I’ve been trading some email with other data center people and they are disappointed that the Microsoft Dublin Green Data Center is getting better coverage than Microsoft’s Container Data Center.
Why? Two main points.
1) I would say the media team did a better job of having content for the European press in Dublin, than the US press for Containers. See the EMEA web site http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/pressreleases/DublinDataCentrePR_240909.mspx I can’t find anything on the US site for Containers.
2) Also, having two data center press events back to back almost guaranteed the second one will get less coverage.
Here is Rich Miller’s Container Data Center coverage.
Microsoft Unveils Its Container-Powered Cloud
September 30th, 2009 : Rich Miller
A look at one of the double-decker data center containers housed at the massive new Microsoft data center near Chicago. The facility includes both raised-floor space and plug-n-play bays for containers packed with servers.
As the bay door opens at Microsoft’s enormous new Chicago data center, the future backs in on a trailer. Forty-foot long containers packed with servers are unloaded with winches, and stacked two-high onto “air skates” that float on compressed air. Using the air skates, as few as four employees can move the 60-ton stack into place in Microsoft’s “container canyon” in the lower floor of the facility in Northlake, Ill.
Rich has two entries on Dublin.
http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2009/09/24/microsofts-chiller-less-data-center/
Microsoft’s Chiller-less Data Center
September 24th, 2009 : Rich Miller
An aerial view showing rooftop air handlers at Microsoft's Dublin data center, which opens today. (Image: Microsoft Corp.)
Microsoft has joined Google on the new frontier of energy efficiency – the chiller-less data center. Microsoft today announced that its huge facility in Dublin, Ireland is running without any chillers. Outside air is drawn into the facility to cool the thousands of servers powering the company’s “Live” suite of online services for users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2009/09/28/gallery-microsofts-dublin-data-center/
Gallery: Microsoft’s Dublin Data Center
September 28th, 2009 : Rich Miller
The exterior of the new energy-efficient Microsoft data center in Dublin, Ireland.
Microsoft’s new data center in Dublin will power much of the company’s global cloud computing operation, while using far less energy and water than typically consumed in other data centers of this scale. We’ve put together a photo gallery offers a closer look at the design innovations driving its efficiency, including photos of the server room and data center interior and a diagram of the free cooling system. See our photo feature,Inside Microsoft’s Dublin Mega Data Center.
News.com has nice picture and a promise for more.
Microsoft's Chicago data center offers a merge of old and new techniques. The ground floor features sealed containers with tightly packed racks of servers, while the second floor houses more traditional server rooms.
(Credit: Microsoft)
