Inside Las Vegas' Biggest Data Centre 106
twoheadedboy writes "Las Vegas data centres are just as opulent as the casinos which litter the vibrant city. SuperNAP is the biggest in all Las Vegas, with 400,000 square feet of servers using around 100 megawatts of power. There's some serious security too, comprised mostly of ex-US Marines who patrol the perimeter on foot and in Humvees, all armed with assault rifles. Private military contractors are needed in the IT world too, it seems. IT Pro got a look around this impressive DC."
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It takes less energy to cool a hot place than to warm a cold place. (It's thermodynamics, I think.)
Vegas is also very pro-business and densely populated.
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Its actually easier to warm a cold place than warm a hot place. In a cold climate, you just add more computer equipment.
For every watt you put into computer equipment, that's a watt you have to burn cooling said equipment (when having to cool the equipment).
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Well if you're operating heat pumps with a COP of 1, yes.
I would expect a little better than that, though. In fact I'm surprised at the boast that they get a COP of 4 (1/4 kW to cool each kW produced). Perhaps the outdoor temperature doesn't allow for much beyond that.
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It'd probably make more sense doing geothermal during the day, and a straight air exchange at night, with the temp dropping low enough at night and the humidity being fairly non-existent in the desert that you don't need to condition the air (in the dark hours).
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I dont see how that works, in this case heat (the scarce thing in the cold enviroment) is a waste product to be disposed of
but also vegas is surrounded by flat empty land, perfect when you want a giant metal shed and a fence
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It takes less energy to cool a hot place than to warm a cold place.
I don't think that's the issue here. The need of cooling a hot place is a fact. The issue is, isn't easier (and more efficient) to cool a hot place in a cold environment than one in a cold environment.
And the answer is: if you're in a cold environment, you may only need to suck cold air from outside and pull the hot one out. If you're in a hot environment, you have to cool the air before the displacement take place.
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I suspect that the low humidity might make it easier to cool, but I could be wrong.
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Air with more moisture in it holds more heat, which makes it harder to cool that air, but it also makes that air less capable of absorbing heat. However, with the current trend towards liquid cooling of servers to increase rack density, moist air produces a condensation risk. In general electronics don't like humidity...
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Low humidity only makes things easier to cool when you have plentiful water. The problem with places with a lack of humidity is that they also tend to lack water. Las Vegas only exists because Hoover Dam is there to provide water. Southern California has far exceeded the population the land can actually support, and their water demands have been slowly draining Lake Mead over the past 20 years. Amusingly, nearly a third of the power it produces is used to run the pumps that are draining the river.
If Sou
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Other reasons to build in Las Vegas:
Earthquake? No.
Flood? No.
Snow? Well, yes. Blizzard? No.
Severe Thunderstorms? Rarely.
Tornado? Very rarely.
Volcano? No.
Tsunami? No.
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It often floods in Las Vegas when it rains. In fact flash flood warnings are quite common.
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Their 2 largest customers, the casino transaction company and the US government both have a huge presence in the area.
Wynn resorts, for example, generates about $23 million/day on table games (slots are another $20 or so). That's 4 casinos out of the dozens that are on the strip.
Nellis Air Force Base is close to Las Vegas, as is Edwards AFB. I'm sure there is a lot of fiber between LV and the military bases, and it is a nice central location, with access to power, cheap labor (who wouldn't want to live in L
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People think the desert is hot. As a born and raised in the Mojave desert "desert rat" I can say that is only true sometimes. Dry air heats quickly and cools quickly and winters are chilly - they even had snow on the strip last year. According to Switch (I have had equipment in the SuperNAP for well over 2 years) they only need to chill the outside air 30% of the year. Then you switch to evaporative. But they are able to run air-cooled as well - they don't need water to keep things cool, it just costs more
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Las Vegas is not warm year round, in fact the average temperature is under 70f 5 months out of the year.
The security force can requisition fuel??? (Score:3)
Due to its government contracts the security force (made up mostly of ex-marines armed with assault rifles) can requisition fuel wherever they find it locally in the event of a power outage???
Say, that's reassuring.
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yeah... these guys are clearly smoking crack. all we need is another dumb ass with a private army running around nevada thinking they are god.
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Yes. Virtually any entity can hire armed guards in the US.
In 40 or so states, a person can carry a firearm by meeting an objective set of criteria. In the other 8, there are some more subjective criteria used by the issuing authority. Hawaii and Illinois are the two that don't issue. Hawaii has a law, but the issuing authorities don't issue to anyone, and Illinois doesn't have a law allowing issuing permits.
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Armed guards are normal and operate without incident, claiming you can send your armed guards out to pillage the communities fuel is quite another thing
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Arizona is one of the states who actually understand the US Constitution; and specifically the second amendment. In Arizona, its legal to open carry. This story was well publicized. [youtube.com] The Secret Service was very pissed off about it but there was nothing they could do. The Secret Service feels only the government should be allowed to carry weapons.
Accordingly, hiring private guards who can carry weapons is pretty easy. And if you have deep enough pockets, its pretty easy to do in most states.
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I live in Las Vegas, and frequently see large hummer-style black-white SUVs with the the word "Switch" on them on East Sahara, where one of their smaller DC's are located. Occasionally I see some of their security guys with holstered sidearms in military-style fatigues coming into various eateries near the DC.. They definitely have the Marines/SpecialForces/SEAL-look about them...
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commercial or industrial? (Score:2)
Come to think, I wonder if a DC is classified as commercial or industrial? I'm guessing it'd be industrial because of the size, but a DC could be commercial because of the locality restrictions (you want them sparsely covering everywhere - I think). I've got data on the one but not the other.
Security overkill (Score:5, Interesting)
Speaking as somebody that has been inside the facility, the security can get a little bit of an "itchy trigger finger".
It's hard enough to do a job at the last notice, but having some beefed up ex-military guy from Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. is not all that it is cracked up to be. They walk around all dressed in black with pistols and assault rifles. That part is not a joke at all, and this is inside the facility.
So when you are trying to take a server out of a rack and service it, or take equipment out, it makes it just a ohhh so fun fun day to have one of those hopped up alpha male psychopaths have one hand on their weapon and the other hand on the radio. Seriously? I am inside a locked down facility. Get your fucking hands off the assault rifles when you start talking to me. I'm a fucking IT guy.
All because shit is moving fast in my world and some desk monkey did not talk fast enough to another desk monkey in their company.
It sounds great in literature and brochures, but when you actually have to walk down aisles and deal with those guys it is another matter entirely. I would rather just be in another data center where there are not armed guards walking around every corner with live ammo.
Maybe your have some phobias and prejudices? (Score:2)
I would rather just be in another data center where there are not armed guards walking around every corner with live ammo.
Did you inspect that weapon? Its nearly a certainty that the chamber was empty and likely that the magazine in the weapon was also empty. Live rounds are probably in magazines in a pouch. Active duty Marines sometime carry their weapons in such a state. Why the empty magazine, closing the dust cover and inserting an empty magazine helps keep the weapon clean.
... it just a ohhh so fun fun day to have one of those hopped up alpha male psychopaths ...
I think this is the most telling part of your post. You seem have some phobias and prejudices.
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You seem have some phobias and prejudices.
Professional killers may be nice people, but when they are "on the job" and you are classified as "potentially hostile", it is not irrational to feel uncomfortable.
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You seem have some phobias and prejudices.
Professional killers may be nice people, but when they are "on the job" and you are classified as "potentially hostile", it is not irrational to feel uncomfortable.
Actually if you think you are being classified as potentially hostile then I think you are proving my point regarding phobias, perhaps even tin foil hat'ish. They guy looking at you is most likely bored while watching you to make sure you only go where you are supposed to. And referring to military vets as professional killers seems to prove my point regarding prejudices.
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A soldiers' job, by definition is to kill/destroy various people/things. How is professional killer not an accurate description?
That's like saying an explosive device shouldn't be called a bomb because it also stops pieces of paper from flying away while it's sitting on a desk.
I don't think it about a phobia it's quite a rational reaction. The point of the firearm is to intimidate. No doubt that any person entering the facility would have been searched prior, so there is no immediate need for a firearm. Esp
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A soldiers' job, by definition is to kill/destroy various people/things. How is professional killer not an accurate description?
That is not true. Many soldiers are trained and equipped to kill and destroy, if necessary, but that is not their job. Their job is to be able protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. There is the understanding that the other people have guns and missiles and artillery, so they have to have those and be ready to use them, but you don't need to kill someone to do your job as a soldier. I've known soldiers who have never killed or even shot at anyone, even when assigned to war zones. The
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Absolutely off topic but this is so true.
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...By killing and destroying.
I don't have a problem with soldiers, but saying they can't be considered "professional killers" because they can also do other stuff, when it's the training to kill that distinguishes them from anyone else who could also do the other stuff, seems rather silly.
The point of soldiers is to kill the bad
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A soldiers' job, by definition is to kill/destroy various people/things. How is professional killer not an accurate description?
Because all people who kill are not equivalent. The phrase "professional killer" is typically used in the context of criminal activity, probably a murderer of some sort. To use it to describe a soldier is an attempt to construct a framework biased against soldiers. I think the suggestion of prejudice stands.
The point of the firearm is to intimidate.
Perhaps in the mind of a person contemplating conflict. Many other people interact with armed law enforcement officers and the fact that they are armed is irrelevant. I was recently camping in a national
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Not really. Soldiers and/or armed guards are most commonly used as deterrent. That is, their purpose is to discourage other people from getting the idea that one might get away with certain behaviour.
The hosting-facility most definitely do NOT want shooting to occur, inside or ourside the facility. The guards are thus there not for the purpose of shooting. They are there for discouraging creative entrepeneurs from getting certain classes of ideas.
I'm not saying it's not reasonable to feel uncomfortable abou
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Something is wrong with you if you are comfortable around people holdings live firearms.
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Something is wrong with you if you are comfortable around people holdings live firearms.
Really? I was camping recently and I noticed that the park ranger who briefed us on current conditions and regulations was armed. I didn't think anything of it, did not feel intimidated and did not hesitate to ask some questions regarding whether certain types of gear were allowed or not (ex chem tablet stove, is it classified as a gas stove or an open fire?).
I've seemed armed guards at banks, exchanged smiles, and didn't give it another thought.
I was once driving home and found the road barricaded by
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FTFY [lmgtfy.com]. At least your nick's appropriate.
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Had 50 cabinets there. They don't carry assault rifles. Most do carry edged weapons and many probably carry 'personal' weapons (I know the Director of Security did at one time, anyway).
Security there is excellent. The team is very respectful of you, your gear, and the privacy of each of their customers. They have very rigid rules because companies invest millions of $$$ building co-location facility infrastructure within the SuperNAP facility. Add Rob Roy's vision of leveraging large customers to creat
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An un-loaded gun is pretty useless.
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An un-loaded gun is pretty useless.
However an unloaded gun is safer and can be made loaded in a small number of seconds when carried in the manner I described. There are circumstances where having a weapon nearby (including in a sling) is appropriate but having a loaded weapon in hand is inappropriate.
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An un-loaded gun is pretty useless.
However an unloaded gun is safer and can be made loaded in a small number of seconds when carried in the manner I described.
A loaded gun can be fired at you in a smaller number of seconds.
The only time your weapon should be unloaded is when you hand it to someone.
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Ever seen what the butt of a rifle can do to a skull?
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I was just there last week, but at the smaller facility (they have two facilities in Vegas that are supposedly identical other than one's physically smaller than the other). I never saw a single weapon inside the building. The guards were clearly ex-military and/or privately trained security, and they wore very militarized outfits (MOLLE vests, etc), but no weapons to be seen on them. I didn't look around for the external guys, maybe they were carrying.
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Tasers in a data center ... that sounds like carrying a gun on a pressurized aircraft. Doh!
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Half the time, ex-military also means ex-Kentucky trailer dweller.
Re: Ex-military means ex-kentucky trailer dweller (Score:1)
Half the time, ex-military also means ex-Kentucky trailer dweller.
As someone who has been responsible for the architecture, design and security of many of the IT products and services that you consume every single day of your life AND a U.S. Air force veteran I can tell you first hand that you are absolutely ignorant and know nothing of which you speak.
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If you are indeed as magnificent as you claim to be, you would know that appealing to authority without supplying even a shred of verifiable proof isnt exactly a good way to lend credibility to your statements.
Not to say i agree with the GPs assesment of ex-military guys in america (i dont know any at all, so i dont have much of a clue about them), but your internet tough guy style rebuttal is actually more ridiculous.
As someone responsible for the design, architecture and reliability of many of the laws of
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I have been in the facility for a while now and I have found "itchy trigger finger" to be as far as possible from the truth. Yes, they are professional. But they are also extremely helpful and friendly - something I've found with the techs as well. And no, they don't walk around with assault rifles. They do have arms available in the security office but typically patrol with pepper-spray and Tasers. Like all data-centers (or any workplace) there are rules. But they are pretty basic and easy to follow. I've
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Focusing too much on local industry ... (Score:2)
Defcon afterparty (Score:2)
Okay...Supernap it is.
Maybe they wouldn't need so much cooling (Score:1)
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Wow..talk about empowerment (Score:1)
I don't believe it (Score:1)
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Its mostly an illusion because I can't think of anyone who has ever planned to assault a data center when it is easier and more effective to just hire a cracker and break in remotely. The need for that sort of security is limited at best. Physical access trumps everything, but good luck trying to steal data when it's striped across a tray of disks and that's assuming you know which storage array to get stuff from.
As far as people planting stuff in other people's gear, that's why there are cages with locke
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There is a certain theatrical element to all aspects of the SuperNAP - Switch doesn't make that a secret. I recall a tour when someone said, "Why do we have the lights set up like that? 'Cause it looks cool." As a geek, you gotta respect that. And the touch of theater is pretty nice when you meet a client in Vegas and take them on a tour.
Just because there is a theatrical element does not mean that they are not physically secure. Having toured facilities (some hosting some pretty well-known sites) where the
I'd say the real reason... (Score:1)
Long walks (Score:2)
I'm fortunate to be an early customer - it's only 1/5 mile round-trip to use the restroom. Parking and the loading-dock are farther. I've walked as much as 60-miles in a week traveling to Vegas. Much is due to schleps in the airports and taking walks after work but I'd estimate that back and forth between the cabinets, car, restroom, break-room and loading-dock accounts for 25-30% of my walking.
Center (Score:2)
No solar assist? (Score:2)
Despite the presence of the Hoover Dam hydroelectric facility in Nevada, almost all of that output goes to California, so the public grid in Las Vegas derives 60% of it supply from natural gas-fuelled power plants.
That is a lot of resources to have on the power grid. Why they don't build a Solar One style power generator for themselves boggles my mind.
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Next time, read the fucking article.
"Switch has apparently investigated alternative power sources such as solar power and the possibility of recycling the heat generated by its equipment into energy, but neither methods are cost-effective or space-efficient enough at the moment."
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I did. Quoting the post is usually a good sign that it has been read. So to re-iterate more specifically for those that don't think after reading a fucking post...
How a Solar One style power generator isn't cost-effective boggles my mind. ie. If the solutions they were looking for were not space-efficient they didn't look for anything more than panels on the roof. A Solar One style power generator can be built any place. The money made by adding power to the grid is close to a 1:1 deduction to the cost
Oracle is like this (Score:1)
I worked at Oracle's large (at the time) flagship datacenter in Texas. The guards there were all armed inside of the building, which was protected by embassy-grade security. I only lasted a few months because the environment was so horribly repressive. I did *not* appreciate having my eye scanned or feeling like I was being watched (by armed guards) all of the day.
Thank goodness I found better. :-)
Disaster Recovery (Score:2)
Do they do the disk to disk backups to a semi-trailer or something and drive the entire trailer to the second equally impressive sit each day? I can only imagine how much a site this big costs, considering you would need an identical one hundreds of miles away for disaster recovery. I would love to see an article just on their backup methods alone. Designing a custom backup semi would be amazing.
Solar and Evaporative Cooling Considerations (Score:1)
I live in Vegas and would at least like to comment on a couple of items:
Power in Vegas by Nevada Power (published data) is approximately 23% coal, 67 % Natural Gas, 4% Hydroelectric, 3.8% Geothermal, 0.85% Nuclear, and 0.5 % solar per their generation stats. Nevada Power generate 68% of their power and they buy the rest. Solar is available and it does make sense, but the republican politicians and killing the projects. Nevada Solar One (http://www.acciona-na.com/About-Us/Our-Projects/U-S-/Nevada-Solar-One)