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Apple tells shareholders North Carolina data center is for iTunes and MobileMe, set to open this spring
Well, it looks like Apple's just put an end to some of the speculation surrounding its massive data center in North Carolina. According to AppleInsider and Electronista, Apple told shareholders at its annual meeting today that the center is for iTunes and MobileMe (along with Apple's "corporate systems"), and that it is set to open sometime this spring. As you might expect, it doesn't seem like things got much more detailed than that, but the news does certainly lend some credence to earlier rumors of a cloud-based, Lala-infused iTunes service and a significantly expanded (and possibly free) MobileMe offering. Here's hoping we'll hear a bit more from Apple itself next week.
Will 10.7 add a "safe deposit box" to your Mac?
It seems as though Apple is hard at work on new features for OS X 10.7 Lion this summer, and the latest possible addition to the OS is something that would solve a huge problem plaguing the tech world today -- insecurity with remote file storage. According to this find by Patently Apple, we may see a new "Safe Deposit Box" in Lion that aims to protect your files using cloud architecture in the same way that a physical safe deposit box protects your assets at a bank or other location. The basic idea described in the patent revolves around a single icon that, when the user drops a file onto it, would instantly upload and protect the file using Apple-backed cloud servers (which could possibly be located at their new $1 billion North Carolina data center). All of one's secure files would then be available by logging into the Safe Deposit Box service with a user name and password. For enhanced security, the patent also mentions a small window of time before the login expires to prevent accidental viewing of files by other individuals. This storage center would presumably also store digital copies of iTunes purchases, therefore solving the age old problem of losing your precious collection of tunes in a hard drive failure. We've seen similar technology in OS X already with FileVault, which encrypts and stores secure files on the fly. However, we've never seen deep internet-based secure storage from Apple, and it would be a welcome addition for those of us who are working with sensitive documents on multiple Macs (I know I'd be more comfortable with this than, say, Dropbox). It certainly looks like a step in the right direction. Let's hope that this idea is under active development at the big fruit company.
Answered questions about Apple's North Carolina data center
Much conjecture has come of the Death Star that Apple is building in North Carolina. Some suspect it will power a future streaming version of iTunes or a major update to MobileMe. The folks at Data Center Knowledge have combined the rumors with their own knowledge about these things into a single, unofficial Apple Data Center FAQ. Among their findings is the center's size. In a word, it's huge. At 505,000 square feet, it's one of the world's largest data centers. A property assessment from Catawba County revealed that the central server area is enclosed by 262,328 square feet of space. Apple has also reportedly purchased 75 acres of land across the street from the main building, according to "local officials," though what Apple will do with that plot of land is unknown. What's inside? The FAQ has a few educated guesses, based on recent Apple job postings. For instance, they note that Apple says that its "...data center environment consists of MacOS X, IBM/AIX, Linux and SUN/Solaris systems." Also, recent listings call for candidates who are familiar with storage systems using IBM, NetApp and Data Domain, and data warehousing systems from Teradata. There's much more, so go over and check it out. In the meantime, we'll have to wait before we realize the power of a fully armed and operational data center.
SGI's ICE Cube Air Modular Data Centers can be deployed anywhere, even in the hood
SGI is a shadow of its former self, selling its name to Rackable Systems and appearing in some disgraceful situation comedies. We like to remember the old, harder, edgier SGI, a pioneer in the computer graphics industry when it came straight outta Sunnyvale in the '80s. Now it's back, launching the ICE Cube Air Modular Data Center, capable of housing four racks and expandable up to 80 and a total of 97,920 cores and 143.36PB of storage. Each unit is almost entirely self-sufficient, requiring only power and a supply of water, which can come from a plain old garden hose. Cost starts at $99,000, which isn't cheap, but we went ahead and ordered four. You know how we do it.
Apple's Director of Global Data Center Operations passes away at 41
We regret to report that Olivier Sanche, Apple's Director of Global Data Center Operations, passed away on Thanksgiving from a heart attack at the young age of 41. As DataCenterKnowledge notes, Sanche was "a thought leader in data center energy efficiency, and used his expertise to streamline operations at many of the world's largest technology companies, making a major collective impact on the industry's carbon output in the process." Olivier Sanche was Director of Global Data Center Operations at AT&T before moving on to become Senior Director of Data Centers Services and Strategy at eBay. After eBay, Sanche joined Apple in August 2009 and spearheaded the $1 billion North Carolina data center, which is expected to open by the end of the year. Mr. Sanche is survived by his wife and daughter. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.
iOS 4.3 could come in December, add subscriptions
It's only been a few days since iOS 4.2 landed on our iPhones, iPads and iPod touches, and already, speculation has begun that version 4.3 could arrive within just a few weeks. The only major new feature that is expected to debut is app subscriptions, which would allow recurring charges. This would address one of the biggest complaints raised by magazine publishers since the iPad launched last spring. Currently, publishers have to either charge once for an app and then provide the ongoing content for free, or else create and sell a new version of the app each day/week/month. The new approach would likely expand on the idea of in-app purchases, allowing publishers to provide an app for free and then automatically charge for new content on a recurring basis, much as they have done with paper subscriptions. In addition to supporting the new payment mechanism, 4.3 will reportedly also include the capability to automatically push out fresh content to tablets. A similar feature has been available on the Amazon Kindle since it launched. Unlike the text-only Kindle, however, iOS devices support media-heavy content, and the mythical Maiden, North Carolina data center may play a big part in delivering this content. Among the first publications to take advantage of this new capability will probably be The Daily, the new tablet-only "newspaper" planned by News Corp. Apple and News Corp have reportedly been collaborating on the development of The Daily, and a beta version may arrive with iOS 4.3 by December 13.
Apple's North Carolina data center nears completion
It seems we've been discussing Apple's upcoming, massive North Carolina datacenter for a long, long time -- since around May 2009, actually. Word is that the $1 billion facility is nearing completion, meaning we'll hopefully see the fruits of Apple's labor very soon. Here's one interesting item to come out of the story: the company reportedly paid one family upwards of $1.7 million for their one-acre lot. Even having paid that amount for such a small bit of land, Apple could have come away from this having paid as little as $35k per acre. While many people speculate that the new datacenter will support Apple's initiatives into streaming media, it's just as likely that it will be used for technologies that Apple hasn't really dipped its toe into quite yet. Social media could be one area, as we've seen the company testing those waters with Ping (with questionable results). Click the link below to see video of a helicopter fly-over of the new facility.
Event streaming to stress-test new datacenter
Not much of a surprise, but nice to have some details: Cult of Mac cites a source close to Apple saying that the live stream of today's iPod event will be used to put some real-time load on Apple's new North Carolina data center. The facility isn't all the way operational quite yet, but it's apparently ready enough to play a major role in today's festivities. The NC datacenter is five times the size of Apple's similar facility on the West Coast and is officially intended to support the iTunes music and app stores. Obviously there's a lot more horsepower needed for streaming content, so here's where you'll find it. As noted last night, today's live stream is intended for Intel Mac OS X 10.6 users in Safari, iPhone/iPod touch users running iOS 3.1 or higher, and iPad users. Support for the HTTP Live Streaming methodology is included in the current version of the ffmpeg open source library, so in theory apps like Mplayer should be able to handle the stream; VLC may also work.
Apple's Lala music team working on video streaming service for 2010 launch?
When Apple acquired Lala, the obvious use for all that local scanning and internet streaming technology would have been to serve up our hard-drive-based iTunes music libraries from the cloud. Here we are though, eight months later, and the only significant impact from the acquisition was the closure of the Lala music service. And it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon. According to an investigative piece by CNET, Apple is telling the big-four music execs that it won't be offering any significant cloud-based music offerings within the next few months. In fact, CNET's sources claim that Apple still hasn't obtained the licenses required to store and distribute music via a cloud-based service. So what's Apple doing with all that Lala talent then? According to CNET, the team has been working on an "undisclosed video feature" instead of music. Additional sources at the major film studios claim that Apple plans to create "digital shelves" this year letting iTunes users store movies and other media on Apple's servers. Hmm, does that sound like Keychest to you? Naturally, all of this makes sense in light of Apple's plan to open a 500,000 square foot data center (pictured above) in North Carolina later this year at a cost of $1 billion. What better facility to serve up 99 cent streaming TV rentals to a completely overhauled Apple TV in the home, and highly mobile iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone devices on the go. Anecdotally, it's not like Apple's showing too much concern with storage limits on its iOS devices -- the iPhone 4 just launched in the same 16GB and 32GB offerings as the 3GS instead of the typical doubling of flash storage we've come to expect from new iPhone iterations. So really, the question isn't if, it's just a matter of when. Original image courtesy of Cult of Mac
Google signs 20-year deal to power data centers with wind energy
It's not the first investment Google has made in wind power, but anyone wondering about its commitment needn't look any further than the company's just-announced deal with NextEra Energy. It's agreed to buy wind power from NextEra's wind farm in Iowa for the next twenty years, which it says will provide enough power to supply "several" of its data centers. What's more, Google says that the size and length of the deal (taking 114 megawatts of energy off the market) will also lead to other indirect benefits for the wind power industry, and give NextEra the flexibility to invest in additional clean energy projects. Head on past the break for NextEra's press release on the deal.
HP data center fueled by hopes, dreams and... cow dung
We've seen data centers use excess heat for greener purposes, but how's about injecting a little green into the other side of that equation? HP Labs is on that very wavelength, going so far as to publish details on how these centers could be partially powered by none other than cow manure. Yeah, cowpies. The essential thought process went a little something like this: "Data centers need a lot of energy. Dairy farms create a lot of methane. Let's make it happen." Purportedly, 10,000 dairy cows could "fulfill the power requirements of a 1-megawatt data center -- the equivalent of a medium-sized data center -- with power left over to support other needs on the farm," and heat generated by the data center could "be used to increase the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion of animal waste." The stomach-twisting details can be found beyond the break, but we can't be held responsible for any images you conjure up. Remember -- once your third eye sees it, you can't un-see it. [Thanks, Bob]
HP opens wind-cooled, rain-collecting data center
You know, as much as we love our complex high-minded gadgets, we've always had a soft spot for simple, low-tech solutions to the problems posed by modernity. To wit, check out HP's latest data center, which is strategically located in a blustery part of northeast England and avoids costly and energy-sapping cooling systems in favor of good old wind cooling. Equipped with eight 2.1-meter (just under seven feet) intake fans and a bank of contaminant filters, the Wynyard facility is purpose-built for the circulation of cold external air through and around the servers within. It's said to be HP's most efficient data center yet, and its natural cooling solution is estimated to save a healthy £2.6 million ($4.07 million) in annual energy bills. A couple other optimizations bear mentioning too -- such as the rainwater collection which is used to humidify the air if it's too dry, and the choice of lighter-colored servers racks, which saves on lighting costs inside. Hit the source link to learn more.
Baryonyx to build largest offshore wind farms in the US, power massive data centers
Uh oh Mr. Pickens -- looks like you've got some competition down in Texas. With the aforesaid energy baron scraping plans to plant 687 massive wind turbines in Texas' panhandle, Baryonyx has stepped in to do the honors via a slightly different project. Just this past week, Baryonyx won a bid to create a pair of sizable offshore wind farms that Jerry Patterson -- Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office -- says "could be the biggest offshore wind farms in the nation." Additionally, another lease was granted for a prospective wind energy development in the panhandle, and now the company is eager to get going on the green energy gigs. The best part of this whole plan involves that actual purpose of the turbines; aside from providing juice for grids, they'll also be used to energize forthcoming Tier 4 server farms, with a minimum of 750 megawatts of power being pumped to two coastal areas all the while. Ma Earth would be proud.[Via CNET]Read - Baryonyx announcement [PDF]Read - Patterson announcement [PDF]
Location of Apple's North Carolina facility revealed
We've been following this story for a while. Apple is planning to open a massive data center in North Carolina (NC). Recently, NC offered a nice tax incentive and that sealed the deal. This week, the AP is reporting that Apple's data center will live in Maiden, NC, just 30 miles away from Google's Catawba County data center.This comes at a time when the US economy is poor and Catawba County, NC is experiencing a 15% unemployment rate. The data center should create a large number of jobs (up to 3,000 during construction and around 300 once operational), which is a very good thing.For now we've no idea what the facility will be used for. In the meantime, congratulations to Apple and Maiden. May you have a long and healthy relationship.
Google's Data Center secrets revealed!
After years of secrecy (maybe because they thought no one was interested), Google held its "Data Center Efficiency Summit" yesterday, where the company showed off one of its DCs and custom web servers -- all in a bid to evangelize for energy efficiency. The green angle means that everything has been planned for optimum power use, from the 1AAA shipping containers (sporting over a thousand servers each) that make up the core of its operations, to the servers themselves -- each containing its own 12-volt UPS. This design is said to boast a staggering 99.9 percent energy efficiency, as opposed to a standard centralized UPS setup which at best would only score 95 percent. According to CNET, these are efficiency levels that the EPA doesn't envision as practical until at least 2011. But that ain't all -- hit that read link for the whole sordid affair, but not before you check out the video of a server itself after the break.
Widespread connectivity issues abound today
Users of Comcast and Verizon are experiencing technical difficulties today in their connectivity to the game. They are experiencing this in both connecting to the actual game, and then maintaining a good connection once in the game.Blue poster Claudiog is seeking more information from the community on the technical support forums. In particular he's looking for traceroutes from affected users. Head over to their forums (ignoring their own ads) and help them out if you're struck with these issues.Some users are stating that the Los Angeles datacenters are the culprits for the connectivity issues. However we want to caution users that Blizzard has made no official statement about their datacenters.
Google patent application reveals plans for floating data centers
The idea of floating data centers is hardly a new one, but Google looks like it might be set to take things a big step further than most, at least if one of its recent patent applications is any indication. Apparently, Google not only plans to take advantage of the sea water for a cooling system, but generate power for the floating platforms using so-called Pelamis Wave Energy Converters as well (you can see it doing its thing in the video after the break). According to the patent application, that would allow the data centers to be moved closer to users to cut down on cross-country latency, and also make them ideally suited to more transient needs for computing power, such as after a natural disaster or when a military presence is needed. Of course, there's no evidence that Google has moved much beyond the sketch above just yet, but we certainly wouldn't put it past 'em to all of a sudden deploy a fleet of data centers when we least expect it.[Via The Earth Times, thanks Bob]
Intel, HP, and Yahoo to build joint cloud-computing research labs
Sure, it's all well and cute to think of "cloud computing" as being a magical data-fairy, but storing and processing all your fancy new CalDAV-enabled Google Calendar entries and MobileMe emails costs money, kid -- and that means it's hard for researchers to accurately simulate and build cloud research projects, since they don't have the resources to build large enough data centers. HP, Intel, and Yahoo are teaming up to alleviate that problem, though -- the three behemoths are going to build six cloud-computer research data centers around the world, stocked with anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 nodes each, with the goal of bringing them online later this year for pre-selected researchers to work on scaling, security, management, and new applications for the cloud. Three of the data centers will be hosted at HP, Intel, and Yahoo, and the other three will be at the University of Illinois, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, and the Steinbuch Centre for Computing in Germany.
Heat from data center used to warm Swiss swimming pool
Here's a novel idea: rather than stressing over the choice between solar or hydroelectric power sources to keep that green data center running, just build the thing near a community pool. Apparently that's exactly what's happening in Uitikon, Switzerland, as an IBM-built center erected for GIB-Services AG is using its excess heat to warm a local swimming pool. Put simply, the warmth emitted by the computers will be piped through a heat exchanger to boost the temperature of water used in the neighboring pool, and while the town had to cover some of the equipment costs to make it come together, it'll reap the oh-so-steamy benefits for free.[Via FashionFunky, thanks Yash]
MythBuster Hortus says "No PTR caused lag"
When I woke up this morning I was greeted to two things: a fist full of WoW news to report on, and my daily dose of MythBusters. Interestingly I found that our chummy Blizzard PTR forum poster Hortus has taken up dispelling some myths of his own. This myth is so epic that I think it would make for a good computer nerd edition of MythBusters.The myth is this: every time the PTR goes up, my server slows down. I play mainly in two different servers, Anvilmar and Eldre'Thalas. I've heard it claimed often enough on both servers that the PTR seriously effects stability. Most people claim this is because the PTR and the server hardware are on the same "rack." Most servers are just a small gray box with a few blinking lights on the front of them, and lots of connection ports in the back. When making a server farm, like Blizzard has scattered throughout the country, they physically put the servers in clusters, called racks (no, not that kind of cluster, well kind of, but that's beside the point).
