Inside Google’s Data Centers
Google has just launched a new site
that offers visitors a glimpse into the massive data centers that power
Google. The site features photographs from inside some of the eight
data centers that Google Inc. runs in the U.S., Finland and Belgium.
Google is also building data centers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and
Chile.
Virtual tours of a North Carolina data center also will be available through Google's 'Street View' service.
From Google: From Google: Inside our campus network room, routers and switches allow our data centers to talk to each other. The fiber optic networks connecting our sites can run at speeds that are more than 200,000 times faster than a typical home Internet connection. The fiber cables run along the yellow cable trays near the ceiling.
From
Google: Our Council Bluffs data center provides over 115,000 square
feet of space. We make the best out of every inch, so you can use
services like Search and YouTube in the most efficient way possible.
From
Google: Hovering above the floor in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the scale of
our data center there begins to take shape. Huge steel beams both
support the structure and help distribute power.
From
Google: Plastic curtains hang in a network room inside our Council
Bluffs data center. Here we serve up cold air through the floor, and the
clear plastic barriers help keep the cold air in while keeping hot air
out.
From
Google: These colorful pipes are responsible for carrying water in and
out of our Oregon data center. The blue pipes supply cold water and the
red pipes return the warm water back to be cooled
From
Google: Our pipes aren't the only colorful things at our data centers.
These cables are organized by their specific hue. On the floor, this can
make things less technical: “Hand me a blue one."
From
Google: Blue LEDs on this row of servers tell us everything is running
smoothly. We use LEDs because they are energy efficient, long lasting
and bright.
From
Google: Server floors like these require massive space and efficient
power to run the full family of Google products for the world. Here in
Hamina, Finland, we chose to renovate an old paper mill to take
advantage of the building's infrastructure as well as its proximity to
the Gulf of Finland's cooling waters.
From
Google: Steam rises above the cooling towers in The Dalles data center
in Oregon. These plumes of water vapor create a quiet mist at dusk
From Google: This family of deer have moved in next to our Council Bluffs, Iowa center.
From
Google: "Mike Barham swaps out a motherboard. When server parts break,
we first try to repair them. If we can't, we break them up into raw
materials (steel, plastic, copper, etc.) and recycle the components."