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The New Data Center Capital of America

Posted by samzenpus on from the new-look dept.

crimeandpunishment writes "Move over Silicon Valley, here comes... Buffalo. Where the weather might actually be a big advantage. The recent opening of Yahoo's state-of-the-art data center, which uses the region's cooler climate and a high-tech 'chicken coop' design to dramatically lower energy costs is getting a lot of attention in the industry."

14 of 162 comments (clear)

  1. Buffalo, New York by iYk6 · · Score: 2, Informative

    For those who are curious, the article is about data centers in Buffalo, New York, and not one of the other many Buffalos in the USA.

    1. Re:Buffalo, New York by catbutt · · Score: 4, Informative

      Buffalo NY has over 250,000 population. The next highest I can find is about 4000.

      So I'm confused as to why you think anyone would be confused.

  2. They don't have NIAGARA FALLS though by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    So, per my subject-line above? Yes folks: We "upstate N.Y.'ers" can thank the GREAT Nikola Tesla for his creation of the Niagara Falls power turbine system (sends power as far as to NY City too, afaik/iirc)...

    That cheap power? It was "part of the package" they used to attract YAHOO & others, along with tax incentives & plenty of cheap land: CHEAP electrical power via "hydro-power"!!!

    APK

    1. Re:They don't have NIAGARA FALLS though by freesword · · Score: 2, Informative

      So, per my subject-line above? Yes folks: We "upstate N.Y.'ers" can thank the GREAT Nikola Tesla for his creation of the Niagara Falls power turbine system (sends power as far as to NY City too, afaik/iirc)...

      That cheap power? It was "part of the package" they used to attract YAHOO & others, along with tax incentives & plenty of cheap land: CHEAP electrical power via "hydro-power"!!!

      APK

      I grew up in Buffalo. I know first hand that electricity there is anything but cheap. Most of the electricity produced at Niagara Falls goes east to NYC and points in between. This is because those areas will pay a higher premium for that "cheap" electricity. If YAHOO is getting cheap electricity it's because they aren't paying the going market rate for the area.

  3. Yeah, right. by Animats · · Score: 4, Informative

    First off, where did they get that picture of a bunch of mini-tower machines on steel shelving, each with one Ethernet cable, one power cord, and one console connection, sitting on raised floor? That looks like clip art of some data center circa 1998. Here's the actual Yahoo data center in Lockport, which, as you'd expect, is a big farm of 1U rackmounts. The "chicken coop" design is simply a low-cost prefabricated metal building with lots of ventilation grills. Looks like something ordered out of the Butler Buildings catalog.

    Yahoo got $9 million in grants and 10 years of no taxes for this. Yet it will employ only 125 people. Probably less, once it's running.

    Lockport is desperate. The big employer in town, Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems (formerly Harrison Radiator) had 6000 employees a decade ago. Now it has 2100, and has been threatened with closure several times.

    1. Re:Yeah, right. by afidel · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, they would normally pay property tax which is based on the book value of the physical assets at the site. For a large datacenter that's a LOT of capital and hence lots of taxable land value.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  4. better link by hex0D · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/092010-yahoo-opens-chicken-coop-green.html although the original link does a great job of showcasing local boosterism in a rust belt town feverishly hopeful for a better future ('Yay! 100 jobs! Some interest! The town is saved, paw'!), this link actually has details more likely to be of interest to a slashdot reader. The long and narrow design placed in consideration of prevailing winds seems clever, sure, but I don't get the big deal over it. Maybe using common sense really is so rare as to be considered innovative.

  5. Re:yes...build it in an earthquake zone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    you have to be kidding me. the earthquake you linked happened in canada:

    "The midday earthquake measured a magnitude of 5.0, and while centered 35 miles outside the Canadian capital of Ottawa, it sent tremors through Western New York and at least eight U.S. states. Locally, the rumbling rattled residents from Springville to Lewiston."

    buffalo is hardly an active earthquake zone

  6. Re:Buffalo? by Soul-Burn666 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Actually it's confused buffaloes as the animal, not Buffalonians.

    On that matter, I hate confusing people.

    --
    ^_^
  7. Re:Buffalo? by skine · · Score: 2, Informative

    A buffalo can be defined as either the animal, or a person who is buffaloed - hence a confused person.

  8. Re:What about... by dosius · · Score: 2, Informative

    Lockport's in Niagara County. We in Niagara County don't get the storms that bury Buffalo and especially the Southern Tier under 7 feet of snow every year like clockwork. Once Buffalo got stomped and Sanborn (where I went to college, just a couple miles west of Lockport) was still green.

    -uso.

    --
    What you hear in the ear, preach from the rooftop Matthew 10.27b
  9. Re:Buffalo has good ping times by inode_buddha · · Score: 3, Informative

    Did you know that some MAJOR fiber runs through this area? One of the original ARPAnet backbones runs directly under Transit Rd. in Lockport en route to UB where they are doing a lot of human genome crunching. UB was one of the original 5 ARPAnet sites. In Buffalo itself, the financial services and medical sectors are boming, along with insurance. There's *plenty* of IT and internet here. Most of my packets go through there and then get zinged out to NYC via Rochester. They go from Rochester down to Washington, and make a round trip from there.

    --
    C|N>K
  10. Re:Not as cool as it used to be by echucker · · Score: 2, Informative

    Trust me, Orleans County will take anything it can get. It's a rural county, and Albion isn't exactly a thriving metropolis.

  11. Re:Why stop at Buffalo? by jeff4747 · · Score: 2, Informative

    NYC and Boston are 7 and 8 hours away from Buffalo. You wouldn't be traveling to NYC to visit your data center in Buffalo.