I love when I get positive feedback, and I love it more when it comes from a new customer!!
I received an e-mail from another ecstatic customer after we completed the build out of his new environment in a new co-lo facility. For security reasons, I can't share the whole e-mail, but here are some key points he made...
"...very professional and did great work for us."
"...last-minute request for the additional patch panels, and was able to get them really quickly even though we gave extremely short notice..."
"Thanks again to you, Aaron, and [the SilverBack] team for making this build-out a smooth process, and we look forward to working with you again in the future."
...No problem Greg! We look forward to working with you and your team again in the very near future!!
With Sunday's announcement that online giant Google is hitting the streets, not just with maps anymore, but cars that actually drive themselves, we here at SilverBack are all saying, Wow, that's the coolest thing since the hot/cold thermos--I mean, really, how does it know? Anyway, Google has tested their cars over 140,000 miles in California road tests and so far no reported road rage incidents! The obvious safety factor (pro or con) is sure be significant, but who's at fault if one of the "low tech" cars collides with your computer operated car? Better keep up with your patches and upgrades!
Why has Google steered in this direction? Is it just for the coolness factor? Were Sergey and Larry huge Jetson's fans? Are they unhappy with the way we mere humans are using Google maps? Just tired of rude California drivers? That last one is my vote! Let us know your thoughts on the subject.
Webmaster Note: Although Don Small has written several whitepapers and other items for SilverBack, this post is officially the first blog he has ever written!! Congrats Don!!
It’s not quite as exciting as carrier pigeons delivering data, but it turns out hunters who can’t find woodland creatures to murder habitually shoot down aerial fiber links around Google’s data center in Oregon.
Google is taking matters into its own hands this year though, and trying to prepare underground pathways for the fiber before the looming hunting season arrives in November.
The season being in winter also makes repair work harder than it would be in a more forgiving climate. Apparently once because of problems getting through snow, Google’s usual strategy of sending in a repair-helicopter or tractor wasn’t manageable, so they had to send in a repair crew on skis. Vijay Gill, infrastructure extraordinaire for Google, was pretty hilarious on this subject: “These guys had to go in and fix the fiber while facing gunshots... so the internet - more dangerous than you realize.”
Offering something a little more positive in green data center news than what’s been going on lately between Greenpeace and Facebook, Yahoo is opening a new data center using their patent-pending Chicken Coop design.
The facility is in upstate New York and the neatest thing about it is that because of the clever design, it will only end up using 1% of its total energy bill on cooling. Most of its cooling will be done by outside air - even the winds of the area are being harnessed to cool the equipment instead of chillers.
It’s a 50,000 server facility and will be using just over half the energy an average data center uses, for an expected PUE of 1.08. It’s so efficiency-forward that it was funded in part by a grant from the Department of Energy.
So, as much as I’ve been on the same page as Greenpeace all this time with the whole anti-coal powered Facebook data center situation, things are getting a little childish at this point.
If you haven’t been keeping up, the situation is basically like this: Facebook announced they’re constructing their own data center in Oregon to move into, and implied that it would be pretty environmentally friendly. As their users increased insanely, they decided to double the size of the facility, and it also came out that the supplier of power for the facility uses a lot of coal in their energy mix. Greenpeace pitched a fit and it’s been mudslinging ever since. They can’t even agree on how much coal is in the mix - Greenpeace has said it’s significantly higher than Facebook will admit to, and they’ve both resorted to personal attacks at this point.
It comes to this: no one should be using coal because it’s stupid. It’s not renewable, it’s contributing to the destruction of the planet, and it sets a horrible example. But now Greenpeace is getting in on the stupid, and the entire situation is the most tawdry drama the data center scene has generated in a while. You kids need to settle down and stop bickering.
Data Center Blog - Data Center Migration Experts
I love when I get positive feedback, and I love it more when it comes from a new customer!!
It’s not quite as exciting as 
lately between Greenpeace and Facebook, Yahoo is opening a new data center using their patent-pending Chicken Coop design.
So, as much as I’ve been on the same page as Greenpeace all this time with the whole anti-coal powered Facebook data center situation, things are getting a little childish at this point.
