Visited my first data center today

[HeroOfPellinor]

You know, that kind of alkaline smell of computers....except magnified over several thousand racks of 1U servers. What is that?

Also, that place was so fricking cool! I'm thinking of colocating a server or two.

 

[potato28]

That 'new' smell? I don't know if it's bad for you, but it smells too good to be good

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Which one did you go to and did you feel like you were walking inside of a fridge?

 

[m1ldslide1]

Yeah it's that whole plastic and metal smell. Smells like 'new' electronics to me also. I kind of like it.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I love the smell of plastic and metal, and the hum of hundreds of cooling fans running at the same time.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Which one did you go to and did you feel like you were walking inside of a fridge?

It was Herakles, a Tier 4 DC in Sacramento. It was actually nice inside.....I'd guess probably around 66°.

Yeah, I don't mind the smell, I was just wondering what it was.

 

[spidey07]

Electricity/clean air.

 

[FoBoT]

it is the smell of the internets, running through the pipes in the computers

 

[RossMAN]

Which data center?

 

[aplefka]

Sacramento has a data center? Lived there my whole life up til a few months ago and never knew that.

 

[Rogodin2]

Many of the newer datacenters use external air intake to cut the power costs.

When we power up new cabinets there is the distinctive computer smell, but it doesn't last long.

Glad you had some fun

Rogo

 

[legoman666]

Love that smell.

 

[Unheard]

It's the network monkeys BO.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: aplefka
Sacramento has a data center? Lived there my whole life up til a few months ago and never knew that.

Several really nice ones actually.

Herakles and RagingWire are both near Frys and Arco Arena and are Tier 4 which, as far as I know, is the best you can be. They were constructed, apparently, right before the dot com bubble burst so they spared no expense assuming they'd snag a nice chunk of all that venture capital being flung about. Even though the bubble burst, the data center business held. Really impressive inside......there's a control center that looks like part of NASA, access is by cardpass and biometrics, 24' ceilings. They give tours of the facilities.

They have a pair of OC3 connections which I assume is plenty cause some people in there have their own connections.

 

[Leros]

What is a data center? Is it a collection of servers owned by a hosting company or is there something more to it?

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Data centers can be classified by Tiers, with Tier 1 being the most basic and inexpensive, and Tier 4 being the most robust and costly. According to definitions from the Uptime Institute and TIA-942 (Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers), a Tier 1 data center is not required to have redundant power and cooling infrastructures. It needs only a lock for security and can tolerate up to 28.8 hours of downtime per year. In contrast, a Tier 4 data center must have redundant systems for power and cooling, with multiple distribution paths that are active and fault tolerant. Furthermore, access should be controlled with biometric readers and single-person entryways, gaseous fire suppression is required, the cabling infrastructure should have a redundant backbone, and the facility can permit no more than 0.4 hours of downtime per year."

http://www.panduit.com/enabling_technologies/091903.asp

 

[Chronoshock]

Probably the smell of ozone

 

[frostedflakes]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
it is the smell of the internets, running through the pipes in the computers

LOL.

"The internet... is a series of tubes."
-Sen Ted Stevens, a man well ahead of his time :laugh:

By the way, isn't the smell ozone?

EDIT: Beat me to it chrono.

EDIT 2: Just noticed this was my 1000th post. Go me!

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: Leros
What is a data center? Is it a collection of servers owned by a hosting company or is there something more to it?

Actually, hosting companies are one type of client of data centers..........as are individual corporations.

The purpose of a data center is to give you a safe, secure environment with guaranteed always-on power and Internet connectivity.

 

[Captante]

I too like that smell, however much like the smell of a new car I can't help but think its got to be bad for you.

 

[Rogodin2]

What is a data center? Is it a collection of servers owned by a hosting company or is there something more to it?

That is a very good question you've asked Leros.

Large corporations like Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft create the properties that 'are' the 'internet'.

Rogo

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Rogodin2

What is a data center? Is it a collection of servers owned by a hosting company or is there something more to it?

That is a very good question you've asked Leros.

Large corporations like Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft create the properties that 'are' the 'internet'.

Rogo

Is that where I can "download the internets"?

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Rogodin2

What is a data center? Is it a collection of servers owned by a hosting company or is there something more to it?

That is a very good question you've asked Leros.

Large corporations like Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft create the properties that 'are' the 'internet'.

Rogo

Is that where I can "download the internets"?

From what I've gathered, the "internets" are a physical thing and we must resort to old school theft to get them.

 

[Rogodin2]

Is that where I can "download the internets"?

There is a mandatory password for internets downloads. The password rythms with flamethrow.

Rogo

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: Leros
What is a data center?

A center for data.