GuideData center · 4 min
Racks, cage, private room or a whole hall: which data center space fits you
The four ways data center space (colocation) is sold: racks, a cage, a private suite, or a whole hall. What separates them, what "retail" and "wholesale" mean, and how to tell which you need.
The Clectiv team ·
Data center space comes in four sizes, each priced and contracted differently. Know which one you need before the first call, so no provider steers you into the one that suits their floor.
The four sizes, smallest to largest#
Most smaller buyers choose between racks and a cage. Bigger buyers choose between a private suite and a whole hall.
| What you rent | What it is | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Racks (cabinets) | Lockable cabinets on a shared floor. | One to a handful of racks. |
| Cage | A fenced-off area on a shared floor, holding several racks. | Buyers who need their gear physically separated. |
| Private suite | A room of your own, with its own walls and door. | Larger setups that need real isolation. |
| Whole hall | A dedicated hall or a block of a megawatt or more, priced per megawatt. | Big, long-term projects. |
Racks or a cage: it's about who can walk past your gear#
A cage buys separation, not more power. The same racks in a cage cost more, because the fencing is its own project, and they take longer to set up.
You'll know if you need one. A compliance rule, a security policy or a client contract will say so. If nothing does, take racks on a shared floor, and don't pay for a cage because it sounds more serious.
Private suite or a whole hall: it's about size and contract#
A suite is a private room in a shared building, bought on something close to a normal order. A whole hall is a different purchase: priced per megawatt, usually cheaper per kW, with less done for you.
The contracts differ too. Racks, cages and suites usually run 12 to 36 months, while whole halls run 5 to 15 years and get negotiated like a development deal. See how to run a data center bid.
Where the line sits: every provider draws its own#
There's no industry line between the small and big projects. Providers draw it anywhere from about 1 MW to 10 MW. So one provider may treat your project as small and another as big, and each prices it differently.
Directory labels aren't facts. Ask the provider to say plainly how the building you're quoted is sold.
How Clectiv AI solves this#
Doing this on your own means months of chasing reps, one at a time. Every call starts from scratch, and every provider knows they're the only one in the room.
With Clectiv AI, it's days, not months. Start your project here, before you call a provider, and Clectiv AI runs the process: it goes to every provider that fits, at the same time. They know they're competing, so their best numbers come back side by side, and you choose.
You start where others finished, with 20+ years of buyer-side projects and our own data on 2,200+ buildings behind your request.
A quick way to tell which you need#
- A rack or two, no need for separation: racks.
- A handful to a couple dozen racks, with a reason to be separate: a cage.
- Bigger, needing real isolation, under a megawatt: a private suite.
- A megawatt or more, on a 5-to-15-year term: a whole hall.
Then work out your power. How much power to plan for covers it. Power sets the price, whatever size you pick.