When big companies like Facebook and Google come up with and implement a new design for a data center, they usually keep the blueprints under lock and key. The efficiency and speed of such data centers is vital to the success of their business.
Facebook has announced that it will share the design secrets behind its new energy-efficient data centre with rival companies. On April 7, 2011, they revealed their plan to release the complete design to the public under a program called the Open Compute Project. This could be revolutionary because it would allow other companies to also benefit from the increased efficiency by adopting the design.
The social network's facility in Prineville, Oregon is said to use 38% less power than existing centres. It hopes, by making make the innovations public, to cut the amount of electricity the industry consumes. Despite Facebook's advances, some environmental groups have criticised the firm over its green credentials. Working under the title "Open Compute Project", Facebook will release specifications and mechanical drawings of the building and its servers. "It's time to stop treating data centres like Fight Club [do not talk about them]," said Jonathan Heiliger, the company's vice president of technical operations. His comments are likely to be interpreted as a dig at other web firms, such as Google, Twitter and Amazon which have kept their own designs under wraps.
Until now, Facebook has paid to lease its servers and storage space from other companies.
Facebook has announced that it will share the design secrets behind its new energy-efficient data centre with rival companies. On April 7, 2011, they revealed their plan to release the complete design to the public under a program called the Open Compute Project. This could be revolutionary because it would allow other companies to also benefit from the increased efficiency by adopting the design.
The social network's facility in Prineville, Oregon is said to use 38% less power than existing centres. It hopes, by making make the innovations public, to cut the amount of electricity the industry consumes. Despite Facebook's advances, some environmental groups have criticised the firm over its green credentials. Working under the title "Open Compute Project", Facebook will release specifications and mechanical drawings of the building and its servers. "It's time to stop treating data centres like Fight Club [do not talk about them]," said Jonathan Heiliger, the company's vice president of technical operations. His comments are likely to be interpreted as a dig at other web firms, such as Google, Twitter and Amazon which have kept their own designs under wraps.
Until now, Facebook has paid to lease its servers and storage space from other companies.
