Colocation in Amsterdam: straight answers.
Everything we get asked, grouped. We are an independent advisor, not a reseller, so the answers include the ones that lose us the deal.
How we work, and how we are paid.
Do you resell colocation?
No. You contract with the datacenter; their contract, their invoice, their SLA. The datacenter pays us a fee. We never add a margin.
Can I not just call the datacenter myself?
You can, and for one large, simple order with no deadline that works. Through us the hall is checked for free kW before anyone quotes, a named account manager gets your brief, and we negotiate the small print. It costs you nothing either way.
Is there capacity in Amsterdam right now?
For racks in the low kW range, there is room somewhere in the metro. High density, or many racks at once, takes planning: less than 10 percent of space is free and the city allows no new large datacenters until 2035. We check per hall before we introduce you. The permit stop and the grid queue are in our capacity note.
What does a rack in Amsterdam cost?
Roughly a monthly fee per rack plus a per-kW charge for committed power, plus one-off cross-connects and IX ports. Real numbers depend on campus, density and term; we get you a negotiated quote, not a list price. What moves in a negotiation is in our note on negotiating a rack price.
Which Amsterdam datacenters do you work with?
Digital Realty (Science Park, Schiphol-Rijk, Amstel Business Park), NorthC and other operators in the metro. We pick the site on merit: power ceiling, carriers in the meet-me room, availability.
Do you do 1U, half racks or shared racks?
No. Dedicated racks, cages and suites only. For a few servers we'll point you to a shared-colo party that does it well.
Can I get AMS-IX, NL-ix or a cross-connect to Nikhef?
Yes. IX ports and cross-connects are ordered inside the building; Nikhef is a campus cross-connect at Science Park and a dark-fibre pair from the other clusters. We size the ports and cross-connects with you before the quote.
How fast do you reply?
Within one business day, with a sanity check on your requirements and a proposed campus.
Do you help with the migration?
We stay on as technical contact: move-in scheduling, cross-connect orders, power upgrades. The physical move is yours or your integrator's; we can recommend one.
Frankfurt or London too?
On request, yes. Amsterdam is our focus, but if Frankfurt, London or another market fits better, we can help you there too.
Halls, kW and what each one has left.
Which Amsterdam campuses can I choose from?
Science Park, Schiphol-Rijk and Amsterdam-Zuidoost, each with several operators; Digital Realty and NorthC are two of the ones we work with. We pick on power ceiling, carriers in the meet-me room and what the hall has left.
How much power can I get per rack?
The band we usually place is 3 to 70 kW, depending on the hall and the cooling. Standard air-cooled halls handle the low end comfortably. Above that you need a specific hall, and at the top end liquid cooling. NVL72-class racks draw 120 kW and more and need a hall built for them.
Do I get A and B feeds?
Yes. Dual feeds on separate paths, with UPS and generators behind them. We size the breaker per feed with you, so losing one feed does not trip your gear on the other.
What if the hall I want is full?
It happens, which is why we check availability per hall before we introduce you. Amsterdam caps new datacenter build, so the honest answer is sometimes a different campus, or a different quarter.
Can I have a cage or a suite instead of racks?
Yes. Cages and suites get their own footprint, power and access rules, and are priced per square metre and per kW. Once you are past a handful of racks it is worth asking for both prices.
What you sign, and what it does over time.
Who do I sign with, and who invoices me?
The datacenter, for both. Their contract, their invoice, their SLA, their portal. We are not on any of it and we never add a margin.
What term should I sign?
Three years is the usual sweet spot here: long enough to move the rack fee and the install cost, short enough that you are not stuck with a density you picked before you measured. One year costs more per month and gets you nothing else.
How is the price indexed?
Most contracts index once a year, commonly against a published price index, with energy often tracked separately. Ask for a cap on the index and read exactly how energy is passed through.
Can I expand later?
Only if you arranged it up front. Ask for an expansion option on adjacent racks at signature: it costs nothing then, and adjacent space is scarce in a metro that limits new build.
Is there a deposit?
Sometimes, depending on your credit profile and the term. It is negotiable, and a bank guarantee is often accepted instead of cash.
Moving in, and the years after.
Do you do the physical move?
No. We stay on as technical contact for move-in scheduling, cross-connect orders and power upgrades. The lifting is yours or your integrator’s, and we can recommend one.
What drives the timeline?
Carrier delivery and cross-connects, almost always. Racks and power are ready long before your circuits are. Plan the network first and the hardware second.
Can I keep my own IP space and carriers?
Yes. You bring your own IP space, order your own carriers and your own IX ports, and nothing runs through us. That is the point of dedicated colocation.
How does remote hands work?
Operators sell it per block of time, at a higher rate outside office hours. Agree the scope, the escalation path and the response time in the contract, not at three in the morning.
Who do I call when something breaks?
The datacenter, through their portal and their NOC, under the SLA you signed. You can call us too. We will not be faster than their NOC, but we know who to chase and how the escalation runs.
Question not answered here?
Send it with your specs, or take twenty minutes on a call. Either way you get an engineer, not a sales team.