54101839
submission
1sockchuck writes:
Chef, the software, is becoming Chef, the company. Opscode has rebranded itself as Chef, unveiling its new identity along with $32 million in funding, which the company says it will use to double its engineering and sales staff over the next year. The move reflects the rising profile of Chef, an open source framework for configuration management. Chef is a key tools for DevOps at Facebook and other hyperscale companies, but is also gaining traction with enterprises seeking to speed their ability to deploy software updates.
53137707
submission
1sockchuck writes:
Each Facebook data center operations staffer can manage at least 20,000 servers, the company said this week at the 7x24 Exchange conference. This performance appears to break new ground in the server-to-admin ratio, which has rarely exceeded 10,000 to 1, according to High Scalability. Facebook says its admin productivity is the result of software-driven automation, communication between internal teams, and a hardware design process that focuses on serviceability and tool-less maintenance.
52953361
submission
1sockchuck writes:
Sears plans to convert dozens of Sears Auto Center stores into a national chain of server farms, saying it wants to be “the McDonald’s or Starbucks of data centers.” The strategy is an evolution of Sears Holdings' previously announced plan to turn old Sears and Kmart stores into IT centers. Instead, it will focus on the more than 700 Sears Auto Centers, which include many stand-alone cement buildings on mall perimeters. Ubiquity Critical Environments, the data center arm of Sears, will team with Schneider Electric to turn these sites into data centers. They'll use repeatable modular designs to add power and cooling infrastructure, targeting at least 23 smaller cities where there currently aren't many options for IT outsourcing.
48667683
submission
1sockchuck writes:
Microsoft now has more than 1 million servers in its data centers, CEO Steve Ballmer said at last week’s Worldwide Partner Conference. In his keynote, Ballmer handicapped the size of the server platforms for the world’s leading cloud computing providers, saying Microsoft was second-largest behind Google (which reportedly had 900,000 servers back in 2011). Why is Ballmer talking about server counts? "I claim there really are almost no companies in the world, just a handful, that are really investing in scaled public cloud infrastructure," he said. "(Cloud) puts a lot of pressure on us to make sure that we have world-class infrastructure across the world ... And we are investing in that infrastructure." Many cloud players still don't disclose server counts. Here's a list of those who do.
48135255
submission
1sockchuck writes:
A geoscience company has converted an entire data center to immersion cooling, with servers submerged in a liquid similar to mineral oil. The company has dozens of "server tanks" each packed with 42 servers immersed in liquid coolant from Green Revolution Cooling, the Austin startup that has been working with Intel to adapt its technology for broader use. Will this be what high-density data centers will look like in coming years? Data Center Knowledge has a tour and a look at process involved in taking the plunge with immersion cooling.
47674225
submission
1sockchuck writes:
A big chunk of the Azure cloud will be living on the plains of Iowa. Microsoft will invest another $700 million to expand its Iowa data center campus near Des Moines, marking the third major server farm for the state this year. Facebook recently announced a new data center in Altoona. The same day, Google said it would plough another $400 million into its facility in Council Bluffs. Why Iowa? Aggressive tax incentives and a central location to bridge the distance between these companies' east and west coast server footprints.
47506617
submission
1sockchuck writes:
The new Top500 list of the world's top supercomputers is out, and as expected, the new champ is China's Tianhe-2 system, which spanked all contenders with a Linpack benchmark of 33.86 petaflop/s. That's nearly twice the power of the runner-up, the Titan system from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The U.S. had 252 of the 500 systems, while Asia (119 systems) moved past Europe (112) for the first time. Check out the full list and an illustrated guide to the top 10.
47224309
submission
1sockchuck writes:
The SuperNAP in Las Vegas is one of the world's most extraordinary colocation facilities. When the 400,000 square foot data center opened back in 2008, its size and ability to manage high-density server cabinets was unique among colo providers. It now has a neighbor: a new and improved SuperNAP built next door to the original building that features an updated rack containment system that incorporates thermal storage, and multi-mode cooling units with an on-board backup power system (using a flywheel). The new wrinkles extend the "ride-through" time to maintain cooling in the event of a power failure. That's a key consideration in a high-density data center, where things can heat up pretty quickly.
47223943
submission
1sockchuck writes:
McLaren Applied Technologies will apply its expertise in designing race cars to boost the performance of modular data centers. McLaren is partnering with IO to apply its expertise in high performance engineering to the design and operation of IO's factory-built data center modules. There's a hardware component to the collaboration, but a key focus is on using software to refine management and reduce energy consumption. No word yet on whether the modules will get racing stripes.
47186119
submission
1sockchuck writes:
As its current data collection makes headlines, the National Security Agency is continuing to expand its data storage and processing capabilities. The agency recently broke ground on an $860 million data center at Fort Meade, Maryland that will span more than 600,000 square feet. The project will provide additional IT capacity beyond the NSA's controversial Utah data center. The new facility will be supported by 60 megawatts of power and use both air-cooled and liquid-cooled equipment.
46977691
submission
1sockchuck writes:
Data centers are focused on uptime. But with the right perspective, the inside of a data center is a visual feast.Data Center Knowledge has put together The Illustrated Data Center, a gallery of striking visual images collected from inside some of the world's most advanced data centers. It's part of a growing embrace of server farms as more than concrete bunkers, a trend that Tubes author Andrew Blum calls the "aestheticization" of the Internet.
46918943
submission
1sockchuck writes:
A unit of the World Bank is backing a provider of factory-built data centers in hopes of accelerating wireless access in parts of Asia and Africa. The $24 million investment will support the deployment of pre-fabricated modular IT enclosures from Flexenclosure, as well as power systems for wireless towers that use a combination of solar and wind power and batteries. The Swedish company's system includes software that can manage multiple sources to optimize the power supply, or even extend it to support local water pumps and schools.
46743765
submission
1sockchuck writes:
Robotics are beginning to be integrated into data center management, creating the potential for a fully automated, robot-driven data center. What might a robot-controlled "lights-out" data center look like? The racks will be taller, as robotics systems can reach higher to manage servers. Robotic equipment would be mounted on rails that allow them to find and move hardware. Early examples of this are seen in tape libraries, but the concepts could be applied to other data center equipment. Amazon and Google are said to be among those looking at ways to create a fully automated data center. AOL says it has already built an unmanned data center. Data Center Knowledge looks at the challenges and opportunities in robot-controlled data centers, including how staff roles would evolve.
46721227
submission
1sockchuck writes:
The New York Times suggests that data center operators have become "wildcat power utilities" by reselling power to customers at a profit. "Electrical capacity is often the central element of lease agreements, and space is secondary," The Times writes. "A result, the industry has evolved from a purveyor of space to an energy broker — making tremendous profits by reselling access to electrical power." The paper said data centers' role in energy sourcing "appears not to have registered with utility regulators." Experts on data center energy use say that although power is a key component of their offerings, data centers are different from utilities in important ways, providing cooling and connectivity as well as emergency power. “I think data centers are a whole different animal,” said Jon Koomey, who has done several landmark studies on data center energy use. “It’s not only the cost of a kilowatt of power. They’re charging for equipment and infrastructure like backup generators." But these experts also say the data center industry's emphasis on secrecy has contributed to concerns about the use and pricing of power. "It behooves the largest players in the data center industry to peel back some of the mystery in data centers and let people know what goes on inside these buildings,” says one industry watcher.
45805279
submission
1sockchuck writes:
While Facebook is making headlines by unstealthing its plans for a huge Iowa server farm, Google is expanding its data center footprint virtually everywhere, in what amounts to the largest investment in data center infrastructure in the history of the Internet. This month company has unveiled $1.4 billion in expansions across three facilities in Belgium, North Carolina and Iowa. It's also building in South Carolina and is planning an expansion in The Dalles, Oregon. Google is now spending more than $1 billion per quarter on servers and data centers. Apple and Microsoft are also building more server farms. What do these huge expansions tell us about the future of Internet infrastructure? Big data means big data centers.
