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How Google Cools Its 1 Million Servers

Posted by timothy on from the lots-of-misters dept.

1sockchuck writes "As Google showed the world its data centers this week, it disclosed one of its best-kept secrets: how it cools its custom servers in high-density racks. All the magic happens in enclosed hot aisles, including supercomputer-style steel tubing that transports water — sometimes within inches of the servers. How many of those servers are there? Google has deployed at least 1 million servers, according to Wired, which got a look inside the company's North Carolina data center. The disclosures accompany a gallery of striking photos by architecture photographer Connie Zhou, who discusses the experience and her approach to the unique assignment."

6 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. I always thought by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    they use the chilling effect from all those DMCA notices they receive.

  2. Google faked some of the pictures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Google faked at least one picture. Take a look at this picture.

    The left-hand side is exact copy of the right-hand side. Take a look at the details: The halos from the lights and the texts in the white labels.

    1. Re:Google faked some of the pictures by swillden · · Score: 5, Informative

      Google faked at least one picture. Take a look at this picture.

      The left-hand side is exact copy of the right-hand side. Take a look at the details: The halos from the lights and the texts in the white labels.

      If you read the link with the interview with the photographer you'll find that she's into heavy post-production editing. Arguably, *all* of the images are "faked" to some extent. She takes many shots of each scene and layers them together selectively to get the effect she wants. She clones out stuff she doesn't want (e.g. she mentions removing an exit sign) and clones in stuff she feels is needed to make the image symmetric, and therefore more beautiful. She doesn't worry about barrel, pincushion and perspective distortion in the original shots and does heavy correction of the final images to straighten the lines and make the angles pleasing to the eye. She shot almost all of the images with long exposures in a darkened room, which makes the relatively small LEDs appear to glow intensely and makes their cast light powerful enough to be very visible when in reality it's not very visible at all.

      In short, she's interested in beauty more than in fidelity, and does whatever it takes to achieve it. Personally, I think her results are fantastic.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  3. Oblig: Series of tubes by stevegee58 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So Ted Stevens (may he rest in peace) was right! It really *is* a series of tubes!

  4. Re:Immersion Would Be Better For the Environment by DigiShaman · · Score: 5, Informative

    As been discussed before, the problem with immersion is the serviceability of the hardware by human hands. Even mineral oil can pose a safety issue in which a technician slips and breaks his/her neck on the floor. Not to mention it's just messy all around. Over time, liquids of any form work their way (via surface tension) in all sorts of places you don't want them being.

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  5. Re:Nah by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 5, Interesting
    No, they have an OCD photographer:

    I’m obsessed with everything being symmetrical for all my work, so I cloned over the left servers to the right side. It just bothered me that there would be a hole when usually servers would be there. I wanted it to look beautiful, and symmetry is beautiful to me.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20