Top 10 Data Center Stories, November 2013

Ubiquity Eyes Turning Sears Auto Centers into Data Centers - Nov 14 - Ubiquity Critical Environments is considering plans to build a national chain of IT facilities by converting dozens of Sears Auto Center stores into data centers. The data center initiative is one of several options being considered as Sears pursues a strategy for its fleet of Sears Auto Centers.

Facebook Ops: Each Staffer Manages 20,000 Servers - Nov 20 - Each Facebook data center operations staffer can manage at least 20,000 servers, according to Delfina Eberly, Director of Data Center Operations at Facebook.

Dunking for Density: New Projects Pursue 3M’s Take on Immersion Cooling - Nov 13 - We're continuing to see new examples of immersion cooling at meaningful scale. Last year, we offered an early look at an immersion cooling technique developed by 3M known as open bath immersion. Here's an update on some projects using this technology.

Microsoft Will Use Fuel Cells to Create Self-Powered Racks - Nov 12 - Microsoft wants to bring power generation inside the rack, and make data centers cheaper and greener in the process. The company says it will test racks with built-in fuel cells, a move that would eliminate the need for expensive power distribution systems seen in traditional data centers.

Report: Google Mystery Barge A Party Boat, Not A Data Center - Nov 1 - That mysterious "Google Barge" in the San Francisco Bay? It's apparently not a water-based data center, but a Google Glass promotion featuring high-tech showrooms and a "party deck."

Windows Azure, Xbox Live Experience Problems as Xbox One Launches - Nov 22 - Xbox One launch day turned out to be a rough ride for the Windows Azure cloud computing service, which helps power Xbox Live. The platform was plagued by problems for much of Thursday, including storage and network issues.

Google Data Center Investment in Finland Tops $1 Billion USD - Nov 4 - Google purchased a 60-year-old paper mill in Finland, which it has converted into one of its most modern, efficient data centers worldwide, and its now investing an additional EUR450 million (about 608 million in USD) to continue expansion of the facility.

LinkedIn Expands With Texas Data Center - Nov 6 - LinkedIn, the social network for business, continues to expand its data center infrastructure to support its rapid growth. The company signed a $116 million, 11-year lease for a large chunk of data center space in Dallas.

Why The Hybrid Cloud is Gaining in Popularity - Nov 21 - What’s the driving force behind the hybrid cloud boom? What is causing the blurring of the cloud line? Bill Kleyman looks at why hybrid clouds are gaining in popularity.

HP, Fidelity Say Modular Designs Are Enterprise-Ready - Nov 19 - Modular designs are driving significant cost savings in creating mission-critical data centers at Fidelity Investments and HP, who say their experience demonstrates that modular designs are ready to deliver high availability for enterprise workloads.