How Do Data Centers Connect to the Internet?
Nowadays, we cannot imagine our lives without the Internet. The web has firmly b...
As we know, server equipment is stored in special server racks. The number of accommodated furniture may differ depending on the rack size. For example, huge 42U racks can house twice more equipment than 22U models. However, in any case, system administrators will require a separate room and dozens of cabinets to accommodate 1 million servers.
Who needs such spacious data centers? Huge enterprises that require big power and capacity need such premises. These are companies that deal with computing technologies, search engines, large-scale online marketplaces, etc.
Now, you know how many servers Google and other famous brands have. The giants of the high-tech industry can’t go without their own DCs. The leading corporations develop high-computing powerful systems to ensure the best possible functioning and performance.
The company has 7 DCs scattered all over the world. In total, these premises host 1.5 million servers. Starting from 2008, the brand has spent over $86 million on the development and management of DCs. Note that to provide customers with cloud document storage possibilities, 40 000 servers are used.
The company developed its first DC long in 1989. The premise occupied 89 000 square feet. Since that time, over $23 billion has been spent on DCs, their rearrangement, performance, and maintenance. In 2006, a 500,000-sq. feet building was left for the company’s DC. In 2013, the company got its ownership of the building that cost $112 million and designed it as a new DC. Nowadays, Microsoft has several data centers that accommodate over 4 million servers.
Google is the largest world-known enterprise in datum processing and storage. The data farms of this giant of the Internet industry are scattered on different continents throughout the world. Note that the brand pays particular attention to environmental friendliness; thus, its centers meet the standards set by international ‘green’ documents. Some buildings were leased and rearranged. These are farms located in the Finnish city of Hamina. Google spent $350 million to buy and refurbish these public buildings. The main peculiarity of the facility is that for sufficient cooling and uninterruptible operation, the icy waters of the Gulf of Finland are used here – this is what the paper factory building was needed for because paper production also uses a huge amount of water.
Today, Google has 14 data centers scattered around the world. Eight of them are on the USA territory, one is found in South America, two are in Asia, and four are in Europe. Most data farms occupy 200 000 and more square feet and house servers in several buildings. So, you can imagine how many server racks Google has in its server farm.
YouTube was founded in 2005 and has been owned by Google since October 2006. Since then, the platform has grown significantly and become one of the most popular in the world. Every day, millions of users upload and watch videos on YouTube, making it an essential part of internet culture.
How many servers YouTube has remains a mystery. The exact number is not publicly known, but it’s undoubtedly vast. YouTube handles billions of video views daily, serving content to millions of users worldwide.
The infrastructure involves distributed data centers, cloud technologies, and complex algorithms to process and deliver content quickly. Every time we watch a video, a sophisticated system of servers and networks works to provide smooth playback.
However, note that although its DCs consume a lot of energy and require 62 Megawatts, the brand is recognized to be the ‘greenest’ enterprise. The enterprise is concentrated on green-energy power sources that power large DCs.
The company stands as a leading brand in the domain of social networks. Its audience totals over 1 billion users. To process information and provide a high speed of connection, the company requires high power. Thus, a team of experienced system administrators and developers has created a large-scale data center that occupies 62 000 square feet. If you don’t know how many data centers Facebook has, Facebook has 30 000 server racks and cabinets. Furniture accommodates dozens of servers and consumes around 8 Kilowatts of power each.
The object was developed in 1999 in Chicago. To generate the required power and provide sufficient cooling, 8.5 million gallons of fluid is used per year. The premise occupies the territory of 1.1 mln sq ft.
Having been developed in 1954, the center was based in Atlanta and catered to a government institution. The premise takes up the territory of 990 000 square feet. In 2000, a telecom company leased the building to provide clients with high-power IT services. The object consumes 80 Megawatts of power, and this is not its whole potential. If investing more money, it is possible to update the DC and achieve even higher capacity.
Having been constructed in 2001, the center took 750 000 sq ft and catered to over 180 enterprises as a centralized infrastructure.
This object has already been mentioned above. Microsoft got a 700 000 sq ft facility in 1999 and rearranged it to be used as a data center. Note that 40 cabinets are installed inside; each of them is capable of carrying and accommodating 2 000 servers. To cool such a huge system and avoid its overheating, 8.5 mln gallons of fluid are required.
This DC is remarkable due to its ‘green’ features. Note that despite the occupied territory of 550 000 sq ft, it fairly doesn’t consume non-renewable energy sources. Only 1% of water is used to cool a huge system. The rest is given to renewable and green sources of energy.
Here’s another example of how DCs can be eco-friendly and meet the modern standards of green energy. The server farm is based in Phoenix and occupies 538 000 sq ft. Solar panels are installed on top of the buildings to generate power for the farm. Panels supply the center with 4.5 Megawatts of power.
This object covers the territory of 485 000 sq ft, runs on diesel generators, and consumes 32.2 Megawatts of power.
Here, we unite two server facilities located in San Antonio and Washington. Each of the farms covers the territory of 470 000 sq ft. 8 million gallons of water are required per month to provide sufficient cooling at each facility. Yet, liquid is further recycled to make centers environmental-friendly and achieve effective performance.
The facility occupies 470 000 sq ft and is capable of accommodating 7 000 server cabinets. Its capacity is 250 Megawatts of power.
So, as you see, the world giants of the telecom industry have huge farms that house thousands of servers, consume a lot of power, and generate impressive capacities. In this example, you can judge how big computing systems can be and how difficult it is to maintain them. That is why it is important to arrange data center efficiency correctly.
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Servers in companies are typically stored in specialized facilities called data centers.
Companies need such large data centers to ensure fast access to data, process vast amounts of information, and provide reliability and security for their services.
Regarding who has the most servers in the world, major players in this context are Amazon, Microsoft and Google.
The renowned companies use automated management systems to maintain their vast server fleets. Answering the question about Amazon number of servers, it’s estimated that Amazon has over 1.5 million servers.
Examples of technologies and innovations used by these companies to handle their server loads efficiently include advanced cooling systems, automated power management, and software for load balancing.