• System restore after hard disk failure: Price dependent on server setup. 

If you have any questions about colocating a Mac Mini please drop us an email. With over 3 years experience in this field we should be able to answer any queries you may have.