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There are a few things we know about Google data centers:
1. They cost $600 million.
2. They employ 200 people.
3. They open with a down-home ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring politicians, oversized scissors, a local band, balloons, and a tent stocked with "Googley treats."
The latest such hoedown was held on October 7 at Google's new data center near Goose Creek in Berkeley County, South Carolina. In addition to the governor and the mayor, the event was attended by a passel of reporters and a lucky group of 50 local citizens who won a lottery for invitations. The Digitel has a video of the proceedings, and Heather of Lowcountry Bloggers offers a report:
I have lived in Berkeley County most of my life and was pleased to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony for Google's new data center located between Goose Creek and Moncks Corner in Mt. Holly Business Park.
People have asked why Berkeley County? It all comes down to money and resources. South Carolina and Berkeley County officials were willing to negotiate; {local electric utility] Santee Cooper played a big role ensuring enough electricity would be available (at a reasonable rate) ...
Attendees of today's event were treated to bluegrass, food, live demonstrations of Google's products, speeches, and of course the ribbon cutting.
There were a few curmudgeons in the audience, needless to say. Joshua Curry, of the Charleston City Paper, offered a particularly dyspeptic take on the celebration:
What a letdown ... I was stoked to drive up there hoping to see the latest in high tech facilities, ie racks and racks of servers silently blinking and digesting data. I'll admit it, I geek out on that kind stuff. Because I like to see how things work, no matter how banal it may seem to other eyes. The problem was, they didn't let anybody inside. No photos, not even a peek. I asked at least five different people who were connected to that kind of access in some way and was politely told 'no', followed by a Google smile.
The Google smile is a happy go lucky California kind of vibe that cloaks a complete distance from the rest of the world. It says "I can't tell you anything about what I do or see and my stock is vesting soon. Enjoy the festivities." It seems taken directly from that Star Trek episode where everyone gets "absorbed", "Are you of the body? Peace and tranquility to you."
Total buzzkill. Clearly, Joshua Curry did not ingest a sufficient number of Googley treats.
But if you scroll down through Curry's post, you'll be treated to some sweet data-center porn, including photos of the center's liquid cooling system and a row of backup generators that, writes Curry, "could probably power the whole county."
Rich Miller, the Larry Flynt of data-center porn, has some more photos of the new center, which indicate that it has a different design than earlier Google centers. Noting that some of the ground floor appears to consist of a large undivided space open to the elements, Miller suggests that the center, like Google's other new center, in Lenoir, North Carolina, may have been built to accommodate server-packed shipping containers. If Miller's right, the Carolina plants would seem to mark a new generation of Google server farms.
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