This is Google

[Skybird]

Picture series.

http://www.zeit.de/digital/2012-10/fs-google-rechenzentren

[Gerald]

In the German language, lucky that I can part, :know:

[Herr-Berbunch]

And for us insular English-speakers there is always, luckily, Google Translate -

Google's data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, has an area of over 10,000 square meters. | © Connie Zhou / Google

They are all over the world, the Google server. How many are there, do not say the group. How exactly where it is processed and linked data are not. In order to at least give the appearance of transparency, but now Google has released a series of photos from its data centers. The pictures do not explain much, but impressively demonstrate how much of the Internet infrastructure company now needed.

Good, interesting photos.

[Oberon]

There was an interesting radio series a while ago on...radio four I think it was...about a man who was interested in finding the hardware behind the internet, central internet hubs and the like. Often highly classified locations due to their weakness to attack, and he was questioned by the police a couple of times as to why he was doing this.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Can't be that secret a location, just look for large buildings with lots of exhausts!

http://img547.imageshack.us/img547/628/googleservers.jpg

Or just look for the Google Maps pushpin with the words Google Data Center, bottom right. :haha:

[Jimbuna]

LOL.....bad boy :)

[Skybird]

One of the commentators linked to this English text giving some background info, especially on enewrgy issues and -technology.

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/10/ff-inside-google-data-center/all/

[Stealhead]

Can't be that secret a location, just look for large buildings with lots of exhausts!

http://img547.imageshack.us/img547/628/googleservers.jpg

Or just look for the Google Maps pushpin with the words Google Data Center, bottom right. :haha:

That is correct massive banks of servers generate a pretty good deal of heat so any such building will have a noticeable HVAC system.

[AVGWarhawk]

And now we see the true cause of global warming.

[Stealhead]

Another clue is the lack of windows in the larger second building only the bare minimum.Most of the staff work in the smaller one and probably only go into the larger building when they need to.Notice also that the roof slopes as well.

I bet that this facility has a fairly large back up power generation system as well perhaps even locomotive sized system like larger hospitals have basically they take the engine from a ES44AC(GE) or an EMD (GM) 12 cylinder or 16 cylinder with AC motor there you go power if the local grid goes down and some in parts of Alaska it is the power.

[TarJak]

Meh. Ya seen one data centre you've seen em all. Never seen the interest in looking at racks and cables.

[August]

I'd like to thank Skybird for posting these pictures. I showed them to my students who just loved them. :salute:

[Herr-Berbunch]

The pics are great, but the write up at the second link - thewired.com - makes for fantastic reading.