WebHostingTalk - Equinix opinions

>>My understanding is that the Equinix facility in Chicago (the south loop location) is essentially full again, after expanding to an additional floor of 100,000 sq ft a few years ago, and rates for both power and space are definitely going up.

>>We're with Internap in Chicago Equinix. Equinix runs an awesome facility. Their Chicago facility is tight on space and power while the Elk Grove facility is fairly new with lots of available cooling, power, and space. I know Server Central has some space open and Internap has a few racks. All three wanted to push us to Elk Grove when we were looking for a new colo late in 2007.

>>Then my overview of Equinix is that they run some very nice facilities. They certainly get most things right, the only real downside is the price and the fact you're dealing with a relatively inflexible behemoth in the industry. If they're offering what you want and you can afford the price, go for it, you can't do much better and it can be a big help on the marketing side.

They have space again in their Chicago facility? We've been trying to get another couple cabs up there for well over a year now and keep getting told they're sold out.

>>We have been using Equinix datacenter since 2004. I think they are quite all right. Many thinks Equinix is too expensive, but then we find them to be one of the cheapest for NY/East coast market. Our problem with them is with expandability. They are trying to sell their space and power to their most profitable clients. Depending on which type of client you are, they may deny (or delay/reserve) your requst for additional space/power.

>>In Chicago, the market I'm familiar with and the market the OP was looking at, things are significantly different, as their 350 E Cermak facility is full, they're charging a ton for it, while their Elk Grove facility is brand new, they're trying to get $1800+ a cab with 2x 20A circuits last I checked and then $350 a month for cross connects, etc. while at Gigenet, also in the CHicago suburbs, you can get it for less than $1200 a cab...

As a note, I got started in Equinix and Equinix builds some amazing facilities. The facilities are perfect for financial firms, etc. who are looking for the best and don't care that much about the budget. If you have the money, spend it there, you won't be disappointed, unless you need "smart" hands. :-)

>>It's been said that Equinix at 350 Cermak is pretty much full (and I keep hearing that as well). I was on the 5th floor yesterday, and I hadn't been there in about a year, and was surprised by the number of empty cages/suites I saw that had previously been occupied. I wasn't really expecting that.

Equinix is definitely expensive; whether it's worth it to you is a matter only you can decide. The remote hands at the Chicago facility have not been great in my experience, but my experience has typically been with inbound shipments of equipment and not anything really technical. Others I know have said the remote hands has been pretty good for them. But aside from the 25 minute power outage in June 2005, as far as I know they haven't had any facility outages in the last 5 years. That's still a pretty solid uptime record, and based on just anecdotal accounts as good or better than any other datacenter in the area. For many people, infrastructure quality and uptime is the #1 criteria in choosing a datacenter, before price, security, proximity, quality of remote hands, etc. Equinix has a solid reputation in that regard across the U.S., hence their facilities typically go for a higher rate and tend to get full.