Begin with the project.
Describe what you want to house and why you need space. Say whether this is a first deployment, additional capacity, a second location or a move. Identify the person who can answer technical questions.
- Preferred country, city or locations you would consider.
- The target date and the reason it matters.
- Requirements that are fixed, preferences that are flexible and details still to follow.
Keep space and power separate.
Rack count, floor area and power describe different parts of the requirement. Give the figures you have, with their units and source. A hardware schedule is more useful than a single unqualified capacity number.
- Physical space
- Cabinets or racks, dimensions, weight and any private cage or room requirement.
- Total IT power
- The expected aggregate demand for your deployment, normally expressed in kW or MW. State whether the figure is initial demand, an allowance or a future target.
- Power per rack
- The demand and any variation between cabinets. An average can hide a particularly demanding rack.
- Later stages
- Show the proposed capacity and date for each phase. Ask separately what expansion can be committed.
Bring the technical requirements.
Ask your technical team or hardware supplier for the facility specification. Cooling compatibility, network design and resilience need specialist review; a search brief records those requirements so providers can respond.
- Cooling method and the required facility interfaces, if specified.
- Network connections, carriers, bandwidth and location constraints.
- Security, access, equipment delivery and on-site support requirements.
- Installation and acceptance requirements your team needs the operator to review.
Show the timetable and cost assumptions.
Separate the date space might be available from the date your equipment must be operating. Connections, fit-out and acceptance may have their own dependencies.
Give a budget where possible and specify what it includes. Ask providers to separate recurring charges, power charging arrangements and one-off costs so the responses can be compared.
- First occupation, equipment installation and target operational dates.
- Any existing end date, notice date or period of overlap.
- Preferred commitment length and proposed expansion stages.
- Currency, tax treatment and the cost items included in the budget.
Use this outline.
You can use these headings in an email or initial discussion. Mark unknown details as “to confirm” and send only the information needed to describe the requirement.
- Project and location
- What we plan to deploy; why we need space; locations we would consider.
- Space and capacity
- Type of space; rack count; total power; power per rack; future phases.
- Technical requirements
- Hardware specification; cooling; connectivity; access and security.
- Dates and commercial details
- Target dates; current commitments; preferred term; budget and inclusions.
- Contacts and permissions
- Commercial and technical contacts; existing operator discussions; who may be approached.
Ask for a response you can check.
For each important point, ask whether it is confirmed, conditional or still being investigated. Keep the source and date of the response with the proposal.
Request a description of the space, the capacity allocated to it, the works and services included, the charging basis and the conditions attached to delivery dates. Your legal and technical advisers can then review the proposed arrangement.
Further reading.
- Colocation products and services — EquinixAn operator’s explanation of space for customer-owned equipment. Availability and terms vary by facility.
- Private cages — EquinixSpace, cabinet and power options depend on the location and proposed deployment.
- Cooling options — EquinixExamples of cooling arrangements and operator requirements. A technical team must confirm the design for the actual hardware.
Published by Rivermark Property Ltd. General information; individual facility and service arrangements need to be confirmed.