Installation of a high traffic web server in a customer's office requires one or more high capacity T1 data circuits for connection to the Internet. It is more cost effective to save the data circuit cost and to have the web server co-located in the CrossLink Network Operations Center. Many customers want to install their web server in their offices so that they can share bandwidth with users on their office network who need Internet access for E-mail and browsing. This not only impacts both web server and browsing performance, but also creates a security risk if the customer does not invest in firewall software to protect their internal network from unauthorized access by someone accessing their server. Hackers have even been successful at accessing networks and web servers that are protected by some of the best firewall software on the market.
Network security is the second reason many companies prefer co-location.
Each T3 has 28 times as much available bandwidth as a dedicated T1 data circuit for less than half the cost of a single T1 data circuit. The customer always has complete control over the configuration and operation of their co-located web server. The customer decides what operating system and hardware are selected, how the server is setup, and how it is managed. Co-located web servers are easy to administer and update using industry standard FTP software. Or, if preferred, an optional modem can be installed in the customer's web server for remote dial-in access.