In case you hadn’t heard, we’re making a very big datacenter in Quincy, WA. Here’s a video on some of the build out work that we’ve been doing:
Introduction to Microsoft’s Quincy Datacenter
To add to this, there was recently a very interesting article about building & maintaining datacenters in Technet. Using our new Quincy Datacenter as the example, we discussed the many things we learned from the build experience.
Examples of data glanced from the video:
- Our Quincy datacenter consumes about 11 MW
- We have about 78,000 servers used by Live Search, and about 18,000 servers used by Hotmail.
- Datacenter utilization doubled in the last six months.
Energy Efficiency in the Microsoft Quincy Datacenter
Here’s a key excerpt from the article:
<taken from Technet Magazine’s article by Dave Ohara>
Steve Ballmer discussed how the Datacenter Group at Microsoft is making efforts to develop sustainable datacenters and share the best practices it learns in the process.
A major example of these efforts is the Microsoft datacenter located in Quincy, WA—the facility is powered entirely by hydroelectricity. And the facility is sizeable. If you walked around one complete building (there are currently two buildings, with more being built over time), including the space for IT, power and cooling equipment, the receiving area, and the office space, you would travel 1.3 miles.
I recently had a chance to take a tour of the Quincy datacenter, and now I get to share some of the methods used in building and operating a sustainable datacenter.
In the first installment of this column, I introduced the idea of "Putting IT on a Diet" (see http://technet.microsoft.com/magazine/cc462802). This concept, as well as other key elements of environmental sustainability, can be found in how Microsoft designs and operates its datacenters. Here is a look at eight strategies Microsoft employs to make the most out of every bit of energy the Quincy datacenter consumes.
1. Modular and Efficient
2. Phased Building
3. Find the Sweet Spot
4. Organize for Collaboration
5. Monitor and Report
6. Efficient Commissioning
7. Prepare for High Loads
8. Reduce Water Use
Wrapping Up
Read more here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc546560(TechNet.10).aspx
kurtsh
Kurt Shintaku's Blog 