Server farm
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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]
Ubi's server migration closeouts extend beyond previously announced titles
Ubisoft is in the middle of transferring all of its data from one server farm to another, and while we knew the process would render some games unplayable, it seems the migration has affected a wider swath of Ubisoft's catalogue than previously anticipated.Players are reporting issues with the PC version of Driver: San Francisco and with Anno 2070, according to a report by Eurogamer. Ubisoft, in addition to apologizing on its Twitter feed, is also working to correct the problem and has already found a preliminary solution for Anno 2070 players unable to get online. Ubisoft expects services to be fully restored by Thursday morning.
Rumor: MobileMe may soon be free
MacDailyNews reports an unconfirmed rumor that Apple may soon make MobileMe's services free to all users. MobileMe currently costs US$99 per year for a subscription; it provides cloud storage, email, photo galleries, and syncing of contacts/calendars/bookmarks across Macs, PCs, iPhones, and iPads (not to mention Find My iPhone). While the service has many useful features (some implemented better than others: I'm aiming my stinkeye at you, iDisk), many have balked at the price tag. Similar storage and email services from competitors like Google and Microsoft come either free of charge or at reduced cost compared to MobileMe; even MobileMe's distant ancestor, iTools, was a free offering back in the day. Of course, MobileMe delivers more iPhone & Mac-friendly syncing than Google does, but at $99 per year, it's a fair bet that few people are taking advantage of everything MobileMe has to offer. MacDailyNews' source says MobileMe will become free of charge "sooner than later... depends on certain facilities going operational." This almost certainly refers to Apple's new server farm in North Carolina. Aerial footage of Apple's server farm, released in February, showed that the complex's buildings were either mostly or entirely constructed, so the facility may be ready to go online at any time. I hope this rumor is true, especially the "sooner than later" part -- my MobileMe subscription is due for renewal at the end of this month.
The Queue: Are you a god?
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW.com's daily Q&A column where the WoW.com team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today.A simple question instead of an introduction.%Poll-31854%Go get her, Ray!Some music too which you can listen to while reading today's Queue. And some more. Don't watch the videos, they're dumb. But the music is great.Angus asked... "Why is there a defense channel for every zone? Specifically, why would anyone be attacking the Twisting Nether? I found this to be my most amusing channel. The raid or instance ones are funny, but this one always cracks me up."
iPhone server rack an exercise in network storage indulgence
Here's one way to get yourself noticed. Japanese developer FreeBit, in looking for a way to show off its Serversman iPhone app, has debuted a prototype ultra-small server rack. Perfect for when you happen to have up to five iPhones / iPod touches lying around and nothing better to do but turn them into overpriced network storage solutions -- then again, if you're rocking five of Apple's touchscreens, there's a good chance money isn't your biggest concern.[Via DVICE]
Apple's North Carolina facility now moving towards reality
As noted last week, the lovely state of North Carolina has offered a healthy tax incentive to Apple for the construction and operation of a data center there. Now that the bill has become law -- creating $46 million in credits for Apple over the next 10 years -- Apple and the NC governor's office have announced that the project will go forward. Both Cnet and Computerworld are reporting that the location for the data center is yet to be determined, but a wage provision in the incentive package points to either Cleveland or Catawba counties, both in the vicinity of Charlotte.The new facility could create up to 3,000 temporary employment opportunities while under construction, and 250-300 long term jobs in the finished operational site. Apple has not suggested what kind of data & applications would be hosted at the facility, but considering the rapid growth of iTunes and App Store content it's a reasonable bet that some of the capacity would be used for those services.
Apple building server farm, secret lair in North Carolina
As Mike mentioned in the news roundup yesterday, word is going around that the corporate overlords at Apple are planning to build a massive server farm in the state of North Carolina within the next decade or so. How do we know? Because the company is working on getting a few nice tax breaks to go along with the deal, eventually worth about $46 million if Apple fulfills their end of the agreement. Their end of the agreement being a huge investment of a whopping $1 billion (that's over 333,000 Xserves, if that is indeed what they're installing -- and we bet not) into an economy that could probably use it. What exactly will go in there? We aren't sure -- lawmakers say the investment is worth it, and obviously Apple isn't showing their cards. [Note: the $1B investment figure is not an upfront number, but rather a total investment over the first 9 years of operation. –Ed.] But the facility, once up and running, will start by employing at least 100 people, so that's a nice start. Google has apparently gone through the same deal with North Carolina recently, though their deal was a little smaller: $600 million investment for a server farm that opened last year. More backend for Mobile Me? More power for the App Store or a project like it? A giant building full of Cubes running 24 hours a day? Or something we haven't even dreamt of yet?
Fastest-ever Windows HPC cluster nets 68.5 teraflops
In the grand scheme of supercomputers, a homegrown cluster constructed by Microsoft is just a boy among men. However, said rig has set at least one record by becoming the "fastest-ever Windows HPC cluster." At the International Supercomputing conference in Dresden, Germany, it was announced that this beast ranked 23rd in the world "with a problem-solving performance of 68.5 teraflops." The National Center for Supercomputing Applications utilized a beta version of Windows HPC Server 2008 to hit the aforesaid mark, and if you're curious as to what it took to get there, try 9,472 cores of processing power. There's more where this came from for the hardcore nerds in attendance right in the read link.[Via Slashdot]
NC State engineer crafts academic cluster with PlayStation 3s
While universities have been cranking out supercomputers and research clusters for some time, an associate professor at NC State is utilizing IBM's highly-touted Cell processor in a slightly different form to craft his own farm. Similar to the Xbox Linux cluster from years past, this concoction consists of eight PlayStation 3 consoles networked together and powered via Linux in order to handle ridiculous amounts of number crunching. Dubbed the "world's first" PS3-based academic cluster, the creation boasts the ability to utilize "64 logical processors," and is set to be used to handle various research tasks when sly CSC students aren't firing up a round of Ridge Racer 7 after hours. Nevertheless, Dr. Frank Mueller noted that the biggest limitation in its current state is the "512MB RAM constraint," but did insinuate that he might try retrofitting additional memory if future tasks deemed it necessary. Still, we can't help but wonder how many spots the Pack could jump in the RIAA's Most Wanted list if this thing became a dedicated torrent server.[Via TWW]
