Google is a pioneer in data center infrastructure, and has set the pace for the industry with the scale and efficiency of its global network. In 2017, Google worked to prepare for rapid growth in data storage and traffic, offering cloud customers a faster and more configurable network, while amassing land for more data centers to support the gargantuan data storage requirements that lie ahead. Google also continued to make headlines with its leadership on renewable energy and best practices.
Here’s a look at our coverage of Google during 2017, as the company continues to explore new territory on the Data Center Frontier.
April 18: Reno Rising: Google Buys Land, Project Adds to Cluster of Cloud Campuses: Google has bought land near Reno, Nevada not far from data centers for Switch, Apple and eBay, helping Reno emerge as a new hotspot for massive cloud campuses. Google has bought 1,210 acres at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, investing $29 million to lock down land for a future data center campus.
A Google Jupiter network switch. Google is seeking to wield its expertise in network optimization in the cloud platform wars. (Image: Google)
June 20: Google — New Algorithm Will Make Our Cloud Platform Faster: Google Cloud Platform is implementing a cutting-edge algorithm to reduce network congestion, which it says will offer improved application performance for customers. The company is wielding its expertise in network optimization in the cloud platform wars. The company is enhancing its Google Cloud Platform services with a cutting-edge algorithm to reduce network congestion, which should offer ramp up application and website performance for customers. Read more.
Aug. 23: Google Adds Network Tiers to Optimize Cloud Network Costs: Google introduced network tiers, providing cloud customers with the option to save money by assigning workloads to different network tiers based on their performance requirements. Google introduced network tiers, providing Google Cloud Platform (GCP) customers with the option to save money by having some traffic delivered over the Internet, rather than Google’s private network. Read more.
A long row of racks housing servers inside the Google data center in Mayes County, Oklahoma. (Photo: Google)
Nov. 29: Google Buys Two Data Center Sites in Northern Virginia: Google has purchased two prime land parcels in Northern Virginia, signaling its readiness to step up its cloud capacity in the world’s largest data center markets, where rival Amazon Web Services is rapidly expanding its footprint. Google has purchased two prime land parcels in Loudoun County, Virginia and plans to build data centers at the sites, the company confirmed today. The move signals that Google is ready to step up its cloud capacity in the world’s largest data center markets. Read more.
Google & Microsoft Make Headlines in Tandem
Several of our stories this year examined how hyperscale cloud companies are solving common problems, including the need to create sustainable data center operations through the use of renewable energy, and the best ways to plan for future capacity. These stories look at how Google and Microsoft are working on this problems.
March 14: Greener Terawatts – Google, Microsoft Seek A Renewable Cloud : Google used 5.7 Terawatt hours of energy in 2015, which is why the company has also taken a leadership position in procuring renewable energy for its data centers and cloud campuses. According to Joe Kava, who heads the company’s global infrastructure, “Data centers make up the vast majority of that.” Read more.
Microsoft’s Christian Belady (center) shares on data center growth at the Infrastructure Masons Summit in Palo Alto, Calif. , with moderator Dean Nelson of Uber (left) and panelists Joe Kava of Google. (Photo: Infrastructure Masons)
May 17: Keeping Pace With the Cloud: Lessons From Google and Microsoft: Keeping pace with cloud growth requires creativity and expanding your growth horizon, cloud builders from Google and Microsoft told the recent Infrastructure Masons Summit. Joe Kava and Christian Belady have been on the front lines of this effort, building the data centers that drive the growth of massive cloud empires at Google and Microsoft. Read more.
For more, see our Google data center news channel.
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