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Google buys Swedish wind farm's entire output to power Finnish data center
Google has just secured the services of an entire 72MW wind farm in Maevaara, Sweden for the next ten years to keep its Finnish data center humming, according to the official blog. It brokered the deal through German insurer Allianz, which purchased the farm and will begin selling all the electricity it produces to Mountain View by 2015. The move is part of Google's quest to remain carbon neutral, and is along similar lines to a recent deal which saw the search giant purchase 48MW of energy from a wind farm in Oklahoma. The news follows Apple's announcement that it gets 75 percent of its power from renewable sources -- showing the arch-foes can at least agree on something.
Facebook building $1.5 billion data center in Altoona, Iowa
Facebook has already set up shop in North Carolina and Oregon, but it's heading to Iowa for its next -- and biggest -- data center. According to the Des Moines Register, the town of Altoona will be home to a 1.4-million-square-foot facility (code-named Catapult), and it will reportedly be the "most technologically advanced center in the world." Why Altoona, you ask? The city is already home to several data hubs, as its fiber-optic cable system, access to power and water utilities and affordable land are big draws for companies. Facebook will complete project Catapult in two $500 million phases, though the entire cost will reportedly ring in at $1.5 billion. The social network is also seeking wind energy production tax credits, which is no doubt connected to its Open Compute Project for promoting energy efficiency. That's all we know so far; suffice to say a center this big won't be built overnight.
Proposal from Google and Duke Energy lets companies buy renewable power
When a company wants a green data center, it often has to build its own energy sources. Google knows that's sometimes not practical, even for a company its size. To that end, it's partnering with Duke Energy on a proposed business model that would let companies explicitly purchase renewable electricity: companies could demand eco-friendly power sources, whether or not they're the most cost-efficient. The Duke approach goes to a state commission for approval within 90 days, and it might let Google expand a Lenoir, North Carolina data center (above) with a clearer conscience and minimal costs. The real challenge may be getting other utilities to follow in Duke's footsteps -- even if there are no legal hurdles, local power providers still have to implement clean energy on a large enough scale. If they do, however, environmental responsibility may be within reach to those businesses more interested in building server farms than solar farms.
Facebook launches real-time graphs to highlight its data center efficiency
Curious as to the effect that your poking wars are having on the planet? Facebook is outing power and water usage data for its Oregon and North Carolina data centers to show off its sustainability chops. The information is updated in near-real time, and the company will add its Swedish facility to the charts as soon as it's built. The stats for the Forest City, NC plant show a very efficient power usage effectiveness ratio of 1.09 -- thanks, in part, to that balmy (North) Carolina air.
Construction begins on Reno iCloud facility
Apple's iCloud service is expanding rapidly, and the company is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure to support it. Recent stories have pointed to the massive photovoltaic array powering the Maiden, NC, data center, and last October Apple broke ground for a data center near Prineville, Ore. Now AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has completed construction of a small "tactical" structure at a data center site near Reno, Nev. The headline of the AppleInsider post is somewhat misleading (not to mention grammatically questionable), crowing that "Apple's initial iCloud facility in Reno already ready to go online." The tactical structure houses cooling, security and support equipment, and doesn't house any massive banks of servers or other infrastructure needed to house iCloud data. Similar structures are onsite at the Maiden data center and one has also been built on the Prineville site. Support buildings such as the one completed at the Reno data center are usually pre-fabricated and quick to build, housing compressors for chiller equipment used to dissipate the heat generated by banks of servers and storage devices in the primary data centers. There's still a lot of work to be done at the Reno site before it is fully operational.
Apple says it now gets 75 percent of its total energy from renewable sources
Based on the latest reports, the company once chided for making too large an impact on Mother Earth is now claiming that a full 75 percent of its energy is being sourced from renewables. Apple's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, informed Reuters this week that all of its data centers -- including the gargantuan facility in Maiden, North Carolina -- are now fully powered by renewable energy from onsite and local sources, while three-fourths of the energy used by the whole company is pulled from green sources. For those wondering, that includes solar, wind, hydro and geothermal, and the 75 percent mark is a stark 40 percent uptick from just two years ago. As for what the future holds? According to Apple: "We won't stop working until we achieve 100 percent throughout Apple." Alrighty then.
Facebook's Open Compute Project splits up monolithic servers with help from Intel, more
As much as it's important to have every component of a PC stuck together in a laptop, that same monolithic strategy is a major liability for server clusters: if one part breaks or grows obsolete, it can drag down everything else. Facebook and its Open Compute Project partners have just unveiled plans to loosen things up at the datacenter. A prototype, Atom-based rackmount server from Quanta Computer uses 100Gbps silicon photonics from Intel to connect parts at full speed, anywhere on the rack. Facebook has also garnered support for a new system-on-chip connection standard, rather affectionately named Group Hug, that would let owners swap in new mini systems from any vendor through PCI Express cards. The combined effect doesn't just simplify repairs and upgrades -- it lets companies build the exact servers they need without having to scrap other crucial elements in the process. There's no definite timeframe for when we'll see modular servers put to work, but the hope is that a cluster's foundations will stay relevant for years instead of months.
Intel's Atom S1200 lays claim to title of world's first 6-watt server-class processor
We often hear talk about the most powerful servers and supercomputers, but the most power-efficient are just as important. On that latter front, Intel has today announced what it claims is the world's first 6-watt server-class processor, the Atom S1200. That's a 64-bit system-on-a-chip designed for use in data centers, and it comes in three variants ranging from 1.6GHz to 2.0GHz, each of which support up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, eight lanes of PCI Express 2.0, and all the basic features an x86-based data center requires. Not surprisingly, going the Atom route also entails a relatively low up-front cost, with the processors starting at just $54 in quantities of 1,000. And Intel is naturally promising even bigger advances in energy efficieny for the future, including a "leap further ahead" in 2014 when it moves to 14nm manufacturing for low-power Xeon processors, and Atoms after that.
Custom enclosure designs shove 160 Mac minis into a single rackmount tower
When the Xserve joined the great server farm in the sky, Mac-minded datacenters everywhere were left without a true rackmountable computer; even the current Mac mini wasn't designed for those kinds of tight spaces. Enter the purposefully anonymous Steve, who just filled the gap with one of the cleverer solutions we've seen yet. He and vendors have developed custom 1U shelving, cooling from car radiators and four-in-one power cables that, combined, fit 160 Mac minis (and a managing Xserve) into one enclosure without cooking the machines to death. With each Mac mini carrying a quad Core i7 and an SSD, Steve now has twice as many cores (640) as an equivalent Xserve cluster despite lower power consumption and a 45-second, network-controlled reboot -- all big helps to his unnamed employer's software development, even with the lack of built-in redundancy for Apple's tiny desktop. As many gritty details as Steve can share are available at the source.
Apple plans to double capacity of NC fuel cells
The first phase of Apple's fuel cell project at the Maiden, NC data center began testing in October of 2012, and the company is already looking at doubling the capacity of the plant. The plant is fueled by filtered landfill gas (AKA "directed biogas"), a fuel that is considered a renewable energy resource by North Carolina's green energy regulations. Apple filed paperwork in November with the North Carolina Utilities Commission to bring the plant from 4.8 megawatts of power to a total of 10 megawatts. Any excess energy generated by the fuel cells and the huge (covering 250 acres eventually) solar farm on the site will be sold to Duke Energy. Apple is planning on using similar green power initiatives at all three of its newest data centers.
Apple breaks ground for new Oregon data center
After spending the last few months putting together the paperwork and plans for its upcoming Oregon-based data center, Apple has finally broken ground on the project. The company will be transforming 160 acres of area near Prineville, Ore., into two big state-of-the-art data centers, and construction has started just recently. The initial cost of development was only $68 million, though as construction and upkeep go on, the expected cost of the structure is expected to run up to nearly a billion dollars. Not that Apple can't afford it -- the data center will help run associated services like iCloud, iTunes and all of the other various moneymakers the company from Cupertino has going. And of course, Apple picked up plenty of tax bonuses for building in Oregon: The local economy is booming, especially since Facebook has built facilities very close by. Presumably, the center should finally be up and running at some point next year.
Daily Update for October 19, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Google takes us inside their data centers, shows you where the internet lives (video)
Ever fancied a look inside one of Google's cavernous server farms? Given the security issues, the company isn't likely to just let anyone mooch around -- but understands if you're curious. That's why it's adding a special collection to its Street View data that lets you wander inside without a big trek to Iowa, Belgium or Finland. If you'd like to sample some of the delights, you can check out our gallery or head down past the break to get a video tour of the facility in Lenoir, NC. [Image Credit: Connie Zhou / Google]
Researchers turn to 19th century math for wireless data center breakthrough
Researchers from Microsoft and Cornell University want to remove the tangles of cables from data centers. It's no small feat. With thousands of machines that need every bit of bandwidth available WiFi certainly isn't an option. To solve the issue, scientists are turning to two sources: the cutting edge of 60GHz networking and the 19th century mathematical theories of Arthur Cayley. Cayley's 1889 paper, On the Theory of Groups, was used to guide their method for connecting servers in the most efficient and fault tolerant way possible. The findings will be presented in a paper later this month, but it won't be clear how effectively this research can be applied to an actual data center until someone funds a prototype. The proposed Cayley data centers would rely on cylindrical server racks that have transceivers both inside and outside the tubes of machines, allowing them to pass data both among and between racks with (hopefully) minimal interference. Since the new design would do away with traditional network switches and cables, researchers believe they may eventually cost less than current designs and will draw less power. And will do so while still streaming data at 10 gigabits per second -- far faster than WiGig, which also makes use of 60GHz spectrum. To read the paper in its entirety check out the source.
Some fun uses for a remote Mac Mini server
MacStadium does remote Mac mini hosting, offering customers a fully connected Mac mini in a secure, controlled datacenter (just like the folks at MacMiniColo, who we've visited and written about before). If you have a Mac mini already, you can even send it to them for hosting, or you can rent or buy one yourself right from the company. Having a remote server all for yourself can be very helpful, and using a Mac mini for the job can be one of the cheapest and easiest ways to do so. In fact, not only does MacStadium run hosting, but the company has also been putting up blog posts over the last month or so, going through a few different ways to make use of a connected mini for yourself. You could install a remote Minecraft server on it, for example, creating a world that you and your friends can log into anytime. Or you could set up something like Kerio Connect, which serves as a Microsoft Exchange-style way to share and send email, contacts and calendars across a number of different users. Obviously, these tutorials are for MacStadium's hosted minis, but they should work for any Mac mini you've set up to be accessed remotely. Apple's littlest Mac is relatively cheap but still very powerful and MacStadium's tutorials could be a start to help you get the most out of your remote mini.
Google data center in Oklahoma to get 48MW of wind power, boost renewable energy in the Sooner state
Google has made a point of relying on renewable resources for its data centers whenever possible, even down to the cooling. It hasn't had quite as unique an arrangement as what it's planning for its data center in Oklahoma, though. The search firm wants to supply its Mayes County location with 48MW of wind energy from Apex's Canadian Hills Wind Project, but it isn't buying power directly from the source. Instead, it's making a deal with the Grand River Dam Authority, a utility, to purchase the clean power on top of what's already supplied from the GRDA at present. The deal should keep the data center on the environmentally friendly side while giving it room to grow. Wind power will come online at Google's facility once the Canadian Hills effort is up and running later in 2012; hopefully, that gives us enough time to better understand why there's a Canadian River and Canadian Hills to be found in the southern United States.
Microsoft deliberately wasted energy at data center to avoid fine, says NY Times
Microsoft's desire to avoid a fine combined with a power company's strict electricity usage rules resulted in the software giant deliberately wasting millions of watts of power, according to the New York Times. Redmond's Quincy data center, which houses Bing, Hotmail and other cloud-based servers, had an agreement in place with a Washington state utility containing clauses which imposed penalties for under-consumption of electricity. A $210,000 fine was levied last year, since the facility was well below its power-use target, which prompted Microsoft to deliberately burn $70,000 worth of electricity in three days "in a commercially unproductive manner" to avoid it, according to its own documents. The utility board capitulated and reduced the amend to $60k, but the messy situation seems a far cry from Redmond's pledge to become carbon neutral by this summer. [Image credit: New York Times]
Visualized: Apple's 20 megawatt solar farm
We've seen Apple's North Carolina data center in various states of undress, but never before have we seen its associated solar farm looking so complete. That sure is a lot of solar panels. We're not all that surprised though, with the intense thirst for energy from the servers that it feeds. In fact, initial reports indicated that -- although impressive -- the solar farm would still only be supplying 60 percent of the sites requirements. No fear though, as the remaining 40 is said to come from other equally eco-friendly sources. We'd be happy with enough to keep our iPad permanently juiced. [Image credit: WCNC-TV]
Microsoft delivers Windows Server 2012, puts the enterprise on cloud 8
Forget Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 is where it's at... if you're a corporate IT manager, that is. Microsoft has just posted the finished version of its suit-and-tie OS for immediate sale in download form. Not surprisingly given Microsoft's big cloud push, the emphasis with the upgrade is on improving how well the software scales for internet hosting -- the company wants one common backbone that can handle as little as a small e-mail server to large-scale Azure deployments and virtualization. Server 2012 is also defined by what you won't find: while the Metro-style interface from the platform's Windows 8 cousin shows its face in the Essentials version, it's noticeably stripped down and goes away in the more advanced tiers. The real shakeup for some might just be the new price points, which drop the cost by a large amount for offices that don't need more than a slice of what the all-out Datacenter edition has to offer. We'll admit that most of our attention as end users will be focused on what happens several weeks from now, but if you're one of those rare server operators that can't wait to start testing a new OS release almost immediately, you've got a head start on most of us.
Facebook to backup its servers with low-power storage devices at 'Sub-Zero' data center
Data backups come in all shapes and sizes. For some, they take the form of external hard drives or a slice of the amorphous cloud. As for Facebook, its upcoming solution is low-power deep-storage hardware contained within a 62,000 square-foot building in Prineville, Oregon near its existing Beaver State data center. Unofficially referred to as "Sub-Zero," the facility will store a copy of the social network's data in case its primary servers need to be restored in an emergency. Rather than continuously power HDDs that are only occasionally used, the new setup can conserve energy by lighting-up drives just when they're needed. One of the company's existing server racks eats up around 4.5 kilowatts, while those at Sub-Zero are each expected to consume approximately 1.5 kilowatts once they're up and running. Tom Furlong, Facebook's vice president of site operations, told Wired that there are hopes to create a similar structure alongside the firm's North Carolina data center. Since the Prineville project is still being planned, Zuckerberg & Co. have roughly six to nine months to suss out all the details before your photos are backed up at the new digs.
