When the last company I was with bought some colo rack space (we hosted our own data center but had a need for some colo), we purchased the server, installed it

When the last company I was with bought some colo rack space (we hosted our own data center but had a need for some colo), we purchased the server, installed it, tested it, and set up our own console on our IP range. I don't know what the costs were because that was part of my job. As far as guide to not bricking the thing: Our particular colo required DC power, which is what we configured our Dell with. Open up the box when we got it and -- aw, we can't turn it on. Luckily we had another AC power supply so we swapped that in (hurray modular!). When you go to the colo, bring fuses, particularly if this is the first time you're wiring DC. Grab however many you think you'll need. Then grab some more because you'll futz it up. Test your console (iLO, IPMI, etc) to make sure it's functioning before you leave. Most things at this point you can fix remotely. As far as swapping hard drives and things go we decided to maintain that ourselves. RAID1 + Hot Spare on the OS to keep it running before you get over there to swap the drive.