data centers

Facebook reportedly the mystery mover behind 'Project Catapult'

Facebook seems to be behind what one ubertechie blog calls "one of the longest-running mysteries in the data center industry."

The company is reportedly looking at building a $1.5 billion data facility in Altoona, Iowa -- an effort previously referred to by state and local officials as the rather cloak-and-dagger sounding "Project Catapult."

The Des Moines Register cited legislative sources in reporting the news, in a story that was picked up by insider data blog Data Center Knowledge.

The Register reported that the facility is being touted as "the most technologically advanced" in … Read more

Apple hits 75 percent renewable energy across the board

Apple is a lot greener than it used to be, the company said today.

The iPhone and Mac maker published a new annual environmental report this morning that tracks some of the improvements it has made. The key takeaway: 75 percent of the energy it needs at its corporate facilities is renewable, and the number is even higher at some of its data centers and its headquarters.

"We're committed to greening the grid wherever we have our facilities," Scott Brodrick of Apple's product marketing, told CNET.

The company currently has data centers in Maiden, N.C., and Newark, Calif., and is constructing an additional center in Prineville, Ore., that will run off a mix of energy sources. Apple is also working on a facility in Reno, Nev., though Brodrick would not say when that would be up and running.

These facilities are part of Apple's growing cloud services effort. These data centers have long served up digital content like music, movies, and apps. In 2011, the company added to that load with iCloud, its storage and sync service, which relies on the data centers to store user data and information. The data centers also play a role in powering Siri, the voice-assistant feature found on iPhones, iPods, and iPads.

The Maiden location in particular has quickly become the crown jewel of Apple's data center operations, and has been running on entirely renewable energy sources since last December, Brodrick said. Part of the reason for that is its solar array, which the company touts as the largest of its kind in the U.S. and is promoting in a video:

Among some of the other progress it made last year, Apple says it's now using bio-gas fuel cells along with solar photovoltaic technology at its headquarters. It's also greened some of its products including the newest iMac, which uses 68 percent less material than the previous model. There's also the AirPort Express wireless router, which Apple says uses bio-based polymers.

Even with Apple's progress, the company has not been without its critics. Greenpeace in particular went after Apple hard last year as part of its campaign to bring awareness to the greenness of data centers. It also knocked Apple for transparency on its progress as part of its 18th annual "Guide to Greener Electronics" which was published last November.

"Apple's announcement shows that it has made real progress in its commitment to lead the way to a clean energy future," the group said in a statement today. "Apple's increased level of disclosure about its energy sources helps customers know that their iCloud will be powered by clean energy sources, not coal."

Nonetheless, Greenpeace urged for more disclosure from Apple in any dealings with local utilities and state governments.

"Over the past four years we've reported more comprehensively than any company in our industry, and we've done this by focusing not only on our facilities, which is what many other companies do, but also on our products," Brodrick offered.

Update, 11:30 a.m. PT: Adds statement from Greenpeace.… Read more

Apple looks to double its N.C. biogas fuel cell farm

Ten megawatts of electricity is enough energy to power more than 6,000 homes. It is also the same amount of electricity that Apple is looking to produce with its biogas fuel cell project at its North Carolina data center.

The tech giant has filed a request with the N.C. Utilities Commission to double the size of its local fuel cell farm, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Currently, the data center has enough fuel cells to pump out 4.8 megawatts of electricity. Apple is asking to bump those numbers up to 50 fuel cells, which should be able … Read more

Amazon Web Services slices S3 prices

Amazon Web Services will cut S3 prices by roughly 24 percent to 27 percent across all regions in a move that illustrates the cloud provider's ability to add economies of scale to its IT infrastructure.

"We're lowering prices for S3 by 24 percent to 27 percent in all regions," said Andy Jassy, senior vice president of Amazon Web Services.

The price cuts are one data point highlighting how AWS intends to disrupt "old-guard technology companies."

Jassy made the comments at Amazon Web Services' inaugural re:Invent conference in Las Vegas. The powwow was designed … Read more

Google reveals seven years of evolving data-center strategy

In an extension of its data-center glasnost, Google is offering an in-depth profile of its evolving strategy in center management.

During the 7×24 Exchange conference today in Phoenix, Joe Kava, the VP of data centers for Google, delivered a presentation giving an intimate look at how the company's data-center strategy has evolved, according to a GigOm report. Kava began his presentation with a seven-year timeline of Google's data-center history that showed the progression of the search giant's strategy.

While profiling an industry shift in data-center strategy, Kava's presentation showed a progression of the search … Read more

New York Web sites remain offline following Sandy

Hurricane Sandy may have passed the Mid-Atlantic region, but its effects are still being felt online.

The storm knocked out power and caused severe flooding across the Northeastern United States. New York City power companies pulled the plug on parts of lower Manhattan yesterday, shutting down Web sites without redundant servers. Many of those data centers remained down today, and power provider Con Edison said power likely won't be restored to Manhattan for about four days.

Those in Bk and Manhattan should have power back w/in 4 days. All others in areas served by overhead lines will take … Read more

Apple breaks ground on its $68M Oregon data center

Apple has begun the first phase of its new $68 million data center in Prineville, Oregon, as the technology giant moves forward with serving even more cloud-reliant customers. 

According to local news sources, Apple has started to clear and flatten the land for one of two buildings that will take around 338,000 square-foot of space. (That's about twice the size of an average Costco store, The Oregonian says, or about 320 times larger than the average New York apartment.) Apple's data center is a stones throw away from Facebook's own data center on the … Read more

Google tries wowing the world with a look at its data centers

Google only rarely gives outsiders a look at its data centers, but today it's trying to make up for lost time with a large online photo gallery and Street View tour of the computing hardware.

The company launched a new site, "Where the Internet Lives" with a lot of eye candy for people who enjoy racks of computer gear, raised-floor ventilation systems, multicolored cables, and massive air-conditioning chillers. Urs Hoelzle, Google's senior vice president for technical infrastructure, announced the site in a blog post today.

It's short on details for those who want to eye Google's servers up close, … Read more

NYT story on data center waste scares some, frustrates others

The New York Times today kicked of an investigative series on how the cloud's physical structures are affecting the environment with a first installment that offers some scary stats about energy waste. But some say the story unfairly depicts an Internet industry that has been making major strides in this area.

Taking into account a year's worth of reporting and research, the Times' James Glanz concludes that most data centers are wasting huge amounts of energy, which, puts the information industry "at odds with its image of sleek efficiency and environmental friendliness."

"Online companies typically … Read more