Okay, as a recently moved Curacao native i feel the need to clarify some things. First off the data center mentioned in the post is truly top when it comes to disaster-proof. It is build on solid rock, on top of a hill with reinforced concrete. now Curacao sits out of the hurricane belt and thus a disaster rarely happens, but in the case it does, that building could take 8.0 earthquake while being hit by a superstorm. When it comes to data I can guess Apple was attracted to Curacao because Curacao has Dutch privacy laws, so handling data is a sensitive business. Having Dutch privacy laws means Apple can keep the tight security it has on data while having a gateway to South America and The Caribbean to improve cloud performance. Another thing to point out is that Curacao is an extremely sunny place, combined with comparatively cheap land and incentives from the government, Apple can easily keep the data center powered by 100% renewable energy.
If the post is true it means the organisation behind the data center has accomplished its mission of bringing top Tech Companies to the island.
Source: Native from Curacao & was at the opening of the data center.
Very few hurricanes make it as far south as Curaçao, and the ones that do are probably not very strong.
It does appear that way. This may be a Monster Cable Scenario. Meaning, Monster Cables may have slightly better impedance, slightly better shielding, or even be made slightly better but it doesn't warrant the cost and you're not going to get a better experience from them, so I wonder if the chances of a severe hurricane hitting Curaçao is so slight that it really wasn't a concern for Apple.
So what is the reason? Taxes? Protection? Cost? Some major trunk line? Something else entirely?
It does appear that way. This may be a Monster Cable Scenario. Meaning, Monster Cables may have slightly better impedance, slightly better shielding, or even be made slightly better but it doesn't warrant the cost and you're not going to get a better experience from them, so I wonder if the chances of a severe hurricane hitting Curaçao is so slight that it really wasn't a concern for Apple.
So what is the reason? Taxes? Protection? Cost? Some major trunk line? Something else entirely?
It's probably due to a host of beneficial reasons. Maybe the close proximity to Venezuela, and Brazil without being in them. I really don't think that they did it with the dart throwing method.
It's probably due to a host of beneficial reasons. Maybe the close proximity to Venezuela, and Brazil without being in them. I really don't think that they did it with the dart throwing method.
Perhaps Apple being the ultimate control freaks bought the entire country from the Netherlands.
It does appear that way. This may be a Monster Cable Scenario. Meaning, Monster Cables may have slightly better impedance, slightly better shielding, or even be made slightly better but it doesn't warrant the cost and you're not going to get a better experience from them, so I wonder if the chances of a severe hurricane hitting Curaçao is so slight that it really wasn't a concern for Apple.
So what is the reason? Taxes? Protection? Cost? Some major trunk line? Something else entirely?
Since Apple is said to be acquiring an almost completed project from a bankrupt company, maybe they're getting a deal which they couldn't refuse, even if there is this intermediary UIG. Distressed merchandise, in other words, and we all know how frugal Tim Cook is. Never known to spend more than 3 billion on a single thing.
Since Apple is said to be acquiring an almost completed project from a bankrupt company, maybe they're getting a deal which they couldn't refuse, even if there is this intermediary UIG. Distressed merchandise, in other words, and we all know how frugal Tim Cook is. Never known to spend more than 3 billion on a single thing.
That sounds like an exceptionally compelling reason to me.
I know nothing of their stability as a nation or tax laws but just looking at their submarine network cable map it's definitely not a bad place for a DC.
It's only a "tax haven" if you your company (or subsidiary) is incorporated there.
Correct. Curacao only makes sense if it is used to serve South and Central American customers. North America has plenty of Apple data centers and the company is doing just fine tax-wise with most of their operations based in Ireland.
I don't understand how these undersea cables actually work. There are some indications that there are repeaters which I would assume require power but the illustration below does not indicate any power, just fiber elements. I'm curious how the sharks are detecting electromagnetic fields when there is only optical fiber.
I don't understand how these undersea cables actually work. There are some indications that there are repeaters which I would assume require power but the illustration below does not indicate any power, just fiber elements. I'm curious how the sharks are detecting electromagnetic fields when there is only optical fiber.
[image]
My study of undersea fiber optic cables back-in-the-day detailed that the fiber optic lines were "erbium doped", meaning that element was added to the fiber optic line at specific intervals and when a specific wavelength of a laser interacts with it from the source end making the optical signal amplified.
I thought it was only needed on one end with the specific intervals of erbium doping causing the signal to be applied again, but perhaps this is a one jump process thus requires underseas lasers and therefore power.
I found it very interesting but since it wasn't something I was ever going to deal with and the data then was very hard to come by I was both unable nor highly motived to find out all the specifics of how it works.
The timing of all this data center expansion spree is all wrong. We are on the cusp - literally in months - of a revolution in the server space, with 64-bit ARM processors going massively parallel - like 16 core on single die, and being capable of being operated at high clock speeds - north of 2.0GHz, with huge memory bandwidth, cache, etc. All while barely sipping power.
Just think about it - if we take A7 itself, and replace the GPU cores with additional CPU cores, we could potentially get an 8 core 64-bit machine (GPU cores are typically way larger). It is already "capable" of addressing as much memory as any Intel processor. Moving it to 22nm process or lower will allow further efficiency.
For years, the world has seen a Virtualization play - where monster servers are split up into smaller virtual servers. With many single points of failure that could bring down multiple servers at one shot. I believe we will see the reverse of this in the future.
This made sense when network equipment costs were ridiculously high, etc. Today, this makes zero sense whatsoever. Long term power considerations are more important than even upfront cost of all the equipment combined! And since ARM comes with cheaper upfront cost too, it is a perfect solution!
Very few hurricanes make it as far south as Curaçao, and the ones that do are probably not very strong.
That is correct. Further, look how many hit the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts! Apple has stores in many of those locations.
I lived in the Cayman Islands for 11 years. In 2004 we got hit hard by hurricane Ivan, the first direct hit in 72 years. It's the eye of the storm that causes the most damage, everywhere else is like some trees down and local flooding, not the massive devastation from a direct hit.
Our island was a major disaster zone after the 2004 hurricane. Many buildings were destroyed and it took more than six months (!!) to restore electricity to the majority of the island. Still, the big banks downtown were back up and running within a day or two. They are built like fortresses and they suffered minor to no damage from the storm.
Current building codes in any of those countries would not allow wood frame construction but elevated steel and reinforced concrete, watertight structures - especially for a data centre. Don't assume that apple executives were smoking the ganja when making this decision.
The tax benefits to apple are very real and they are probably geographically positioning this for bandwidth reasons as well.
Apple has all kinds of international subsidiaries for both distribution and tax strategy purposes. That aspect is hardly news.
Visiting Curacao is going to be a tax deductible trip for all of the top executives. They will build or buy a big vacation palace for all of the executives. Apple will host huge parties and use the palace to schmooze with government officials from all around the world. Apple will fly corporate executives of other companies with which they want to do business and pay for the whole trip. This will become the destination spot for anybody wanting to do business with Apple.
The Apple palace will become famous. This will be just another perk for top executives of other companies for doing business with Apple.
Wouldn't it be cool if they built a miniature version of their circular home office in Curacao? The pool in the center would be blocked from prying photographers so that the guests could do all sorts of debaucheries and not get caught.
I don't understand how these undersea cables actually work. There are some indications that there are repeaters which I would assume require power but the illustration below does not indicate any power, just fiber elements. I'm curious how the sharks are detecting electromagnetic fields when there is only optical fiber.
The copper sheath in your picture carries several thousand volts DC to power the repeaters. That is why there's a PE insulator surrounding it. High voltage is necessary to account for the resistance over thousands of miles. Like many land power systems, the seawater acts as a ground and return.
High voltage is necessary to account for the resistance over thousands of miles.
The first person to discover a room temperature superconductor will be a trillionaire. End of discussion. Every inch of laid cable on the planet will be replaced. The cost won’t matter; the benefits will be worth it.
I don't understand how these undersea cables actually work. There are some indications that there are repeaters which I would assume require power but the illustration below does not indicate any power, just fiber elements. I'm curious how the sharks are detecting electromagnetic fields when there is only optical fiber.
Why isn't there separating material between the steel wire and the copper?
Comments
Okay, as a recently moved Curacao native i feel the need to clarify some things. First off the data center mentioned in the post is truly top when it comes to disaster-proof. It is build on solid rock, on top of a hill with reinforced concrete. now Curacao sits out of the hurricane belt and thus a disaster rarely happens, but in the case it does, that building could take 8.0 earthquake while being hit by a superstorm. When it comes to data I can guess Apple was attracted to Curacao because Curacao has Dutch privacy laws, so handling data is a sensitive business. Having Dutch privacy laws means Apple can keep the tight security it has on data while having a gateway to South America and The Caribbean to improve cloud performance. Another thing to point out is that Curacao is an extremely sunny place, combined with comparatively cheap land and incentives from the government, Apple can easily keep the data center powered by 100% renewable energy.
If the post is true it means the organisation behind the data center has accomplished its mission of bringing top Tech Companies to the island.
Source: Native from Curacao & was at the opening of the data center.
http://www.ctexpartners.com/
1) Wow, there really are no hurricanes in Panama according to that map.
2) That map looks like a kid got to it with their crayons.
3) We should looking at this report as being accurate to determine why Apple would choose Curaçao over Panama (or anywhere else).
Very few hurricanes make it as far south as Curaçao, and the ones that do are probably not very strong.
It does appear that way. This may be a Monster Cable Scenario. Meaning, Monster Cables may have slightly better impedance, slightly better shielding, or even be made slightly better but it doesn't warrant the cost and you're not going to get a better experience from them, so I wonder if the chances of a severe hurricane hitting Curaçao is so slight that it really wasn't a concern for Apple.
So what is the reason? Taxes? Protection? Cost? Some major trunk line? Something else entirely?
It's probably due to a host of beneficial reasons. Maybe the close proximity to Venezuela, and Brazil without being in them. I really don't think that they did it with the dart throwing method.
Perhaps Apple being the ultimate control freaks bought the entire country from the Netherlands.
Odd that Curaçao produces pretty good baseball players, and is not really known for soccer like the Netherlands is.
Since Apple is said to be acquiring an almost completed project from a bankrupt company, maybe they're getting a deal which they couldn't refuse, even if there is this intermediary UIG. Distressed merchandise, in other words, and we all know how frugal Tim Cook is. Never known to spend more than 3 billion on a single thing.
That sounds like an exceptionally compelling reason to me.
I know nothing of their stability as a nation or tax laws but just looking at their submarine network cable map it's definitely not a bad place for a DC.
PS: I've never been to Curacao. I'll have to check that off my list at some time.
I still think Panama is better for several reasons. Check out this historical hurricane map. As you can see we never get hurricanes,
-> http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/08/15/google-cables-sharks-kevlar/14099761/
It's only a "tax haven" if you your company (or subsidiary) is incorporated there.
Correct. Curacao only makes sense if it is used to serve South and Central American customers. North America has plenty of Apple data centers and the company is doing just fine tax-wise with most of their operations based in Ireland.
-> http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/08/15/google-cables-sharks-kevlar/14099761/
I don't understand how these undersea cables actually work. There are some indications that there are repeaters which I would assume require power but the illustration below does not indicate any power, just fiber elements. I'm curious how the sharks are detecting electromagnetic fields when there is only optical fiber.
My study of undersea fiber optic cables back-in-the-day detailed that the fiber optic lines were "erbium doped", meaning that element was added to the fiber optic line at specific intervals and when a specific wavelength of a laser interacts with it from the source end making the optical signal amplified.
I thought it was only needed on one end with the specific intervals of erbium doping causing the signal to be applied again, but perhaps this is a one jump process thus requires underseas lasers and therefore power.
I found it very interesting but since it wasn't something I was ever going to deal with and the data then was very hard to come by I was both unable nor highly motived to find out all the specifics of how it works.
Just think about it - if we take A7 itself, and replace the GPU cores with additional CPU cores, we could potentially get an 8 core 64-bit machine (GPU cores are typically way larger). It is already "capable" of addressing as much memory as any Intel processor. Moving it to 22nm process or lower will allow further efficiency.
For years, the world has seen a Virtualization play - where monster servers are split up into smaller virtual servers. With many single points of failure that could bring down multiple servers at one shot. I believe we will see the reverse of this in the future.
This made sense when network equipment costs were ridiculously high, etc. Today, this makes zero sense whatsoever. Long term power considerations are more important than even upfront cost of all the equipment combined! And since ARM comes with cheaper upfront cost too, it is a perfect solution!
That is correct. Further, look how many hit the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts! Apple has stores in many of those locations.
I lived in the Cayman Islands for 11 years. In 2004 we got hit hard by hurricane Ivan, the first direct hit in 72 years. It's the eye of the storm that causes the most damage, everywhere else is like some trees down and local flooding, not the massive devastation from a direct hit.
Our island was a major disaster zone after the 2004 hurricane. Many buildings were destroyed and it took more than six months (!!) to restore electricity to the majority of the island. Still, the big banks downtown were back up and running within a day or two. They are built like fortresses and they suffered minor to no damage from the storm.
Current building codes in any of those countries would not allow wood frame construction but elevated steel and reinforced concrete, watertight structures - especially for a data centre. Don't assume that apple executives were smoking the ganja when making this decision.
The tax benefits to apple are very real and they are probably geographically positioning this for bandwidth reasons as well.
Apple has all kinds of international subsidiaries for both distribution and tax strategy purposes. That aspect is hardly news.
Visiting Curacao is going to be a tax deductible trip for all of the top executives. They will build or buy a big vacation palace for all of the executives. Apple will host huge parties and use the palace to schmooze with government officials from all around the world. Apple will fly corporate executives of other companies with which they want to do business and pay for the whole trip. This will become the destination spot for anybody wanting to do business with Apple.
The Apple palace will become famous. This will be just another perk for top executives of other companies for doing business with Apple.
Wouldn't it be cool if they built a miniature version of their circular home office in Curacao? The pool in the center would be blocked from prying photographers so that the guests could do all sorts of debaucheries and not get caught.
This is the reason for selecting Curacao.
I don't understand how these undersea cables actually work. There are some indications that there are repeaters which I would assume require power but the illustration below does not indicate any power, just fiber elements. I'm curious how the sharks are detecting electromagnetic fields when there is only optical fiber.
The copper sheath in your picture carries several thousand volts DC to power the repeaters. That is why there's a PE insulator surrounding it. High voltage is necessary to account for the resistance over thousands of miles. Like many land power systems, the seawater acts as a ground and return.
High voltage is necessary to account for the resistance over thousands of miles.
The first person to discover a room temperature superconductor will be a trillionaire. End of discussion. Every inch of laid cable on the planet will be replaced. The cost won’t matter; the benefits will be worth it.
I don't understand how these undersea cables actually work. There are some indications that there are repeaters which I would assume require power but the illustration below does not indicate any power, just fiber elements. I'm curious how the sharks are detecting electromagnetic fields when there is only optical fiber.
Why isn't there separating material between the steel wire and the copper?