Microsoft Plans $500 Million Chicago Data Center

miller60 writes "Microsoft is planning a huge new data center in the Chicago area, as it continues to expand its Internet infrastructure in an effort to keep pace with Google in web-based services. The new facility in Northlake, Ill. may cost more than $500 million and is expected to span 440,000 square feet. Microsoft opened a 470,000 square foot data center in Quincy, Washington earlier this year, and is building a similar facility in San Antonio. Microsoft has also submitted plans for a $500 million data center campus in Dublin, Ireland."

Comments

Bad summary. Uses incorrect units.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Please describe how many LOC (libraries of congress) the data center will store. Also give the area in football fields and heights in statue of liberty and the energy consumption in number of homes that could be lit up.

Re:Bad summary. Uses incorrect units.

[Anonymous Coward]

King's asswidths is now the preferred measurement.

Re:Bad summary. Uses incorrect units.

[Red Flayer]

FTA (emphasis mine):

Microsoft has been keenly focused on power costs in its data center site location efforts. While 5 cents per kilowatt hour is in the midrange of average state-by-state power costs, it is lower than rates found near many major data center markets such as California (9 cents per kWh) or northern New Jersey (11 center per kWh). Microsoft's data center in Quincy runs on hyrdro power that costs less than 2 centers per kilowatt hour

I don't know how many homes can be lit up by the planned power consumption, but their facility in Quincy WA has energy that costa six licks per kilowatt hour (if you don't recall, it takes three licks to get to a center. Since the cost of the IL facility is 250% that of the WA facility, we can calculate that the cost in the IL facility will be 7.5 licks per kWh.

Furthermore, we know that 5 good licks is an ol'-fashioned ass-whupping, so the power cost will be 1.5 ass-whuppings per kWh.

Sounds like Ballmer will need to work overtime, since he is only budgeted to dispense 1 ass-whupping per hour; the smart money right now would be investing in chair manufacturers.

Re:Bad summary. Uses incorrect units.

[Junior J. Junior III]

Also, the cost should be given in A-Rods, not dollars.

Re:Bad summary. Uses incorrect units.

[shdwtek]

And don't forget the measurement of how many Mp3's the data center can store.

Re:Bad summary. Uses incorrect units.

[cayenne8]

"And don't forget the measurement of how many Mp3's the data center can store."

Yeah, but, will it run on Linux?

Re:Bad summary. Uses incorrect units.

[Yetihehe]

No, but will it blend? Into landscape of course.

Upcoming challenge

[Anonymous Coward]

The big challenge is going to be getting NetBEUI to work between all those locations.

Re:Upcoming challenge

[Barny]

Another big challenge will be trying to get Vista working on their desktops!

There we go, fixed ^_^

Oh and am I the first to say "imagine a Beowulf cluster o".... nm, windows can't do that.

Re:Upcoming challenge

[aed]

Who said anything about Windows 2000??
It's going to be a Chicago datacenter... so you and your Windows 2000 are actually 5 years *ahead* :))

Lessons learned in Chicago

[suso]

Just make sure you reinforce the concrete walls with titanium. ;-)

Re:Lessons learned in Chicago

[StarfishOne]

It will be protected by Itanium walls and a ChairLauncher which can launch at a rate of 40 standard Ballmers per minute.

Re:Lessons learned in Chicago

[sledge_hmmer]

I can't wait for the next Mission Impossible movie where Tom Cruise has to dodge the chairs as he breaks in to this data centre.

Industry, science and technology...

[elmaxxgt]

big men, inserting chairs into things, turning them... and adjusting them!
No, just kidding, i bet that this new center will cut the development of the log off module from 9 months to 8.
great investment :)

Suspicious...

[KenshoDude]

440,000 square feet? Anyone else surprised that these data centers aren't 640K square feet?

Re:Suspicious...

[schwit1]

440k ought to be enough for anyone.

Re:Impressive investment, but ...

[digThisXL]

hard pressed to match Google in performance, however much money they throw at the problem. ...or how many chairs, for that matter.

More Likely

[Trailwalker]

an effort to keep pace with Google in web-based services.

More likely, needed to handle the DRM and spyware in Vista.

Maybe Chicago isn't the wisest choice

[Huntr]

Data thieves don't screw around in Chicago and MS isn't exactly synonymous with "security."

Chicago?

[chinton]

I thought they released that in 1995?!?

In related news...

[Billosaur]

Due to a shortage of skilled workers in Ireland, the Dublin data center will be partially staffed by leprechauns...

Re:Why Chicago?

[MiniMike]

Pizza. Can't get good pizza in Indy, not like in Chicago. Rolling Blackout? Get a deep dish. Stuck in 8 feet of snow? Get some pepperoni on it, but eat quick because you won't be stuck long. Plenty of reasons to put it in Chicago.

$500 million?

[Lxy]

Does that include the cost of Windows licenses?

Re:$500 million?

[Grandiloquence]

Yes, but it doesn't include the construction costs.

Re:Why Chicago?

[Richard W.M. Jones]

During the last few summer, Chicago was one of the cities that experienced rolling black outs

Perhaps Microsoft are trying to replicate their desktop experience for their hosted products?

I wonder

[ILongForDarkness]

Are these datacentres going to be cube shaped, ala the Borg?