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Iceland gets a data center to call its own, still believes in fairies
You say Iceland, we immediately think Eyjafjallajokull -- and no, we haven't had a narcoleptic collapse upon these very keys. It's been over a year since that volcano swept the headlines and interrupted air travel, providing outsiders with a skewed perception of the country's geological constancy. Well, haters prepare to get served, because Verne Global is setting up data center shop in the homeland of a certain swan-wearing pop pixie, and leveraging the abundance of renewable resources at the ready. To do this, the company's contracted UK-based Colt Group to build the separate pieces of its planned data center and put'em all together on the site of a former NATO base -- chosen for its apparent stability. The location is ideal in that the region's naturally cool climate'll keep server temperatures down, in addition to providing the center with cheap hydroelectric and geothermal energy. Expect the data farm to be up and running in Keflavik this October when it's scheduled to be completed -- with the blessing of the little people, naturally.
Google to build a trio of data centers in Asia, earmarks $200 million for expansion
IT specialists in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong better start polishing their resumes, because Google is rolling into town. Yesterday, Big G announced plans to build a brand new data center in each of the three Asian locales, as part of an expansion slated to cost at least $200 million. When completed, these complexes will represent the company's first fully owned and operated data centers in the burgeoning Asia-Pacific region -- where, according to Asia policy communications manager Taj Meadows, Google is "seeing large numbers of new users coming online every day". The facilities in Hong Kong and Taiwan are expected to cost around $100 million each, though the price tag for the Singapore branch remains a mystery. Big G hopes to finish construction in one to two years, though it didn't say when it would begin -- nor, for that matter, whether seawater tunnels would be involved.
Google details its carbon footprint in new report, makes you think twice about Rickrolling someone
The folks in Mountain View have always been obsessed with performance, but until now, Google had never come clean with the nitty-gritty surrounding power usage. A new report published by the company tells all, revealing that the search giant emits 1.5 million tons of carbon annually; a figure roughly on par with the UN's operational footprint, or slightly more than the amount produced by the entire country of Laos. The docket also breaks down the carbon emissions by activity, too: individual searches yield 0.2g, ten minutes of YouTube emits 1g and the average Gmail user produces 1.2kg of CO2 over a year -- which on average equates to a grand total of 1.46kg of CO2 per plebe across its properties. According to Google, that's a figure that would have been higher had it not custom designed its data centers, achieving a fifty percent reduction in energy usage versus the industry average. Plenty of infographical delight awaits you at the source below.
Northlake, North Carolina Apple Store to open this month
According to a writer at a local Charlotte, North Carolina blog, a source inside the upcoming Apple Store in the Northlake area says it could open as soon as August 25 or 26. This store won't be far from Apple's big North Carolina data center. Last May, we heard that it was moving from a proposed site near the South Park Mall, landing about 30 miles away from Apple's big complex. It looks like work has gone well, however -- if this source is legit, folks in Northlake will be able to visit the new store by the end of this month. Congrats!
Report: data centers accounted for just 1 to 1.5 percent of electricity use last year, Google claims less than 1 percent of that
You'd think, watching companies like Apple break ground on sprawling data centers, that the number of servers powering our untethered lives was on the rise. In a different decade, you might have been right. But not this one. According to a study prepared at the request of The New York Times, the number of servers in use has declined "significantly" since 2005. That's mostly because of the financial crisis of 2008, says lead researcher Jonathan G. Koomey of Stanford University, but we also can't discount the effect of more efficient technologies. What's more, he says, servers worldwide consume less energy than you might have guessed: they accounted for somewhere between 1 and 1.5 percent of global electricity use in 2010. And while Google, the king of cloud computing, has been cagey about revealing just how many servers house its treasure trove of data, the company said that of that 1 to 1.5 percent, it accounted for less than 1 percent -- meaning, just a hundredth of a percent of all the electricity consumed last year. All told, data centers' energy consumption has risen 56 percent since 2005 -- a far cry from the EPAs 2007 prediction that this figure would double by 2010, with annual costs ballooning to $7.4 billion. Then again, this slower-than-expected growth could well be temporary. Though Koomey can't specify to what extent the financial crisis and technological advancements are to blame, he insists, broadly speaking, that we're primarily seeing fallout from the economic slowdown -- a stay of execution, of sorts, for those of us rooting for energy conservation.
US federal government to close 800 data centers, walk into the cloud
Sure, it's been just a few months since the National Security Agency asked for a $900 million supercomputing complex – you know, to help out with all that internet wiretapping. But concern about deficit spending will mean shuttering 800 other federal data centers in the US, or 40 percent of total government capacity. The closures are part of a larger push toward greater efficiency and consolidation, with an estimated savings of $3 billion a year; moving services to the cloud will mean more savings in licensing fees and infrastructure. Single-digit savings might sound like chump change when you realize the federal information technology budget runs around $80 billion a year, but hey, it's a start, right? [Photo thanks to Adrian Levesque and Adam Koniak.]
Microsoft: European cloud data may not be immune to the Patriot Act
If you thought you could evade US intelligence by moving to Europe and storing your dirty little secrets in Microsoft's cloud service, guess again. During this week's launch of Office 365, Gordon Frazer, managing director of Microsoft UK, admitted for the first time that cloud data stored at European datacenters could still be handed over to American officials, as outlined by US law. When asked whether Microsoft could guarantee that its EU-stored data would never leave the continent (even if requested under the Patriot Act), Frazer replied: "Microsoft cannot provide those guarantees. Neither can any other company." Because the company's headquarters are in the US, it's obligated to adhere to American laws, meaning that any of the data stored on its servers is fair game for authorities to seize and inspect. Frazer insisted that targeted users "would be informed whenever possible," but claimed that neither Microsoft nor any other US company can guarantee advanced notification. Bottom line: you're better off hiding those nefarious files the old fashioned way -- in an offshore safe deposit box.
Why didn't we see a Nuance announcement during WWDC?
One major rumor missing from the WWDC keynote yesterday was voice control. It was just last year that Apple purchased Siri, a popular voice companion app for iOS. Apple was also rumored to be working with Nuance to offer some form of voice control in its software. References to Nuance were recently spotted in a developer version of Mac OS X Lion, and sources claim Nuance software is running at Apple's North Carolina data center. Even the Chief Mobile Technology Architect at Nuance was spotted in the WWDC audience yesterday. Despite this mounting evidence, voice control was a no-show at WWDC. Both TechCrunch and Robert Scoble heard from sources that Apple's voice technology was not ready for a WWDC demonstration. It's there, and Apple is still working on it, but it's not quite ready for prime time. Perhaps Apple will wait to roll out this feature and use it to drum up added excitement when iOS 5 finally arrives this fall.
EnerJ power-saving system prioritizes CPU voltage, may reduce energy consumption by 90 percent
It takes a lot of energy for computing systems or data centers to patch up critical errors, but what if we devoted less power to fixing less urgent issues? That's the basic idea behind EnerJ -- a new power-saving system that could cut a chip's energy consumption by 90 percent, simply by prioritizing critical problems over those that are less threatening. Unlike, say, liquid cooling techniques, the University of Washington's framework focuses exclusively on the programming side of the equation and revolves around two interlocking pieces of code: one that handles crucial, precision-based tasks (e.g., password encryption), and another designed to deal with processes that can continue to function, even when facing small errors. The system's software would separate the two codes, meaning that energy from one section of the chip would never be used to fix a major problem that the other should address, while allowing engineers to more efficiently allocate voltage to each region. The system has already cut energy usage by up to 50 percent in lab simulations, but researchers think the 90 percent threshold is well within their reach, with computer engineering professor Luis Ceze (pictured above) predicting that the system may even be able to increase battery life by a factor of ten. The team is hoping to release EnerJ as an open-source tool this summer, but for now, you can find more information in the PR after the break.
Apple's North Carolina data center now visible on Google Earth
Apple's humongous data center in North Carolina is now visible on Google Earth and Google Maps satellite view. You can see the entire building and two roads leading in and out of the compound. Oddly, there is no space for on-site employee parking, at least not yet. An eagle-eyed reader picked out at least one parking lot on the south side of the building for about 80 cars. There may be more. The high-res image of the nearly completed compound just happened to appear the same day Apple confirmed its iCloud service would be unveiled at WWDC next week. Is this timing merely coincidental, or did Apple persuade Google to withhold its latest satellite imagery until Tuesday's press release was released?
Google opening seawater-cooled data center, finally glad it applied for that Wave trademark (video)
Google raised a few eyebrows when it purchased a Finnish paper mill back in 2009 -- what, the world, wondered, would the king of cloud services want with reams of tree guts? Space for a data center, of course -- and a seawater-cooled one at that. Google's Joe Kava told GigaOm that, when it launches in the fall, the center's temperature will be regulated by a quarter-mile of seawater tunnels inherited from the building's past tenants. One of the hardest parts of getting the system up and running has apparently been figuring out a way to clean corrosion from salt water without taking the system offline. Google's also working to limit the center's impact on the surrounding ecosystem, making sure that the water itself is cooled down before being pumped back out. Between this and those wind-powered data centers, it looks like Captain Planet's always got a cushy IT gig at Google to fall back on, should he ever fall on hard times.
Apple setting up another data center in Silicon Valley
We haven't even officially been told what's up with the data center in North Carolina, but apparently Apple wants more -- the company is also setting up another new data center much closer to home in Silicon Valley. The 11,000 square-foot setup is smaller than the big complex in North Carolina, which is said to be over 500,000 square feet (with about a fifth of that as actual server space). But the Silicon Valley center will still be pulling its own load when the 2.2 megawatts of critical power load comes online in September of this year. Apple is leasing the space wholesale from a company called DuPont Fabros, and it's not a stretch to think that if Apple needs more data center capacity very soon, DuPont Fabros will be more than happy to provide it. This one is located in Santa Clara, CA, and here's an interesting tidbit: There are a lot of data centers in that neck of the woods because the local power provider, Silicon Valley Power, offers relatively cheaper rates than Pacific Gas and Electric Company nearby. Hopefully we'll hear what all of this data center space is for soon -- WWDC is just around the corner.
Apple-Nuance deal may take root in NC datacenter
The stars appear to have aligned for the rumored Apple-Nuance deal, according to TechCrunch. The suggested strategic partnership between the Cupertino tech giant and the Burlington, MA speech-savvy software firm may find its first expression in Apple's new North Carolina data center, per the latest report. TechCrunch's sources say that Apple may already be running Nuance code (and possibly some Nuance-supplied hardware) in the Malden datacenter, either to support the existing Siri product (acquired by Apple, powered by Nuance) or to begin building out speech functions for the rumored reboot of MobileMe as iCloud. While Apple could afford to buy Nuance outright (the publicly-traded company was worth about $6 billion before the latest news shoved the stock price up), TC points out that it would be an expensive buy that would effectively kill the golden goose: Nuance's partnership deals, which make up a lot of the company's value, would get knocked out by the acquisition and would have to be renegotiated. The partnership approach gives Apple the core technology it needs without the overhead. Apparently, there were other players in the speech bake-off; Microsoft is rumored to have pushed Apple to include its speech recognition tech in iOS, but Apple didn't bite.
Visualized: ring around the world of data center power usage
Facebook may have recently boasted about how energy efficient its data centers are, but it is still Facebook, and that means it consumes plenty of power regardless -- more than anyone else, in fact, according to Peer1's recent survey of the world's most visited websites. As you can see above, that bit of data has also been conveniently visualized by the company in a colorful chart (with a noticeable lack of green), and there's plenty more details where that came from for you to dive into in the infographic linked below.
NSA wants $896.5 million to build new supercomputing complex
The federal government may be cutting corners left and right, but that hasn't stopped the NSA from requesting nearly $900 million to help beef up its supercomputing capabilities. According to budget documents released by the Department of Defense yesterday, the NSA is looking to construct a massive new High Performance Computing Center in Maryland, designed to harness plenty of supercomputing muscle within an energy efficient framework. As with many other data centers, the NSA's $896.5 million complex would feature raised floors, chilled water systems and advanced alarm mechanisms, but it would also need about 60 megawatts of power -- the same amount that powers Microsoft's gargantuan, 700,000 square-foot data center in Chicago. According to the DoD, however, the NSA would use that juice judiciously, in the hopes of conserving enough water, energy and building materials to obtain LEED Silver certification. Another chunk of the funding, not surprisingly, would go toward fortifying the facility. The NSA is hoping to pour more than $35 million into building security and perimeter control, which would include a cargo inspection facility, advanced surveillance, and systems designed to detect any radiological, nuclear, or chemical threats. If all goes to plan, construction would wrap up by December 2015.
Apple has the "least green" data centers
Apple has come in last place among a list of tech companies in the latest Greenpeace tech report How Dirty is Your Data? [PDF]. While Apple has made some pretty big strides over the last few years in trying to eliminate environmentally unfriendly chemicals from its products, Apple placed last in this list due to its heavy reliance on coal power at its data centers. The report compares energy consumption and sources made by Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter, IBM, Microsoft, HP, Akamai, Amazon and Yahoo. In it, Greenpeace points out that Apple's new North Carolina data center, which is set to open this year and will supposedly be primarily used for cloud-based computing services, will triple Apple's energy usage and use the same amount of energy as 80,000 US homes. Of that energy, 62 percent will be provided by coal (one of the dirtiest energy sources), and 32 percent of it will be provided by nuclear power. This isn't the first time Greenpeace has expressed concern over Apple's energy footprint regarding cloud computing. In March of last year, Greenpeace also expressed concern about the North Carolina data center that runs on "dirty coal power."
Apple hires Microsoft Data Center manager
You can add even more kindling to the rumor fire burning around Apple's new data center in North Carolina. AllThingsD reports that the company picked up Kevin Timmons as a new employee; he's been working as Microsoft's Manager of Data Center services since 2009. Microsoft confirmed that he left this week, and while it's unclear exactly where he's headed, rumor has it that he'll be with the gang in Cupertino. Timmons also worked in a similar role at Yahoo!, so he seems like the perfect candidate to help kick off a new cloud service for Apple, if indeed that's what the company is working on. Of course, rumors have been flying for a long time about some type of data center-based service around iTunes or some other, but we'll have to wait a little while longer (probably WWDC?) to see just what Apple (and now Mr. Timmons) is working on.
Don't hold your breath for an Apple video streaming service
Flickr image by tpholland I'm pretty convinced every time an analyst opens his or her mouth about Apple and we post it, a kitten is eaten by a bear somewhere*. This week's "Wacky Analyst Random Rumormongering" comes from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek who claims that Apple is about to launch "a new far reaching cloud-based service" based on video. Oh, really? Let's examine the reasons why we are visiting fantasyland, shall we? At least Business Insider was so bold as to say this is "informed speculation," although that's pretty much what these analysts do, isn't it? Unfortunately, the speculation appears to have happened in a brushed-aluminum vacuum chamber, where Apple is capable of setting terms with media companies and ISPs at-will, and everyone works in a completely ego-free marketplace -- but none of those things are true in reality. Besides, the "streaming media" speculation has been around ever since this data center had a concrete foundation. Misek claims the data center is going live soon and that Apple will build others around the world. Plus, he says this data center is "too big" for mere music. Well, we knew the data center would go online this spring, since Apple told us all this in a quarterly earnings call. The part about building more around the world is pure speculation. Apple uses Akamai for caching, so why bother with more data centers so soon? It's possible, but I see no evidence considering how long it took to build this data center. Then again, Apple Retail has had a meteoric rise... As for the thing being "too big" for video, what about software services? This isn't just about storing petabytes of data, this is also about uptime, scaling and keeping monstrous amounts of data intact. You know, like email and calendars and possibly office documents.
Facebook's Open Compute Project shares plans for energy-efficient data center
We know, you've seen an awful lot of Zuckerberg and crew here lately, and the Facebook news just keeps rolling in. This time the social networking giant is doing some sharing of a different sort by offering public access to the specifications and best practices behind its new, more efficient data center in Prineville, Oregon. According to the company, the center, built in collaboration with AMD, Dell, HP, and Intel, has boosted energy efficiency by 38 percent while lowering cost by 24 percent. The information now available through the Open Compute Project includes technical specs and mechanical CAD files for everything from servers to building design. Basically, if you want to erect your own multi-million dollar Facebook-style data center, you've got the go ahead. Full PR after the break.
Made up predictions about Apple's NC data center from (surprise!) an analyst
photo by raneko on Flickr Friend of the blog Philip Elmer-DeWitt with Fortune Tech uncovered a gem of a note from Bernstein Research's Toni Sacconaghi wherein, after a "meeting with Apple executives," he came up with quite the sampler platter of predictions for Apple's North Carolina data center. As DeWitt points out, the data center was supposedly slated to be ready last year. Sacconaghi seems to think that it will open in the spring, which jibes with a rumor we heard in February. It makes sense, particularly in-between iPad 2 and iPhone 5 announcements. But what will the thing do? DeWitt says that Sacconaghi believes the data center could "transform Apple from a hardware company to one that excels at what he calls 'differentiated services.'" I don't know about that, but it's nebulous enough to mean anything. Here's what Sacconaghi claims is coming and here's my take on each one. Scaled-up downloads of things like e-books, video, even advertising. Well, maybe. If you've had the pleasure of seeing the iTunes store crap out on you as I have and many of our readers have reported, it's pretty clear Apple needs more server capacity. I'm not sure they are dumb enough to throw the white gas of HD video downloads onto an already-hot fire. Maybe they are just ramping up capacity to provide an impeccable experience -- you know, in line with their core competencies. Cloud sync and storage. Well, again, they've got this. The argument goes that "more" would somehow make them "more" competitive with Google's offerings. Guess what? Optimizing code, creating better, universally accessible (like supporting Firefox) web apps would do that without needing to build a gigantic server farm. Cloud storage is of course possible, because if MobileMe were to go free or get cheaper or store your first 1,000 photos free (sort of like the free vs. paid versions of Flickr) they would indeed need more capacity. This is hardly a new concept, however. What could be new is a completely revamped MobileMe service, reliant upon a new data center for tons of storage by freeloaders.
