“We knew that Apple was building a pair of new data centers close to Facebook’s operation in Prineville, Oregon,” Robert McMillan reports for Wired. “But we didn’t realize just how close they were until we sent a plane over Oregonian high desert.”
“The notoriously secretive Apple is especially secretive about its data centers. So while Google and Facebook have opened up their doors to Wired reporters over the past year, Apple has not only rolled up the welcome mat. They’ve disconnected the front doorbell,” McMillan reports. “That’s what forced us to take to the skies. In April, we published our first overhead shots of Apple’s Maiden, North Carolina, data center, and a few weeks ago, we sent our iSpy plane over Prineville, where Apple has just broken ground on a $68 million data center, just down the road from Facebook.”
McMillan reports, “Apple finished [their tactical data center] earlier this year, but just south of it, you can see what will be the site of its much larger 338,000-square-foot data center. Apple wants to eventually build two of these monster data centers on the 160-acre site, but right now, there’s no sign of the second facility.”
Read more, and see the aerial photos, in the full article here.
[Attribution: MacRumors. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Apple begins work on massive Prineville, Oregon data center – October 19, 2012
Apple gets 15-year property tax exemption for $250 million data center in Prineville, Oregon – April 20, 2012
Apple confirms plans for Prineville, Oregon data center; deal signed after state senate passed tax legislation – February 22, 2012
Apple eyes Prineville, Oregon site for huge data center – December 4, 2011
New aerial images of Apple’s planned NC fuel cell, solar farms published – April 7, 2012
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Apple patent application reveals next-gen fuel cell powered Macs and iOS devices – December 22, 2011
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Apple building huge solar farm around its billion-dollar North Carolina data center – October 26, 2011
Apple Data Center are Apple Unmanned Facilities.
DC is an undercover for Apples Skunk Works or Area51.
Only U.S. location may be fully safe. Asia is not.
Only building in the USA?
“Apple operates three other data centers: in Newark, California; in Maiden, North Carolina; and at the company’s Cupertino headquarters. Earlier this year, it started work on a fifth facility in Reno, Nevada.”
Really, only in the USA? Take a bigger look. With over $125 billion, I am sure that there is at least one on every continent. You just don’t know about it yet. But you will. I would first look over the Wall of China. I bet there is one in China and they can keep a secret when the right people are paid.
Why would Apple need so many data centers? They have no search engine and no infinite growth video service like Youtube. I sure as hell hope Apple is building that infrastructure for some future media content and they’d better be buying the best server equipment money can buy.
iTools 2000 – 2002
.Mac 2002-2008
MobileMe 2008-2011
iCloud 2011-Present
Personally, I’m quite tired of the parade of increasingly incompatible, increasingly restrictive, and decreasingly “Just Works” services. I have spent many whole afternoons trying to get everything in sync with iCloud. My results were having to use 3 different accounts to update software and the complete loss of all iCal events and Address Book entries.
I’m still looking for the “Just Works” part of Apple, unless they mean “Just work a couple more days over the holidays to fruitlessly work on their internally incompatible eco-system.” It “Just Works” for the Apple staff only because their customers do all of the work. It doesn’t “Just Work”
for anyone else.
In my world, a bigger server farm just means a bigger train wreck in 2 years (if they stick with their pattern). Don’t get too attached to iCloud… or any of your data on it!