When businesses start evaluating co-location, the first conversation tends to be about rack pricing. How much per rack unit? What's included in the power allocation? Is there a minimum term? These are reasonable questions — but they're not the ones that determine whether a facility will actually serve you well over a three or five-year contract.

The questions that matter most are the ones most businesses don't think to ask until something goes wrong. We've seen it happen: a business signs a co-location agreement based on price and location, then discovers the hard way that their facility has no diesel generator, charges a premium for remote hands, or has limited carrier options that make connectivity expensive. By the time these issues surface, you're locked into a contract and your equipment is installed.

Here are the questions you should be asking before you sign anything.

1. Power — redundancy, metering, and backup

Power is the single most critical infrastructure element in a data centre. Ask specifically:

  • What is the power redundancy level? N+1 means there's one spare component available if one unit fails — workable, but not fully redundant. 2N means a fully duplicated power path from the grid to your equipment. For critical systems, 2N is the gold standard.
  • Is there a diesel generator, and how often is it tested? An untested generator is not a reliable generator. Ask for their maintenance schedule and the date of the last full load test.
  • What is the UPS runtime? The UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) bridges the gap between a mains failure and the generator starting. You want at least 10–15 minutes of runtime at full load — enough time for the generator to start and stabilise even under delayed conditions.
  • How is power metered and billed? Some facilities include power in the rack rate up to a set draw; others charge per kilowatt-hour consumed. Understand the billing model before you install power-hungry equipment.

2. Cooling — temperature targets and failure handling

Servers generate significant heat, and maintaining the right temperature is essential for equipment longevity and reliability. Key questions:

  • What is the target temperature in the data hall? Most modern facilities aim for 18–27°C at the inlet of your equipment. Anything consistently above this range reduces the life of your hardware.
  • Is hot aisle/cold aisle containment in use? Properly implemented containment dramatically improves cooling efficiency by preventing hot exhaust air from mixing with cool supply air. Facilities without containment are less efficient and more prone to hot spots.
  • What happens if the primary cooling system fails? Ask about cooling redundancy and what the facility's documented response procedure is for a cooling failure. A well-run facility will have this documented; a poorly-run one may not.

3. Physical security — access control and staffing

Your equipment is a physical asset, and the facility's security determines who can walk up to it. Don't assume "data centre" automatically means high security.

  • What access control is in place? Keycard-only access is a baseline. Biometric access (fingerprint or iris scanning) at the cage or rack level is better for high-security requirements.
  • Is CCTV coverage continuous, and how is footage retained? Cameras at the entry, in the data hall, and at individual cage/rack level are standard in serious facilities. Ask how long footage is retained.
  • Is there on-site staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Some smaller facilities rely on remote monitoring with no physical staff on site overnight. For most businesses, 24/7 on-site staff is a minimum requirement.
  • How is visitor access managed? If a technician or third-party vendor needs access to your equipment, what's the approval process? Can they gain access without your authorisation?

4. Connectivity — carriers, cross-connects, and options

The connectivity ecosystem of a data centre has a major bearing on what you can get, at what cost. A facility with only one or two carriers provides little competitive pressure on pricing and creates a dependency risk.

  • Which carriers are in the building? Multiple carriers gives you choice and negotiating leverage. A carrier-neutral facility is generally preferable to one tied to a single provider.
  • Can you get a cross-connect to another customer or carrier? A cross-connect is a physical cable between your equipment and another party's equipment within the same facility — used for private peering, direct cloud connections, or accessing a carrier's port. Ask what the cross-connect process and cost looks like.
  • What internet connectivity options are available? If you need internet access in addition to private connectivity, understand which ISPs can provide service to your cage and at what price points.

5. Remote hands — what's actually available and what it costs

Remote hands is the data centre's ability to perform basic physical tasks on your behalf — power cycling a server, connecting a cable, swapping a drive, or checking indicator lights. When something goes wrong at 2am and you're not on site, remote hands is what stands between you and a four-hour drive to the data centre.

  • Is remote hands available 24/7? If not, understand the hours of availability and what the after-hours escalation path is.
  • What is the pricing model? Some facilities include a small remote hands allowance; others charge per task or per hour. Understand the rates before you need them urgently.
  • What can they actually do? Remote hands capability varies. At minimum, you want power cycling, cable management, and equipment swap capability. Some facilities can do more complex tasks with the right instructions.

6. Contract terms — the clauses that matter

The commercial terms of a co-location agreement deserve careful reading. Key areas to scrutinise:

  • Minimum term and early exit. What are the penalties for exiting before the term ends? Is there a reasonable exit process if you need to move your equipment?
  • Price escalation clauses. Some contracts include automatic annual price increases tied to CPI or at the facility's discretion. Know what you're agreeing to before year two pricing kicks in.
  • Expansion terms. If your equipment footprint grows, how is expansion priced and contracted? Is additional space available at the same rate, or subject to new pricing?
Don't overlook the SLA. Read the uptime guarantee carefully — most facilities advertise 99.9% or higher, but the credit mechanism matters. If they miss the SLA, what do you actually receive? A credit equal to one day's rack rental is not meaningful compensation for a significant outage. Ask what the actual credit structure is, and whether the SLA covers both power and cooling or just one of them.

Asking the right questions protects you

A reputable data centre operator will welcome these questions. If a facility is evasive about generator testing schedules, remote hands availability, or the detail of their SLA, treat that as a red flag. The facilities that are genuinely well-run have nothing to hide and every reason to be transparent about their capabilities.

If you're evaluating co-location options for your Adelaide business, the Caznet team can help you understand what to look for and walk you through the specifics of our own facility. Get in touch via our contact page or call us on 1300 229 638.