Google just had its ribbon cutting ceremony for its new data center in Lenoir, NC. Data Center Knowledge reports on how tight security was.
Google held a ceremony yesterday to mark the official opening of its $600 million data center project in Lenoir, North Carolina. The band played Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever" and curious local residents dined on barbecue, beans, hushpuppies and cole slaw. North Carolina Governor Mike Easley joined local officials and Google managers for a ribbon cutting.
But there was no tour of the facility, as Google continued its practice of tight information control about its data center facilities. The Charlotte Observer reported that guests attending the event had to pass through seven separate security guard checks.
Clint Boulton of eWeek's Google Watch blog, who was apparently the only reporter from a technology publication invited to attend, also noted the tight security. "On the drive in, I was stopped, in this order, by: 1) a Google security guard 2) a state trooper 3) another Google security guard 4) yet another Google security guard and 5) if you guess it, you get the prize," Clint writes.
And, on the same day. TechNet Edge posts another interview with Mike Manos on Microosft's Chicago Data Center using containers, showing an animated inside tour.
Mike Manos on Data Centers
Posted By: Adam Bomb | May 21st @ 12:01 AM
http://edge.technet.com/Media/Mike-Manos-on-Data-Centers/
Every time I talk with Mike, I come away with a new appreciation for what it means to manage a big data center. I used to think a 20,000 machine installation was big, but Mike can add that many servers in a month. Mike's been busy on the conference circuit lately talking about green datacenters, and he's been vocal about the recent move Microsoft made to container-based data centers. In our Chicago facility, a truck drives up and drops off a 40' shipping container, preloaded with 2000 servers. The container is plugged in to Ethernet, power, and cooling and is ready to power on and go. Mike has a nice animated tour of the facility that he shows around the 10 minute mark. He also talks about the challenges of measuring efficiency in the data center and deciding when is the right time to virtualize workloads. You can keep up with Mike's adventures in data center on his blog.
Could there be any more opposite data center communication events on the same day?