Are you considering building a small data center with a footprint of 4 to 10 racks? The idea of owning a commercial data node is immensely attractive to many IT specialists and architects—especially those of us who have spent long years in the ICT industry. We are lured by the prospect of no longer having to pay high rack-rental fees in professional centers, overpaying for utility power marked up with high operator margins, or covering expensive interconnects (Cross-Connects) between our own infrastructure and external networks.
But in the final tally, is an in-house mini-DC actually more cost-effective than leasing capacity from established players? Let's break down the capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expenses (OPEX) in detail using a real-world case study.
