GOOGLE’S MODULAR, SHIPPING CONTAINER DATA CENTERS

Almost everyone reading this is likely aware that Google is the most popular search engine out there. In fact, I’m pretty sure you came across this article by typing something in to Google. The beauty of the search engine is that it can make available any information you’re looking for in a fraction of a second.

To be able to do this, information is stored securely on servers that are always running. For storage efficiency, many servers are stored together in one place, called a data center. Every server in every data center has electricity running through it, which heats up mechanical components like wires and resistors. This environment heats up very quickly so data centers must meet strict regulations in terms of ventilation, cooling and interior volume.

Being the forward thinking company that it is, Google looked to shipping containers to improve their server storage abilities. Welcome Google’s newest modular data centers!

The modular data center is a storage facility built out of 45 shipping containers, each of which can house more than 1,000 servers. It features advanced climate control that maintains the temperature at under 28 degrees using an advanced water system. The shipping containers used are 40’ high cube units that are organized on two levels.

This is just another application for shipping containers that proves how innovative and useful they are! Google commented that these modular data center cost much less than conventional data centers and are also much more energy efficient. Consider for a second that the modular design makes it possible easily and to quickly disassemble the data center and relocate it closer to users. The closer it is to users, the faster they, we, can access information online.

The best part? Google built their first modular data center in 2005! That’s more than a decade ago which means they saw an opportunity in shipping containers before many others. Today, Google has patents surrounding different parts of the data centers but it’s still very cool to see what they were able to accomplish.

Is it time to consider how your day to day can be improved with the use of shipping containers?