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Data Storage Hardware

Huge Data Center Looks Like a Circuit Board 51

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the hopefully-the-inside-is-as-advanced-as-the-outside dept.
1sockchuck writes to share a look at Digital Beijing, the data center for the 2008 Olympics. The huge (1.05 million square feet) building was designed to resemble a circuit board from 2 sides and a barcode from the other 2 ground-viewable sides. Looks like the nighttime view of this monster is going to be pretty impressive.
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Huge Data Center Looks Like a Circuit Board More

Huge Data Center Looks Like a Circuit Board

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  • Bad planning (Score:5, Funny)

    by eln ( 21727 ) on Friday June 06, 2008 @04:21PM (#23686861)
    Unfortunately, they spent so much money building such an enormous and impressive data center that they have nothing left for servers. Therefore, the IT needs for the Olympic games will be served by a single Pentium II PC on the 8th floor. They are expected to have uptime rivaling that of such giants as Amazon.com.

  • Everyone knows that REAL data centers are dressed up to look like office buildings... perhaps with a conspicuous lack of parking.
  • the first image (the artists rendering i assume) where its glowing looks great, it made me think of how I'd visualize the Black Sun looking in Snow Crash's [wikipedia.org] metaverse. it will be impressive if they keep the idea throughout the insides as well.
  • I'm hoping the window washers don't cause a short on the damn thing.

  • Half Life 2 Reference? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by VeNoM0619 ( 1058216 ) on Friday June 06, 2008 @04:26PM (#23686963)
    Does this remind anyone of the Half Life 2 building? Where it was held loosely together with lots of gaps. Very cool nonetheless.

  • Being in China, I guess that PCB will be... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Ellis D. Tripp ( 755736 ) on Friday June 06, 2008 @04:28PM (#23686987) Homepage
    put together with plenty of lead in the solder, right?

    Now all they need are some counterfeit electrolytic caps puking their guts all over the windows for added effect.

  • It's a magebyte of square feet! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Hankapobe ( 1290722 ) on Friday June 06, 2008 @04:43PM (#23687205)
    1.05 million square feet

    1.05 million ~ 1,048,576 -> megabyte! Cool!

  • And once the Olympics are over... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by pillageplunder ( 183475 ) <tarntootaine&hotmail,com> on Friday June 06, 2008 @04:47PM (#23687247)
    As quoted in the article "then be used by the Beijing municipal government's data storage and emergency-response command."
    Really!? Like...that conjures up all kinds of thoughts in a paranoid mind. That is quite a lot of computing power for a major city to use by itself. (wink wink). Imagine all of the data connections that were once used for sporting news now being utilized for...GTA? Well, Buick and Cadillac sell some serious iron in China as well.

    A follow-on story after the games would be quite interesting to read.
  • Minitrue newbuilding doubleplusgood! Goodwise win chinsoc! Telescreen prolefeed doubleplusgood!
  • And the phrase "resistance is futile, you will be assimilated" isn't exactly unlike the People's Republic of China...

  • Nice building (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Alex Belits ( 437 ) * on Friday June 06, 2008 @05:31PM (#23687827) Homepage
    Let's write hundreds of responses decrying supposed oppressiveness of its look and purposes (compared to, say, Pentagon, a symbol of efficient, transparent and peace-loving government).
  • Reminds me a lot of the Davis Centre of the University of Waterloo, which was designed to look and feel like being in a computer. there's lots of cool photos on flickr [flickr.com] showing it, and a neat panorama of the inside. [flickr.com]
  • Most datacenters are in nondescript buildings. Why would you want to advertise that this building here is the uber datacenter for the entire olympics? I'd also love to know that in light of the recent earthquake what is the disaster recovery plan and site look like?

    • I'd also love to know that in light of the recent earthquake what is the disaster recovery plan and site look like?

      Head for the closest un-glassed window opening.

      Nice, I just realized a hidden pun in the pictures... The Chinese are refusing to use Windows.

    • Most datacenters are in nondescript buildings. Why would you want to advertise that this building here is the uber datacenter for the entire olympics?

      Blake: [races through the door] We've done it! We've done it! We've done it! I've done it!
      [into an empty room, his words echoing off the walls]
      Avon: Blake! There's nothing here.
      [Blake turns to stare at him. Avon holsters his weapon.]
      Avon: There's nothing here.
      [Blake turns slowly and falls to his knees. Avon grabs him by the arm and shoulder.]
      Avon: [whispers] Nothing!
      [Travis laughs out of sight]
      Blake: Travis.
      Travis: [walks in] You believed it, Blake, like all the other fools before you. "Destroy Control and you destroy the Federation." No.
      Blake: [grabs Avon] It was here. Everybody knows it was here.
      Travis: Of course. We've never concealed it. On the contrary, we've broadcast the fact. We used it as a challenge to our enemies, we invited them to attack Control.
      Blake: It was never here?
      Travis: It was moved -- thirty years ago.
      Blake: [lets Avon go] To where?
      Travis: Even I don't know that. But it's safe and secure and will remain so while those who seek to destroy us believe it's here. You see, it's the great illusion, Blake. You give substance and credibility to an empty room, and the real thing becomes undetectable, virtually invisible.

      So, where is the real data center? Where's Star One? For that, I'll cite the Shadows' planet killer at the end of Babylon 5: A Call to Arms. But as there's no transcript of it on-line to provide precise quotes, I'll use a scene synopsis:

      Sheridan notices the center of the lattice is bigger and reinforced: probably the command center. That's their target.

      When the time comes to choose your target, be sure to pick the right one. Because you will only get one shot. Galen's words echo in Dureena's head.

      "No," she tells Sheridan simply. "If you hit that part you'll fail and your planet will be destroyed." She explains that a thief learns to look where you aren't supposed to look; that the most valuable items are never inside the safe, but next to it. Next to the central point of the lattice is a joint, seemingly the same as others in the structure. "There's nothing special about it," Dureena explains. "Then why is it surrounded by short range weapons? Why are they so determined to protect it?"

  • Tron (Score:2)

    by jfinke ( 68409 )
    Tron was the first thing I thought of looking at the top picture. "I need to contact my user."
  • It joins these wonderful architectural accomplishments:

    http://swedish.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/p/pjgeraci/188.jpg [wunderground.com]
    http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/writing/folio/vol2/duck_side.jpg [nus.edu.sg]
    http://i-eclectica.org/wordpress/wp-content/my [i-eclectica.org] images/architecture/architecture2/piano house 1.jpg
    http://dvice.com/pics/shoe_building.jpg [dvice.com]
    http://dvice.com/pics/japan_upsidedown_house.jpg [dvice.com]

    I'd love working in the building, myself. I can imagine each time I cross over the big gap between the most offset buildings. Each time I did this

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