Apple Beefing Up Yet Another Data Center on the West Coast

[Michael Essany]

For months, we've been hearing about Apple's comprehensive preparations for the company's new 500,000 square-foot data center in North Carolina. While myriad clues exist as to how Apple may ultimately employ such resources, the folks in Cupertino are remaining tight-lipped on the cloud-related rumors that seem poised to become reality at any moment.

Still, if there was any doubt about the massive server farm in NC not delivering enough capacity for, say, a new cloud-based iTunes service or the robust "digital lockers" we keep hearing about, get ready for another data center update. This time, however, Apple is toiling on the other end of the country, right in its very own back yard.

Data Center Knowledge has published an eyebrow-raising new report indicating that Apple's new data center in North Carolina isn't the only juggernaut data center on Apple's radar. The evidence shows that Apple has committed to leasing space - a lot of space, in fact - at a third-party data center in Santa Clara, California - just a stone's throw from Cupertino, relative to the North Carolina facility.

In April, Apple signed a seven-year lease for 2.28 megawatts of critical power load in a new data center, the report reads, adding that its being built by DuPont Fabros Technology (DFT), "a leading developer of wholesale data center space."

If the report is accurate, the lease is scheduled to become effective in the third quarter (July to September) of this year, when the building opens. "DuPont Fabros disclosed the Santa Clara lease in its first quarter earnings, but did not reveal the name of the tenant, which is consistent with its policies," the DCK report found. "But multiple industry sources have since confirmed that the tenant is Apple."

Source: Data Center Knowledge

[unison999]

500,000 square ft??
Pretty small, barely a warehouse size.

[Bluestang9450]

500,000 square ft??
Pretty small, barely a warehouse size.

This is not small http://tbreak.com/tech/2010/10/apple...nc_datacenter/

[steve-z17]

Expand and conquer!

[glassJAw]

500,000 square ft??
Pretty small, barely a warehouse size.

That's not really small at all

[Megaorange]

500,000 square ft??
Pretty small, barely a warehouse size.

Do you have a clue how big that is?

[dale2]

500,000 square ft??
Pretty small, barely a warehouse size.

how many servers could you fit in 500k square feet? thats ELEVEN football fields, by the way, not including endzones

[glassJAw]

Nevermind my last statement I'm blown.

[coolguy742]

500,000 square ft??
Pretty small, barely a warehouse size.

That is one GIGANTIC server room! Considering that the "server room" for my school's network is a well cooled closet, lol


Sent from my iPod touch using ModMyi

[billmilo]

the apple look like a mouth welcoming in....

[treyb79]

500,000 square ft??
Pretty small, barely a warehouse size.

Are you serious? My family sold auto parts out of four regional warehouses that were 55,000sq ft +/- and believe me you could easily get lost. *500k sq ft is gargantuan!

[iRepairIndy]

Think this has anything to do with Mobile Me? I've been told by a couple people who work at the Apple Store that big changes are coming for Mobile Me.