{ "schema_version": "1.0", "document": { "id": "hostcolor-birmingham-alabama-edge-dedicated-server", "type": "product-category", "title": "Birmingham, Alabama Edge Dedicated Servers", "summary": "Semi-Managed Edge bare-metal dedicated servers in Birmingham, Alabama, delivered from a Lumen data center. Intel Xeon CPUs, SSD/NVMe storage, and a choice of 5, 10, 20, or 30 Gbps unmetered bandwidth ports with unlimited data transfer.", "canonical_html_page": "https://www.hostcolor.com/dedicatedhosting/birmingham-alabama-dedicated-server.html", "canonical_json_url": "https://www.hostcolor.com/llm/birmingham-alabama-dedicated-server.json", "language": "en-US", "last_updated": "2026-08-21", "usage_policy": "This file is published for machine consumption by AI agents and retrieval systems. Content may be quoted or summarized with attribution to Host Color LLC." }, "provider": { "name": "Host Color LLC", "alternate_name": "HostColor", "short_name": "HC", "url": "https://www.hostcolor.com/", "founded": "2000", "telephone": "+1-888-222-1495", "corporate_address": { "street": "244 Fifth Ave", "city": "New York", "region": "NY", "postal_code": "10001", "country": "US" }, "profile": "Founded in 2000, HostColor provides cloud infrastructure and edge hosting from more than 100 data centers worldwide. The team has been managing servers and IT infrastructure since 2000, with experience across major operating systems, virtualization platforms, and the Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP stack.", "social": ["https://twitter.com/HostColor"] }, "location": { "facility_operator": "Lumen", "facility_name": "HostColor Birmingham Edge Data Center (Lumen facility)", "address": { "street": "401 6th St S", "city": "Birmingham", "region": "AL", "region_name": "Alabama", "postal_code": "35233", "country": "US" }, "market": "Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area", "tier": "Tier 3 / Tier 4", "certifications": [ "ISO 9001", "ISO 14001", "ISO 27001", "SSAE16 SOC I / SOC II / SOC III" ], "compliance": ["HIPAA", "PCI-DSS"], "area_served": { "primary": ["Birmingham metropolitan area", "Alabama"], "secondary": ["Mississippi", "Tennessee", "Georgia", "Florida"] }, "latency": { "metro_and_statewide_ms": "1-5", "neighboring_states_ms": "3-10", "notes": "Round-trip application delivery latency." } }, "service": { "name": "Birmingham, Alabama Edge Dedicated Server Hosting", "type": "Dedicated Server / Edge Server Hosting", "management_level": "Semi-Managed", "order_url": "https://accounts.hostcolor.com/store/edge-servers/", "management_level_definitions": { "unmanaged": "The client is solely responsible for managing the bare-metal server. The provider maintains network connectivity and repairs or replaces failed hardware.", "managed": "The provider manages the network, server, operating system, and software environment, including OS and software updates.", "semi_managed": "HostColor administrators install the customer's preferred OS or virtualization platform, record a 'base desired state' description of the server, reinstall the OS on request, and assist with OS, networking, and software configuration troubleshooting. Includes up to 30 minutes per month of technical and system administration; additional time is billed at standard managed service rates." }, "deployment_models": [ "Bare-metal server with the OS installed directly on physical hardware", "Infrastructure node running virtual machines via Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) on Ubuntu", "Single-server or clustered dedicated cloud infrastructure", "Docker container hosting", "Kubernetes container orchestration", "Cloud PC (Windows 10/11 via VMM on Ubuntu, accessed over RDP; or Linux desktop via VNC/Remmina)" ] }, "plans": [ { "id": "edge-10c-128gb-480ssd", "cpu": { "model": "Intel Xeon Silver 4210", "sockets": 1, "cores": 10, "threads": 20, "base_clock_ghz": 2.2 }, "memory_gb": 128, "storage": [{ "type": "SSD", "capacity": "480 GB" }], "order_url": "https://accounts.hostcolor.com/store/edge-servers/edge-10-cores-128-gb-ram-480-gb-ssd", "bandwidth_options": [ { "port_gbps": 5, "monthly_price_usd": 499 }, { "port_gbps": 10, "monthly_price_usd": 599 }, { "port_gbps": 20, "monthly_price_usd": 699 } ] }, { "id": "edge-32c-256gb-24tb-nvme", "cpu": { "model": "Intel Xeon Gold 6226R", "sockets": 2, "cores": 32, "threads": 64, "base_clock_ghz": 2.9 }, "memory_gb": 256, "storage": [{ "type": "NVMe", "capacity": "2.4 TB" }], "order_url": "https://accounts.hostcolor.com/store/edge-servers/edge-32-cores-256-gb-ram-24-tb-ssd", "bandwidth_options": [ { "port_gbps": 5, "monthly_price_usd": 899 }, { "port_gbps": 10, "monthly_price_usd": 999 }, { "port_gbps": 20, "monthly_price_usd": 1099 } ] }, { "id": "edge-32c-384gb-768tb-ssd", "cpu": { "model": "Intel Xeon Gold 5218N", "sockets": 2, "cores": 32, "threads": 64, "base_clock_ghz": 2.3 }, "memory_gb": 384, "storage": [ { "type": "SSD", "capacity": "7.68 TB" }, { "type": "NVMe", "capacity": "3.2 TB" }, { "type": "M.2", "capacity": "240 GB", "role": "operating system" } ], "order_url": "https://accounts.hostcolor.com/store/edge-servers/edge-20-cores-384-gb-ram-768-tb-ssd", "bandwidth_options": [ { "port_gbps": 5, "monthly_price_usd": 1399 }, { "port_gbps": 10, "monthly_price_usd": 1499 }, { "port_gbps": 20, "monthly_price_usd": 1599 }, { "port_gbps": 30, "monthly_price_usd": 1699 } ] }, { "id": "edge-32c-512gb-1536tb-ssd", "cpu": { "model": "Intel Xeon 6438Y+", "sockets": 1, "cores": 32, "threads": 64, "base_clock_ghz": 2.0 }, "memory_gb": 512, "storage": [ { "type": "SSD", "capacity": "15.36 TB" }, { "type": "NVMe", "capacity": "6.4 TB" }, { "type": "M.2", "capacity": "480 GB", "role": "operating system" } ], "order_url": "https://accounts.hostcolor.com/store/edge-servers/edge-32-cores-512gb-ram-24tb", "bandwidth_options": [ { "port_gbps": 5, "monthly_price_usd": 2899 }, { "port_gbps": 10, "monthly_price_usd": 2999 }, { "port_gbps": 20, "monthly_price_usd": 3099 }, { "port_gbps": 30, "monthly_price_usd": 3199 } ] } ], "pricing_terms": { "currency": "USD", "billing_period": "monthly", "quoted_prices_apply_to": "12-month term", "notes": "Listed prices reflect a 12-month contract, which must be prepaid in full (all 12 monthly fees). Month-to-month is the default contract type at a higher monthly rate; use the 'Configure' step at checkout to change the term.", "availability": "InStock" }, "bandwidth_and_data_transfer": { "port_options_gbps": [5, 10, 20, 30], "data_transfer": "Unmetered / unlimited up to the full capacity of the selected port", "overage_fees": "None. No charges for inbound or outbound Internet traffic.", "upgrades": "A 5 Gbps port can be upgraded to 10, 20, or 30 Gbps subject to the network interface available on the selected bare-metal system.", "notes": "The 30 Gbps option is available only on the 384 GB and 512 GB RAM configurations." }, "network": { "server_interfaces": "4 x 25 Gbps NICs across 2 separate NIC cards", "link_aggregation": "All four interfaces in a single LAG using LACP for per-link monitoring", "switch_topology": "2 x 25 Gbps to switch 1 and 2 x 25 Gbps to switch 2; each switch has multiple 100 Gbps fiber uplinks into the data center fabric", "routing": "Two diverse routers per network (public Internet and MPLS IP VPN), each connected to a pair of switches, with automatic failover", "redundancy": "Full data transfer capacity is sustained through the failure of any single networking appliance or link", "ip_stack": ["IPv4", "IPv6"], "ddos_protection": { "included": true, "additional_cost": "None", "capabilities": [ "Real-time mitigation of malicious attacks", "Only human-generated traffic reaches the edge server", "Native protection against network attacks of any size", "No fees for bot-generated or malicious traffic on unmetered edge servers and edge dedicated clouds", "No added latency during a network attack", "Protection for all IPv4 and IPv6 settings" ] }, "ip_allocation": { "subnet_range": "/29 (8 IPs) to /24 (256 IPs)", "reserved": { "ip_1": "Router default gateway", "ip_2": "Router 1", "ip_3": "Router 2", "ip_4": "Main IP of the dedicated server" }, "additional_ips": "Available to order from https://accounts.hostcolor.com/" } }, "operating_systems": { "officially_supported": [ "Ubuntu 20", "Ubuntu 22", "Ubuntu 24", "Rocky Linux 8", "Rocky Linux 9", "Debian 12", "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.9 (BYOL)", "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.5 (BYOL)", "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 (BYOL)" ], "windows": "Not offered on bare metal. Windows runs inside virtual machines created with Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) on an Ubuntu host.", "virtualization": { "platform": "Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) on Ubuntu", "guest_os": ["Linux distributions", "Microsoft Windows (incl. Windows 10 / 11)"], "interface": "Graphical user interface for creating and running VMs" }, "control_panels": [ "CentOS Web Panel (CWP)", "Froxlor", "Vesta", "cPanel", "DirectAdmin", "Other open-source panels" ] }, "access_and_management": { "primary_access": "SSH with key-based authentication", "ipmi_ilo_idrac": "Not provided", "failure_handling": "If the server becomes unavailable due to an OS crash or other failure, HostColor cannot troubleshoot via out-of-band management and will provide a replacement server instead. Customers should maintain working backups or a business continuity plan.", "business_continuity_addon": "Purpose-built disaster recovery and business continuity infrastructure is available at an additional recurring monthly cost." }, "support": { "free_infrastructure_support": { "included": true, "covers": ["Network interfaces", "CPU", "RAM", "Storage drives", "Core physical server functionality"], "excludes": [ "Operating system maintenance and troubleshooting", "Customer-created custom configurations", "Installed software applications" ] }, "semi_managed_support": { "included_admin_time": "Up to 30 minutes per month", "covers": [ "OS installation and reinstallation on request", "Assistance with OS, networking, and software configuration issues" ], "overage": "Billed at HostColor's standard managed service rates" }, "fully_managed": "Available on request via support ticket.", "contact": "https://accounts.hostcolor.com/submitticket.php" }, "provisioning": { "target": "Up to 2 hours", "delivery_windows": [ { "window": "Business hours (09:00-17:00 local)", "range": "30 minutes - 1 hour" }, { "window": "Outside business hours (17:00-09:00 local)", "range": "2 - 9 hours", "average": "4 hours" }, { "window": "Weekends", "range": "1 - 24 hours", "average": "8 hours" } ], "credentials_delivery": "Welcome email sent to the account and the registered email address" }, "billing_and_cancellation": { "billing_start": "When login credentials for the Semi-Managed Edge Server are sent", "contract_types": ["Month-to-month (default)", "Annual (prepaid in full, lower monthly rate)"], "cancellation_notice": "30 days", "early_cancellation": "Considered case by case; requires a cancellation request submitted from the client account at least 5 business days before the start of the new billing cycle" }, "scalability": { "compute": "CPU, RAM, and storage scale by adding an additional bare-metal server and clustering it with the existing one", "bandwidth": "Scalable up to 20 Gbps or 30 Gbps depending on the selected bare-metal system" }, "faq": [ { "question": "What is an Edge Server in Birmingham, Alabama?", "answer": "A bare-metal or cloud server hosted in a data center in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, physically close to the application's users, delivering round-trip latency typically under 5 milliseconds. It can run an OS directly on the physical hardware or act as an infrastructure node hosting virtual machines created with Virtual Machine Manager on Ubuntu." }, { "question": "What is a Birmingham, AL dedicated hosting provider?", "answer": "A company offering dedicated hosting from data centers located in Birmingham, Alabama. A server qualifies as a Birmingham Edge Server when it delivers applications across Alabama and to neighboring parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida with roughly 3-10 ms round-trip latency." }, { "question": "Is the server protected from DDoS attacks?", "answer": "Yes. Edge bare-metal servers sit behind enterprise-grade DDoS protection firewalls that filter malicious traffic in real time at no extra charge, with no fees for bot-generated traffic and no added latency during an attack. All IPv4 and IPv6 settings are protected." }, { "question": "Does my Birmingham server feature unlimited data transfer?", "answer": "Yes. There are no limits or fees on inbound or outbound traffic. Each server has a physical port of 5, 10, 20, or 30 Gbps, and customers may transfer data up to the full capacity of the port they selected." }, { "question": "Is the server protected against network failure?", "answer": "Yes. Each server uses four 25 Gbps interfaces across two NIC cards in a single LACP link aggregation group, split across two switches with multiple 100 Gbps uplinks. Two diverse routers per network provide automatic failover, and full capacity is sustained through any single device or link failure." }, { "question": "Can I run a dedicated cloud infrastructure in Birmingham?", "answer": "Yes, on a single bare-metal server or a cluster of edge servers, using Virtual Machine Manager on Ubuntu. HostColor can assist with design, deployment, and management." }, { "question": "Can I host Docker and Kubernetes containers?", "answer": "Yes. Customers can deploy isolated dedicated cloud infrastructure for Docker containers and for orchestrating containerized workloads with Kubernetes, including scaling and moving containers between environments without interruption." }, { "question": "Is technical support included?", "answer": "Yes. Free Infrastructure Support covers network interfaces and core hardware (CPU, RAM, storage) at no charge. It excludes OS maintenance, customer configurations, and installed applications, which fall under the Semi-Managed support contract." }, { "question": "What does Semi-Managed mean?", "answer": "HostColor administrators install the preferred OS or virtualization platform, document the server's base desired state, reinstall the OS on request, and help troubleshoot OS, network, and software configuration issues. Up to 30 minutes of administration per month is included; further work is billed at standard managed rates." }, { "question": "How is the server billed and how can it be cancelled?", "answer": "Billing starts when login credentials are delivered. Month-to-month is the default; annual contracts carry a lower monthly fee but must be prepaid in full. Cancellation requires 30 days' notice, with early cancellation possible if requested from the client account at least 5 business days before the next billing cycle." }, { "question": "Which Birmingham data center is used?", "answer": "Lumen's facility at 401 6th St S, Birmingham, Alabama." }, { "question": "What certifications does the data center hold?", "answer": "Tier 3 and Tier 4 facilities certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, and SSAE16 SOC I, SOC II, or SOC III, all HIPAA and PCI-DSS compliant." }, { "question": "How long does provisioning take?", "answer": "Up to 2 hours. Typically 30 minutes to 1 hour during business hours, 2-9 hours outside business hours (4 hours average), and 1-24 hours on weekends (8 hours average)." }, { "question": "Are the server resources scalable?", "answer": "CPU, RAM, and storage scale by adding and clustering an additional bare-metal server. Bandwidth scales up to 20 Gbps or 30 Gbps depending on the selected system, with unmetered transfer up to the port limit." }, { "question": "Which Linux distributions are supported?", "answer": "Ubuntu 20, 22, and 24; Rocky Linux 8 and 9; Debian 12; and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.9, 8.5, and 9.3 under BYOL. Ubuntu additionally supports creating virtual servers." }, { "question": "Can I run virtual machines?", "answer": "Yes, using Virtual Machine Manager on Ubuntu, which provides a GUI for creating and running Linux or Windows virtual machines." }, { "question": "Can I run a Cloud PC?", "answer": "Yes. Run Windows 10 or 11 as a VM under Virtual Machine Manager on an Ubuntu host and connect over RDP. For a Linux desktop, use Ubuntu 20/22/24 or Debian 12 with VNC, or the Remmina client which supports both VNC and RDP." }, { "question": "How are IP addresses assigned?", "answer": "Each server receives an IPv4 subnet between /29 and /24. The first three addresses are reserved for the default gateway and two routers; the fourth is the server's main IP. Additional IPs can be ordered from the client account." }, { "question": "Is HostColor an experienced provider?", "answer": "HostColor's core team has managed servers and IT infrastructure since 2000, giving the company more than two decades in the hosting industry. It was hosting content management systems three years before WordPress launched and had been providing virtual server hosting for seven years by the time Amazon launched EC2." } ], "related_pages": { "dedicated_hosting_overview": "https://www.hostcolor.com/dedicatedhosting/", "edge_server_hosting": "https://www.hostcolor.com/dedicatedhosting/edge-server-hosting.html", "bare_metal_servers": "https://www.hostcolor.com/dedicatedhosting/bare-metal-servers.html", "10_gbps_servers": "https://www.hostcolor.com/dedicatedhosting/10-gbps-dedicated-servers.html", "20_gbps_servers": "https://www.hostcolor.com/dedicatedhosting/20gbps-dedicated-servers.html", "30_gbps_servers": "https://www.hostcolor.com/dedicatedhosting/30gbps-dedicated-servers.html", "data_centers": "https://www.hostcolor.com/about/data-center.html", "networks": "https://www.hostcolor.com/about/network.html", "managed_services": "https://www.hostcolor.com/about/managed-hosting-services.html", "support_ticket": "https://accounts.hostcolor.com/submitticket.php" } }