Doctorow datakeskustest ja Google’i serverilaevastik
Cory Doctorow kirjutas hiljuti Nature’i jaoks pikema loo datakeskustest, mis teevad võimalikuks infovahetuse ja säilitamise kogustes, mis vaid mõned aastad tagasi oleks tundunud absurdne. Andmemahu kasv ja selle säilitamise vajadused on aga tinginud olukorra, kus serverite majutamiseks ehitatakse hooneid, kus osa ruumi on juba ette tühjaks planeeritud, et järgmise põlvkonna riistvara oleks kuskile võimalik paigutada:
When Butcher was tasked with building the Sanger’s data farm he decided to implement a sort of crop rotation. A quarter of the data centre — 250 square metres — is empty, waiting for the day when the centre needs to upgrade to an entirely new generation of machines. When that day comes, Butcher and his team will set up in that empty space the yet-to-be-specified systems for power, cooling and the rest of it. Once the new centre is up, they’ll be able to shift operations from the obsolete old centre in sections, dismantling and rebuilding without a service interruption, leaving a new patch of the floor fallow — in anticipation of doing it all again in a distressingly short space of time.
Juttu tuleb veel sellest, mis on vajalik terve interneti arhiveerimiseks, kuidas andmeid pikemas perspektiivis säilitada ja kuidas üldse andmete säilitamise lahendused praktikas kokku pannakse nii, et ka nende jahutus on tagatud. Doctorow on täiesti omas elemendis ja tulemus on valgustav.
Artiklis tuleb päris mitmel korra juttu ka Google’ist ja nende üle maailma laiali puistatud serveritest. Sellega seoses väärib mainimist üks Google’i hiljutine patent asjandusele nimega “water-based data center”:
The idea is that Google would create mobile data center platforms out at sea by stacking containers filled with servers, storage systems and networking gear on barges or other platforms.
This would let Google push computing centers closer to people in some regions where it’s not feasible, cost-effective or as efficient to build a data center on land. In short, Google brings the data closer to you, and then the data arrives at a quicker clip.
Perhaps even more intriguing to some, Google has theorized about powering these ocean data centers with energy gained just from water splashing against the side of the barges.
Arvestades seda, et Google on viimasel ajal enda datakeskuseid rajanud veekogude äärde just soodsama jahutuse tõttu, siis merele kolimine oli vist järgmine loogiline samm.
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