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Google's Early Hardware

revjonnylove writes "Ever wonder what Google's early hardware looked like? Well, wonder no more. Thanks to Archive.org's Way Back Machine, we can all bask in the glory of Google's home made HDD cases, constructed partially of Lego, as well as other neat-o toys. Is that a PowerPC logo I see on one of their servers?"

18 of 223 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not bad! by BJH · · Score: 5, Informative

    Looking at the Wayback Machine link, it appears to be a snapshot from 1999. Of course, Google could have obtained this hardware well before then.

  2. PPC by boarder8925 · · Score: 3, Informative
    Is that a PowerPC logo I see on one of their servers?
    Looks that way.
    1. Re:PPC by Spacelord · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yes it is an IBM RS/6000 F50 which does indeed have a powerpc processor, and usually runs IBM's own version of Unix, namely AIX. I've configured plenty of those back in 98/99.

      I do wonder what OS runs (or used to run) on that machine though, AIX or (Yellowdog?) Linux?

  3. Re:Not bad! by CptChipJew · · Score: 5, Informative

    It seems it was started as a project at Stanford, and took off from there, here's a link to an archive of the old site.

    --
    Vonal Declosion
  4. Orignal "About Google" Page by hot_Karls_bad_cavern · · Score: 5, Informative
  5. The first two are Dell Poweredge 4200's by Mercury2k · · Score: 5, Informative

    For those who are wondering, I happen to own two of the very same machines in the top two pictures lol! They are Dell Poweredge 4200 machines with the logo plates removed! The specs are roughly this:

    Dual CPU capable (max 333mhz)
    Max RAM 512MB Bios Limit (66mhz EDO SDRAM)
    6x80pin SCA drive bays
    Dual 700 watt hot swap power supplies
    Built in VGA (ATI Mach64 VT 1MB)

    For the record, they typically ship with AMI Megaraid 428 (or higher) hardware raid cards. But the onboard SCSI2 is Adaptec AIC-7860 & 7880. Also worth mentioning, they are clusterable using Windows NT. I grabbed these machines off machine and local computer store and have been very stable work horses running Debian! (www.emaildesktop.com).
    Just glad to see that these machines were useful in their days!

  6. More pictures... by midimonkey · · Score: 5, Informative

    In case you're having a hard time loading the images from the story, you can find some other images here.

  7. Re:Its amazing... by iwein · · Score: 5, Informative

    here, i googled for you

    --
    Show a man some news, distract him for an hour. Show a man some mod points, distract him for the rest of his life.
  8. Re:Gmail by NeoThermic · · Score: 4, Informative

    Repeat after me: Its Lego, not Legos. Lego is shortend from Leg Godt, which is Danish, and means Play Good. The amazing thing is, its plural and singular at the same time, so you don't need the S.

    NeoThermic

    --
    Use my link above, or to view my server, NeoThermic.com
  9. Legos? Duplos! by stick_figure_of_doom · · Score: 5, Informative

    Those are not legos! I remember those things from way back when, they're Duplos. They're way bigger than Legos, and they don't cut your foot when you step on them. They're designed so that little kids can't hurt themselves. I never thought I'd see those again.

    --
    If someone drops a fort on Will, he makes a reflex save.
  10. Re:How many servers now? by Meowing · · Score: 2, Informative
    Last I heard Google has a serverfarm of 8000 machines but how many do they have today?
    Maybe you could try looking on Google or something.
  11. What Really Happened to Craig Silverstein by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative
  12. Duplo blocks, not Legos by puetzc · · Score: 2, Informative

    Unless those are the worlds smallest servers, I think those look like Duplo blocks, not Legos. I have boxes of both. Duplos are simpler, and about twice the size - although Duplos and Legos can be mixed. The thick Duplo baseplates make a much better case cover, as they would be stiffer than Legos. I especially like the operators' faces as a part of the case.

  13. Re:Not bad! by linebackn · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yikes! And there are even older versions of that page on file check out the logo on this one: http://web.archive.org/web/19980502040303/http://g oogle.stanford.edu/

  14. Re:I remember those 9Gig drives when new by adolf · · Score: 2, Informative

    $4000? In 1997?

    You're on crack.

    Though I hasten to admit that I didn't buy any 9 gig SCSI drives in 1997, per se, I did buy two 9-gigabyte IBM 9ES ultrawides in 1998 for something less than $500 each (Non-anecdotal evidence here).

    (Oh, and yes. They're still working justfine, thanks.)

  15. Re:Gmail by lga · · Score: 2, Informative

    Surely it should be "Lego" (singular) or "Lego bricks" (plural.)

  16. More Pictures of the Duplo Case at Stanford by BrianCarlstrom · · Score: 2, Informative

    More pictures of "The Original GOOGLE Computer Storage" from Stanford CS Department's Computer History Exhibits Photo Tour.

    You can physically see this display in the basement of the Stanford Gates Building.

  17. Re:Where are these hardwares today? by BrianCarlstrom · · Score: 2, Informative
    Ironically enough, some of Google's first setup (possibly the one pictured) is sitting in a display case in the basement of the Gates Computer Science building at Stanford

    Pictures of "The Original GOOGLE Computer Storage" from the basement of Gates.