Google's Secret Plans For All That Dark Fiber?

Posted by CmdrTaco on Sunday November 20, 2005 @05:14AM from the com'on-just-tell-me-do-it dept.

beat.net writes "Robert X. Cringely details the plan for all the dark fiber Google has been buying up: "The probable answer lies in one of Google's underground parking garages in Mountain View. There, in a secret area off-limits even to regular GoogleFolk, is a shipping container. But it isn't just any shipping container. This shipping container is a prototype data center. Google hired a pair of very bright industrial designers to figure out how to cram the greatest number of CPUs, the most storage, memory and power support into a 20- or 40-foot box. We're talking about 5000 Opteron processors and 3.5 petabytes of disk storage that can be dropped-off overnight by a tractor-trailer rig. The idea is to plant one of these puppies anywhere Google owns access to fiber, basically turning the entire Internet into a giant processing and storage grid. While Google could put these containers anywhere, it makes the most sense to place them at Internet peering points, of which there are about 300 worldwide.""

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I already blogged this.. by aychamo · 2005-11-20 05:27 · Score: 0, Redundant

I already blogged this... oh my website
Skynet by Foxxz · 2005-11-20 05:30 · Score: 0, Redundant

Skynet, begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. eastern time, August 29.

-Foxxz
article doesn't explain network by joe094287523459087 · 2005-11-20 06:00 · Score: 1, Redundant

what's the point of putting network latency between all those shipping containers? if they want to use them for computing, why can't they just put them all next to each other in the same room?