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iCloud down for many, iMessages not going through (update: back online!)
Something's afoot at Apple's massive North Carolina data center -- or perhaps just on the various pipes and tubes leading to it. We've received many reports of iCloud and iMessage problems and, looking online, plenty of other folks are issuing the same complaints. Seeing something amiss on your end? Add your experiences in comments below -- while you still can. Update: Luke wrote in to let us know that Apple has acknowledged the issue. "Normal service will be restored ASAP." Update 2: "All services are online." That's as of 4:06 ET. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
North Carolina approves Apple's plans for 4.8-megawatt fuel cell facility
Things are looking green around Apple's Maiden, North Carolina data center, and it's not just due to the fact that it's springtime. The North Carolina Utilities Commission has approved (PDF) Apple's plans to construct and operate a 4.8-megawatt fuel cell facility at the data center, providing green power for at least a portion of the electricity needs of the huge location. As noted previously on TUAW, Apple will be using natural gas-powered fuel cells called Bloom Boxes to generate electricity and exhaust CO2 and water to the environment with no combustion byproducts. The natural gas will come from a local pipeline provider; that gas will be offset by purchases of biogas from another provider, keeping the power as green as possible. The installation will be the nation's biggest private fuel cell energy project. Apple already uses some of the Bloom Boxes at the Cupertino campus; manufacturer Bloom Energy is located in nearby Sunnyvale, CA. The approval of the fuel cell power plant at the Maiden facility follows a similar approval last week when Apple got the OK to build a 20-megawatt photovoltaic solar facility.
Apple breaks ground on second solar farm for North Carolina data center
Last February, Apple came clean about its efforts to clean up the environment, detailing intentions to make its Maiden, NC data facility a greener place. That site, already home to one solar farm, is now set to host a second 20 megawatt photovoltaic array spanning 100 acres, a one-two power punch that'll jointly generate 84 million kWh annually. Combined with the company's in-development biofuel cell plant, scheduled for opening later this year, that theoretic yield should hit the 124 million kWh mark -- an amount sufficient to power nearly 11,000 households -- providing 60 percent of the center's electric demands. Still, that's not enough to adequately keep operations afloat, so for that very necessary, leftover 40 percent, the house that Jobs built plans to purchase similar clean energy from outside local sources. When all is finally up and running smoothly, the southern facility will earn the distinction of "most environmentally sound data center ever built." Or, at least until another well-heeled competitor comes along to contest that title. Now that's a friendly competition we can get behind.
Greenpeace activists protest Apple by blocking train tracks
Greenpeace activists tried to stop Apple's coal consumption at its source by blocking train tracks that Duke Energy uses to ship coal to Apple's Maiden, North Carolina data center. Activists targeted the Marshall Steam Station in Catawba county, according to a report in Charlotte's WCNC. Protestors locked themselves to the train tracks, posted a sign that read "Save Our Mountain Clean The Cloud" and branded train cars with Apple's logo. Greenpeace International IT analyst Casey Harrell said, "Apple should be more transparent about its coal problem, and take steps to start solving it, as other tech companies have." Police were called in to disband the protest and remove the signs. The protesters will be charged with trespassing.
Apple confirmed as Bloom Energy's customer
CNet confirmed today that Bloom Energy will be supplying fuel cells to Apple. This will go toward powering Apple's North Carolina data center. GigaOM originally reported last month that Bloom Energy would be Apple's supplier for the fuel-cell farm. There will be 4.8 megawatts of biogas fuel cells, what the company calls Bloom Boxes, powering all those servers. Apple also uses biogas fuel cells at the Cupertino campus. It's not the only eco-friendly technology Apple is using in Maiden, N.C. Apple is building the largest user-owned solar array in the country as well and has received LEED Platinum certification for its work.
Google bringing extra bytes to Hawkeye State with $300 million data center
You're a multinational search company that has just rolled out a new cloud storage offering. You've also just given your millions and millions of email users an extra 2.5GB of storage, free of charge. What do you do next? Build another data center. The big G has announced its intentions to raise a $300 million information barn in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Construction on a 1,000 acre plot will begin immediately and, for its efforts, the Search Sultan will be gifted with a handful of tax incentives totaling over $9 million. Google is no stranger to the mean streets (we're not sure if they're actually mean) of Council Bluffs, though, as the company already operates a $600 million data facility within that city's limits. For those of you keeping track at home, that's a $900 million stimulus for the Hawkeye State.
Apple makes a tax deal for Prineville, Oregon data center land
We've heard before that Apple plans to build a data center on land it previously purchased in Oregon, but now the Associated Press reports on part of the cost. The company has reportedly agreed to pay US$150,000 per year to local governments, and has signed off on at least 35 jobs. Those jobs will be paid at a rate that's at least 150% of the average wage in the Oregon county. Finally, according to the AP, Apple will have to invest at least $250 million into the data center building itself. In return for all of that, Apple will be exempt on property tax payments for the next 15 years. Whether that will be worth it or not depends on exactly how much they build there, but odds are Apple's accountants aren't that worried. The company already paid $5.6 million for the land earlier this year, and it's setting up plans to both build up the infrastructure of the local power company to keep the data center running, as well as a green energy site there on the spot. Oregon is apparently a popular place for data centers like this. Google, Amazon, and Facebook all have similar sites in the surrounding area. [via MacRumors]
Facebook flips the switch on its North Carolina data center, cooled with balmy mountain air
Since breaking ground in Western North Carolina some 16 months ago, Facebook has been running at full speed to get its newest data center online. This week, Zuckerberg & Co. flipped the switch. The new facility, located in Forest City, touts the "first major deployment" of the outfit's Open Compute Project web servers and will be the first "live test" of the OPC's outdoor air-cooling design. It tends to get pretty warm around those parts and humidity levels are a bit outside of ideal data center conditions. The Carolina facility will mirror the projected power utilization effectiveness (PUE) of FB's Oregon data center at just a smidge above 1 – somewhere between 1.06 and 1.08 to be exact. In other words, this means the ratio of power used by the structure and the actual power sent to the hardware is almost perfect with minimal energy loss. No matter, it'll still be using plenty of power. A second identical building is slated to open on the site later this year, but for now, hit the source link for a bit more info on the initial launch.
Greenpeace's math is wrong, according to Apple
Rich Miller at Data Center Knowledge has a good rundown of how Greenpeace's math is a bit wonky in a report called "How Clean is Your Cloud?" For one, Greenpeace estimates Apple will use 100 megawatts of power at the Maiden, NC plant, but Apple states it will be 20 megawatts at full capacity. Miller later responds in the comments to another mystery that Greenpeace's Gary Cook (no relation to Tim, we're certain) has yet to answer: "If Apple's energy use in Maiden is adjusted from 100 megawatts to 20 megawatts, what would Apple's score be on the Clean Energy Index? I have posed this question to Gary Cook, but have not yet received a response." It would appear the fundamental suppositions presented in Greenpeace's report may be flawed, and have skewed their index. I would also ask the question: What would Greenpeace have Apple do? Close the plant? The fact that they are making an investment in clean energy but must face the realities of economics and science seems like good corporate citizenship to me.
Amazon data center guru questions logic of Apple's solar farm
James Hamilton is a former datacenter architect for Microsoft and the current datacenter guy for Amazon. In a recent blog post, he examines solar-powered data centers which he says are "really somewhere between a bad idea and pure marketing, where the environmental impact is purely optical." As you can guess from that statement, he isn't too fond of Apple's solar farm setup in Maiden, North Carolina. Hamilton, on the one hand, applauds Apple for the solar-power installment at its North Carolina datacenter. He notes that the solar farm is the largest commercial deployment in the US at 20 megawatts, and, because of its size, has a "far better chance to work economically than other smaller installments." Though he commends Apple for its efforts, he also questions whether it's a wise move. Despite its size, Hamilton says the solar farm will provide photo voltaic power for only 4% of Apple's total estimated data center consumption. Hamilton notes that Apple cleared 171 acres of land in order to build its solar farm and wonders if this 171-acre parcel of woodlands is worth such a small portion of Apple's power needs? [Via Wired]
A video aerial view of Apple's NC data center
Apple's 500,000 square foot, US$1 billion data center in Maiden, North Carolina has been in operation for a while, and there's a huge 20 Megawatt solar power generation facility that's now under construction nearby. While Steve Jobs showed off the above photo of the interior of the facility at WWDC 2011 last year, it really doesn't show you how big the facility really is. Just to give you an idea of the scale and scope of the facilities that host iCloud and other Apple services, the good folks at Five 9s Digital went up in a small airplane this month to shoot the video that is embedded below for your viewing enjoyment. [via Dvice.com]
IBM's Holey Optochip transmits 1Tbps of data, is named awesomely
Be honest: was there any doubt whatsoever that something called a "Holey Optochip" would be anything short of mind-blowing? No. None. The whiz-kids over at IBM have somehow managed to transmit a staggering 1Tbps of data over a new optical chip, with the fresh prototype showing promise for ultra-high interconnect bandwidth to power future supercomputer and data center applications. For those who'd rather not deal with esoteric descriptions, that's around 500 HD movies being transferred each second, and it's enough to transfer the entire U.S. Library of Congress web archive in just 60 minutes. Needless to say, it's light pulses taking charge here, and researchers are currently hunting for ways to make use of optical signals within standard low-cost, high-volume chip manufacturing techniques. Getting the feeling that your own personal supercomputer is just a year or two away? Hate to burst your bubble, but IBM's been touting similar achievements since at least 2008. Actually, scratch that -- where there's hope, there's Holey.
AMD absorbs server startup SeaMicro for $330 million, says it's no impulse buy
AMD has faced some tough tactical decisions since it sold its handheld chip division to Qualcomm in 2008 and effectively stepped out of the smartphone business. Whistling that "No Regrets" tune, it has burrowed ever deeper into ever bigger devices, from laptops to desktops and massively multi-core servers and supercomputers. Today's purchase of Silicon Valley startup SeaMicro is an exponential leap in the same direction, because SeaMicro specializes in building low-power server hardware for entire datacenters. One of its key innovations is a "fabric" that hooks up thousands of processors, memory units and storage devices into a sensible whole for cloud computing. Rather than trying to compete with its own server-building customers, AMD may well offer them SeaMicro's platform on license and seek to recoup its $330 million investment that way. With ARM also stepping up its server efforts, it's a question of snoozing and losing.
Daily Update for February 22, 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.
Apple to build second data center in Oregon
News network KTVZ has confirmed with Apple that the company plans to build another big data center on a 160-acre section of land just outside of Crook County, Oregon. The land that the data center will be built on cost Apple US$5.6 million. Until February 15, the paperwork that solidified the deal was hidden from public eyes, with Apple only being referred to as "Project Maverick." A piece of paper filed earlier this month identified Apple's address as "1 Infinite Loop," and Apple has now confirmed that it's going to be developing the land. Apple's other data center in North Carolina has gotten a lot of press, but this new one isn't quite so surprising. We can expect it'll be used for Apple's extensive App Store traffic, plus various iCloud services and things like iTunes Match. Building in Oregon is smart as well; land is cheaper there than almost anywhere else along the West Coast (Facebook happens to have a data center nearby as well), and the proximity to big tech cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle will set Apple up well for future Internet-based services. While $5.6 million may sound like a lot, it's a drop in the bucket for both the cost of the data center and compared to Apple's considerable (to say the least) cash holdings. Apple also confirmed that this data center will be a "green" facility (as it's come under fire from environmental concerns for its data centers in the past), but given that plans probably aren't finalized yet, we'll have to wait and see what that means. [via Mac Rumors]
Apple's 2012 environmental report reveals giant solar array
Apple just released its 2012 environmental report, detailing all the ways it's conserving energy and working to make Mother Earth a slightly cleaner place. A highlight of that effort is clearly the company's data center in Maiden, North Carolina. The giant white-roofed server bunker will soon be home to the largest end user-owned solar array in the US -- covering 100 acres and producing 42 million kWh of electricity each year. The 20-megawatt installation is only the beginning too. A five-megawatt fuel cell facility will soon be going up alongside it. Hit up the source link for the full report, but be forewarned, it comes only in PDF format.
Daily Update for December 5, 2011
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.
Apple reportedly considering Prineville, Oregon for data center
Apple may follow in the footsteps of Facebook and build a 31-megawatt data center in Prineville, Oregon. The Cupertino company is considering the 160-acre property because of Oregon's low energy cost. The state also has a favorable tax break that could save Apple millions in property taxes. Apple is supposedly negotiating under the code name Maverick and is close to making a decision, said people familiar with the matter. According to Crook County planning director Bill Zelenka, Maverick has the option to purchase 160 acres, currently owned by the county. The company must make a decision by the end of the month or risk losing the option to buy this parcel of land. What makes this deal possible is an ongoing upgrade in the county's electrical transmission capacity. This improvement should be completed by June 2013 and will give companies like Apple the power it needs for a large data center. Cheap power and low taxes make this rural area attractive to companies like Apple and Facebook. One monkey wrench, though, is a law that lets the state tax a company on intangibles like the monetary value of a company's brand name. Both Apple and Facebook are concerned this "central assessment" could significantly raise taxes. Lawmakers plan to introduce a bill to stop this tax when they reconvenes in February, but that won't help Apple now. Zelenka notes that the company has not asked for an extension, which is an option if it wants to wait for the outcome of this legislation. [Via 9to5Mac]
Apple to build a solar farm next to North Carolina data center
Apple is reportedly building a solar farm to provide energy for its North Carolina data center. An erosion permit granted by Catawba County, North Carolina gives Apple permission to transform 171 acres of vacant land across from the data center into a solar farm. The area will be resloped and will include multiple gravel roads that provide access to the solar panels. It's the first step in a larger plan called Project Dolphin Solar Farm A Expanded. Project Dolphin is the codename given to the construction project behind Apple's billion dollar data center. The constucton is in the early stages of planning and very little in known about the farm. Scott Millar, president of the Catawba County Economic Development Corp. and the man who helped bring Apple to the area, was not aware of the solar farm plans. He did not know Apple filed for a permit until the Charlotte Observer brought it to his attention and said he has had "no communication" with Apple about these plans. A building permit which would contain construction details has not been filed. The only people aware of the solar farm are neighbors of the data center who are complaining about smoke from the property. Apple is burning the field to clear it and, according to residents, is producing a thick smoke that blankets the surrounding area. The burning is also driving animals out of their habitat. "I had a snake on my steps," says local resident Zelda Vosburgh, "I've seen rabbits and squirrels everywhere." It's an eco-friendly move for Apple, but don't expect to be able to say the iSun is powering your iCloud anytime soon. Most of this solar power will likely go to the office part of the building, and won't be used to power the servers. Modest estimates suggest the 170 acre solar farm would generate about 24 megawatts of power, which is far below the 40 to 100 megawatts Apple's datacenter is estimated to use. [Via DataCenter Knowledge and The Hickory Record]
Yahoo data center head Scott Noteboom joins Apple
Apple has picked up the former head of Yahoo's Global Data Center Infrastructure, Scott Noteboom, according to his LinkedIn profile. Noteboom's been with Yahoo since back in 2005, but now lists his job as working at Apple as a "Distinguished Gentleman" (a well-earned title, obviously, though probably unofficial). Noteboom was instrumental in managing multiple data centers while at Yahoo, and he'll likely be doing the same type of work at the Cupertino campus, as Apple moves further up into the iCloud over the next few years. Noteboom's hire is likely a long time coming -- Apple's been steadily building up its resources for these data centers, including the big installation in North Carolina, and bringing on experienced directors like this one will only help as the operation gets even bigger and more important.
