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Facebook hopes to spur data-center innovation (photos)

In order to meet the extreme demands put on its servers, Facebook has designed its own data center setup. Now it's sharing those plans with partners and competitors alike.

James Martin Managing Editor, Photography
James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.
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In order to meet the extreme demands put on its servers, Facebook has designed its own servers and data-center setup. Now, with a project called the Open Compute Project, it's sharing those plans with partners and competitors alike in the hopes that it will help push the evolution of data-center design. Here are a few photos from today's event, held in Palo Alto, Calif. For more details on the project, see our article here.

Mark Zuckerberg introduces the team who developed new integrated server and data centers in Palo Alto today.
Mark Zuckerberg introduces the team who developed new integrated server and data centers in Palo Alto today. James Martin/CNET

Facebook's new three-column data center, which holds 90 servers.
Facebook's new three-column data center, which holds 90 servers. James Martin/CNET

Amir Michael shows off a view inside one of Facebook's data centers, where he chose to use 7-cent-apiece blue LED lights instead of the cheaper 2-cent-apiece green LED lights, just because he thought it looked better.
Amir Michael shows off a view inside one of Facebook's data centers, where he chose to use 7-cent-apiece blue LED lights instead of the cheaper 2-cen-apiece green LED lights, just because he thought it looked better. James Martin/CNET

One of the new servers on display at Facebook's HQ in Palo Alto. A small team of Facebook engineers spent the past two years tackling a big challenge: how to scale the massive computing infrastructure in the most efficient and economical way possible.
One of the new servers on displayed at Facebook's HQ in Palo Alto. A small team of Facebook engineers spent the past two years tackling a big challenge: how to scale the massive computing infrastructure in the most efficient and economical way possible. James Martin/CNET

At a panel on data-center development at Facebook today (from left): Lanham Napier, chief executive officer of Rackspace Hosting; Frank Frankovsky, director of hardware design and supply chain at Facebook; Mike Locatis from the Department of Energy; Jason Allen, chief technical officer of Zynga; and Forrest Norrod, vice president and general manager for worldwide server platforms at Dell.
At a panel on data-center development at Facebook today (from left): Lanham Napier, chief executive officer of Rackspace Hosting; Frank Frankovsky, director of hardware design and supply chain at Facebook; Mike Locatis from the Department of Energy; Jason Allen, chief technical officer of Zynga; and Forrest Norrod, vice president and general manager for worldwide server platforms at Dell. James Martin/CNET