INTERACT FORUM
Devices => PC's and Other Hardware => Topic started by: JimH on April 06, 2009, 11:59:47 am
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CNET article on Google's servers:
"Google is tight-lipped about its computing operations, but the company for the first time on Wednesday revealed the hardware at the core of its Internet might at a conference here about the increasingly prominent issue of data center efficiency.
"Most companies buy servers from the likes of Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, or Sun Microsystems. But Google, which has hundreds of thousands of servers and considers running them part of its core expertise, designs and builds its own. Ben Jai, who designed many of Google's servers, unveiled a modern Google server before the hungry eyes of a technically sophisticated audience. "
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"Most people buy computers one at a time, but Google thinks on a very different scale. Jimmy Clidaras revealed that the core of the company's data centers are composed of standard 1AAA shipping containers packed with 1,160 servers each, with many containers in each data center. "
Full Article at CNET (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10209580-92.html?tag=pop)
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That's pretty much been public knowledge for what, 2-3 years now?
One way to tell what CPUs Google uses is to pick out the high-performance stuff in Intels 'extended availability' lists.
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That's pretty much been public knowledge for what, 2-3 years now?
I've read a couple of articles before about containerized servers, but I'd never seen an article so specific about the servers themselves.
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Sorry 'bout that, I'm buried pretty deeply in Intels developer network and we've had NDA updates on the how/what/why of Googles custom server builds.
Sometimes it's hard to remember where I learn things.....
Both IBM & Sun have developed self-contained (shipping container) DR/BR packages and have loads of them placed around the world. The various phone companies have always had containerized switching and satcomms systems ready to go at a moments notice.
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CNET just reported on a tour of Microsoft's server center:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10371840-56.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1
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More on Microsoft's approach:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20000982-56.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0