eek! Somewhere beyond those waters lies Azure…
I had the great fortune to be on a bus tour of the Microsoft Quincy Data Center (way outside Seattle, WA) earlier this month. I’ve done my fair share of data center walkthroughs (usually when my code didn’t work and we had to fix at the server), but this time was a treat. In anticipation, I read Michael Manos’s blog. Specifically the entry on “Gen 2” and “Gen 4” data centers: Our Vision for Generation 4 Modular Data Centers - One way of Getting it just right . . .
An excerpt (emphasis mine)…
We soon realized that traditional data centers were quickly becoming outdated. They were not keeping up with the demands of what was happening technologically and environmentally. That’s when we kicked off our Generation 2 design. Gen 2 facilities started taking into account sustainability, energy efficiency, and really looking at the total cost of energy and operations. No longer did we view data centers just for the upfront capital costs, but we took a hard look at the facility over the course of its life. Our Quincy, Washington and San Antonio, Texas facilities are examples of our Gen 2 data centers where we explored and implemented new ways to lessen the impact on the environment. These facilities are considered two leading industry examples, based on their energy efficiency and ability to run and operate at new levels of scale and performance by leveraging clean hydro power (Quincy) and recycled waste water (San Antonio) to cool the facility during peak cooling months
It was really cool to see the Quincy set up. I cannot say much more about what I saw but through some hand waving was pointed in the general direction of servers that may be running Azure :)
If you don’t have time to read Michael Manos’s blog entry, do scan it for the link to the concept video on a “Generation 4” Data Center as envisioned by Microsoft. Cool stuff. The containers in the video are part of CBlox Computing. Here’s a presentation from WinHEC 2008 that explains what CBlox is all about. The slide deck also explains what PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) is and how it is computed. So you’ll appreciate the key driver that Michael Manos calls out in his blog entry:
A key driver is our goal to achieve an average PUE at or below 1.125 by 2012 across our data centers.
P.S. The good folks who hosted us are Global Foundation Services – check out this PDC 2008 video (Data Centers and Resilient Services) on things they think about.