Google's Floating Datahaven

PDG writes "Google has pending plans to take its data centers off-shore, literally. By moving their data centers to floating barges in international waters, they are able to save money on taxes and electricity (using wave based power) as well as reside their operations outside the jurisdiction of governments. There is mention of hurricane and other caveats, but I wonder how they plan to get a bandwidth pipe large enough and still be reliable. Seems like a chapter out of a Neal Stephenson novel." You might recall earlier discussions on the same subject.

Comments

What a summary

[eebra82]

[..] but I wonder how they plan to get a bandwidth pipe large enough and still be reliable.

I don't think a pipe on the bottom of the ocean is your biggest concern when you put hundreds of thousands of computers on a man made island, exposed to possible tsunamis and hurricanes.

And while we're at it, have they thought of the possibility of terrorist attacks? If they're outside any jurisdiction, they also have no military power to protect them from planes, boats, subs and whatnot.

Re:In other news...

[BitterOldGUy]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announces a multi-billion dollar investment in a fleet of submarines.

You kid, but wait till Google has some shit that China, Iran, or even the US doesn't like. Or Greenpeace or some other aggressive group doesn't like.

Accidents do happen at sea!

Massive overstatement

[AlecC]

Google has pending plans...

Nonsense. Google has a patent application. Which means that someone, somewhere, inside Google had this nifty idea, and a patent search thought it might be original. In corporations these days, the standing instructions are that if an idea is patentable, patent it - even if it is stupid or appears unworkable. This idea may be no more than bullshit round the water cooler.

Corporations want to build up a big patent portfolio. Financial types see that as good, which ups the stock price. And they want lots of patents in their pocket for when you get to a patent shoot-out (or to be so dangerous that one is pre-empted. The idea is that when someone accuses you of infringing a patent, you dump a huge pile of patents on the table and say "I bet you're infringing one of these".

So this article is a massive hype from a straw in the wind. Google is always thinking about datacentres, and this is a patent on an original, if not vary practical, thought.

Google & guns

[OrangeTide]

So will Google have to have armed guards to shoot pirates? Is killing people to protect your servers considered "evil" ?

Re:Google & guns

[Dan Ost]

Shooting people who obviously intend harm to you or your property is not a morally ambiguous situation: you shoot to kill.

If it's your employer's property and you job is to protect it, you do the same.

Re:Google & guns

[Xaositecte]

Lol wut?

What is morally ambiguous about shooting people who are threatening to shoot you?

Not as some kind of bizarre Iraq war metaphor, I mean if someone breaks into your house, or your place of employment, and threatens you with a gun.

You also have a gun, so you shoot them. This is not a difficult moral dilemma.

Re:Google & guns

[Xaositecte]

You've got to use a little common sense here, dude.

I'm talking about people invading your home (or, in the spirit of the original conversation, your offshore datacenter) with guns and intent to steal or damage your property. Kids egging your house isn't comparable, why are you even introducing it into the conversation?

Re:Google & guns

[e2d2]

Face a modern day pirate and see if the situation is ambiguous. They aren't gonna make you walk the plank. More likely they'll shoot a shoulder launched grenade up your ass if you try and stop them.

Re:Google & guns

[Dishevel]

You either forgot the sarcasm tags, or showed very well what's wrong in the USA.

You are so right. People should just stand by as those who wish to break the law do whatever they choose cause it would be evil to try and stop them. I really dislike nut jobs that think that if you play nice and give up all your power everyone else will play nice too.