A150-server data center might not seem like much of a big deal, but it is when the data center is located in the South Pole. In the video above, software consultant John Jacobsen discusses the data center at the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory.

According to Jacobsen, the facility is inaccessible for several months of the year. Despite freezing temperatures that never rise above -20 F, server overheating is still a major issue at the data center.

Continue reading: South Pole data center is coldest in the world

To help keep up with ever-increasing traffic, Twitter is set to open up a new custom-built data center in Utah later this year. Considering 300,000 new Twitter users log on every day, the site desperately needs to expand its capacity.

The data center is being built especially for Twitter’s needs. The site currently leases data center space for third-parties. The new configuration will give the company more control and better performance. Jean-Paul Cozzatti of Twitter stated:

Having dedicated data centers will give us more capacity to accommodate this growth in users and activity on Twitter.Twitter will have full control over network and systems configuration, with a much larger footprint in a building designed specifically around our unique power and cooling needs. The data center will house a mixed-vendor environment for servers running open source OS and applications.

Other social networking sites like Facebook are also in the process of expanding.

Source | Tech Crunch
Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: Twitter to open Utah data center later this year

In preparation for new projects and to expand the capacity of current ones, Google has nearly doubled its data center spending. It went from investing $239 million last quarter in capital investments to $476 million this quarter.

Although a capital investment is any physical asset that has long-term value, most of Google’s capital investments are IT-related. Large capital investments are often a sign of recovery. However, Google’s current expenditure figures are nothing compared to the $842 million it spent in Q1 2008. The company drastically cut back data center spending after the recession set in.

Other tech giants like Microsoft are also expanding their capital investment budgets. At this point, it is unclear where Google’s data center is going.

Photo | pzado

Continue reading: Google increases spending on data centers

The Wikimedia Foundation has announced plans to build a new data center in the United States. The non-profit cited the need for a fail-over in case the main data center goes down as the main reason for the expansion.

Wikipedia already has a primary data center with 300 servers in Tampa and an additional 50 servers in Amsterdam. Wikimedia realized how vulnerable this setup is to outages in March, when overheating at the Amsterdam facility sent all of its sites down.

The non-profit will most likely build the data center in northern Virginia, a key hub for network traffic. It has budgeted $3.27 million for the project.

Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: Wikipedia to build new data center

Data center provider NYI has just completed work on NYI X-Connect, a facility expansion that will provide more colocation and dedicated server rental to the finance industry. The facility is unique in that it is located on Wall Street, allowing investors and financial analysts to access the latest data as fast as possible.

The firm believes its location will give it an advantage over other server providers. This is probably true, but most people will want to look elsewhere for a dedicated server. A major factor in a server’s price is its location. Wall Street is bound to be one of the most expensive areas in the world to host a server. This is fine for investors, who need their computing services as close as possible, but the average Joe doesn’t need this kind of service.

Source: NYI

Continue reading: Wall Street data center expanded

If you’ve been hoping a decline in data center demand might decrease dedicated server prices, think again. According to industry analysts, the demand for server space currently outpaces the supply.

According to Antonio Piraino, Research Director at Tier 1 Research, cloud computing is one of the main reasons for heavy data center demand:

The demand is extremely healthy. We’re seeing more and more cloud computing providers coming into this space. It’s just a great opportunity for the data center space.

Wholesale data center space is especially hard to come buy. Large sites like Facebook as well as web hosting companies are scooping up data center space left and right. To many, it seems as though new data centers can’t be built quickly enough.

Source | Data Center Knowledge
Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: Data center space in short supply, analysts say

This week Iowa’s governor, Chet Culver, confirmed that Microsoft will be building a new data center in the state. At a cost of $100 million, the modular data center is expected to use significantly less power and water than other facilities and produce less waste.

And if the expected completion date of spring 2011 is any indication, this will also be one of the fastest data center construction projects ever. Microsoft originally intended to build the project in West Des Moines in 2008, but halted construction because of the recession.

Microsoft’s decision to recommence building the plant is a good sign for the economy. Obviously Redmond thinks there will be more demand for technology in the near feature. The data center will create around 25 jobs that pay an average of $31.04 per hour in benefits and wages.

Source | Data Center Knowledge

Continue reading: Microsoft to build Iowa data center

The United States government has pledged to consolidate its data centers from its current over-bloated structure into a more efficient form. A survey of 143 federal IT executives reveals that 63% of believe the consolidation will take place, but an even greater 74% think it will take longer than the government estimates to carry out the plan.

Nearly half of respondents said it would be reasonable for their agency to give up data centers under the plan. Around the same number of people expressed concern about using services from a private firm, however.

Some 86%of the executives believe that government culture is the biggest obstacle to consolidation. Most agreed that sharing data centers between government agencies was the most viable option for trimming the fat. If the government is successful, it will have conducted the largest data center consolidation ever.

Continue reading: IT executives doubt time line of government data consolidation plan

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) just began construction on a new supercomputer data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Scientists plan to use the facility to track and research climate change.

The data center will contain 24,000 square feet of raised floor area and cost $70 million USD. The supercomputer to be installed inside the building is expected to be one of the top-25 fastest in the world upon completion and will cost $25- $35 million.

NCAR is also seeking LEED gold certification for the data center, which is designed to obtain 10% of its electricity from wind energy. Wyoming, the least populous state in the United States, is hoping to make a name for itself in the data center industry.

Continue reading: NCAR begins construction of climate change data center

While the data center industry is looking at exponential growth in the next three years, it’s also faced with a few problems in the explosion of industry need for storage space and data processing power. With the need for greater capacity, denser servers are being added to data centers’ equipment, but the centers are also facing increases in operational overheads and the under-usage of IT assets.

The issue is at the core of the Infiniti Research market report on the data center equipment industry, but also forms part of a series of reports from their TechNavio branch (including one on green cloud computing for 2008 to 2012).

The data center industry could be a significant example of business innovation in the years to come with the pressures of complex data centers and decreasing space forcing new solutions in service delivery and business models.

Source | TheWhir

Continue reading: Global data center study: 2010-2013

US-based data centres can now earn the same energy star classification seen on many home appliances and white goods, after the EPA (Energy Protection Agency) launched a program specific to data centres. To qualify for the program and an energy star label, a data centre must be in the top 25 percent of data centres in terms of energy efficiency.

The EPA has an energy performance scale which determines the Energy Star for Buildings rating, within which data centres will have their own customised rating. This is to take into account the unique power use of most data centres which have different needs and purposes than other commercial buildings.

The data centre energy star system will be based on a PUE or Power Usage Effectiveness metric developed by the Green Grid. Basically the metric was developed through studying information submitted by about 100 data centres. The idea is not to flounder in the maths of the thing, but to encourage energy saving.

Technical Development Manager from EPA, Alexandra Sullivan says:

“The main objective is to provide a simple, easily communicated management tool. We’re looking for something really simple that can provide motivation for energy savings in buildings.”

Source | DataCenterKnowledge
Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: Energy stars for data centers introduced

Hewlett Packard is moving to consolidate and automate its data centers, and will cut about 9,000 jobs as it does so. HP will, however, hire about 6,000 new workers in sales and services, but the additional job cuts follow others that HP has made as part of its data centre consolidation.

In 2005, it cut 15,300 jobs and in 2008, after acquiring Electronic Data Systems, another 25,000 people were laid off. The company will invest heavily in its enterprise services business in the future, though, dedicating about one $1 billion to the modernised data centers.

The EDS acquisition has become part of HP’s new focus on its enterprise services division, and the new data centres are being designed to improve the client experience. The division is a profitable one for HP, recording $8.7 billion in the first quarter of 2010 and having profit margins higher than its PC division.

Source | New York Times

Continue reading: Workers lose jobs as HP streamlines data centers with $1 billion