When we choose a service provider to host a server, we look at different aspects, such as the availability of services, cost, scalability, type of cloud, etc.
However, it is important to pay attention to the physical location in which these servers are hosted, since otherwise, we could have several problems.
The physical location of the server is essentially where our data will be located.
If we hire a server that is far away from our location or from the location from which clients view us, we may find ourselves with high latency, a fact that will cause a slow service.
For example, if you hire a server in the US, but your clients are from Spain, surely the clients will encounter some slowness when loading the content of the server, since the client's request must go from Spain -> USA -> Spain.
Let's put it in an example:
Executing a curl on the url "swhosting.com" from a server in the United States, tells us that the response time is 0.2 seconds or 2000ms:
This same curl executed on a server that is located in Spain, gives us a substantially lower response time:
This tells us that if our visitors are from Spain and the server is located in Spain, the people who access our website or server will have a lower latency time and a more pleasant experience.
Other important aspects is the management of our data or customer data. When a server is hosted in the European Union, it is governed by the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which is a regulation that affects all those companies that process data of European citizens. When contracting a server outside the European Union, it is possible that we find that the provider is not applying said regulations, so we, as a company that contracts the services and deals with third-party data, could have legal problems. In this case, it is best if the company's server is located in the same country as the company itself.
Now that we have a better understanding of some of the risks associated with physical server location, let's explore what to consider when choosing a server location.
Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and floods can affect the availability of services. It is true that a natural disaster can be unpredictable, but there are locations with more and less risks.
A data center must be located in a region with a low crime rate and have sufficient active and passive security to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to the data center.
The area in which your provider's data center is located must have access to more than one power source. In the event that the local power grid goes down, the data center must have access to another power source or have enough backup power to last until the main source is restored.
Your provider should choose a location where it is easy to access additional infrastructure and equipment. If a problem occurs and your provider needs to replace, say, a server, they should be able to do so quickly and easily.
It is important that the data center is located in an environment with good connectivity, in addition to having physical redundancy between different network operators, in case one fails.
A data center needs staff with the relevant skills to ensure it is managed properly. Choosing a provider that doesn't have easy access to those kinds of skills could cause difficulties if a problem arises.
To finish, we must verify if the location where our server is going to be located is a stable region.
By stability, we mean political stability, as politically unstable areas may be affected by people who may damage the data center or network infrastructure, or the government may cut off the Internet connection in times of political crisis. .
In addition to this, it is also important to take into account the type of currency or exchange. Politically unstable countries tend to have volatile currencies, which can affect costs if you pay the supplier in a different currency than your home currency.
When looking for a data center provider, remember to choose a financially and politically stable region with long-established laws and regulations.
SW Hosting
SW Hosting offers you the possibility of having a data center located in Spain, in which you will find very low latency times with clients that are located in the same region. In addition, being located in Europe, we are governed by the GDPR and the LOPD, which guarantees total confidentiality of your data.
We also have physical redundancy of network and electricity operators, which guarantees a very high availability of your services.
We invite you to know our services
