Apple may build data center near Facebook, Google operations in Oregon

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Apple may join Amazon, Facebook and Google in having a large data center operating in Prineville, Oregon, if it follows through on plans to build the new facility.



Citing two people with knowledge of Apple's plans, The Oregonian reported on Saturday that Apple is "nearing a decision" whether to build the new, "large" data center. If it does, the facility would be located a quarter of a mile south of a Facebook server farm that opened earlier this year.



"Apple would be the latest in a quick succession of big-name tech companies to build a data center in Oregon," author Mike Rogoway wrote. "The state is a hot destination for server farms, which attract huge investment but employ relatively few."



Apple reportedly dispatched representatives to tour Facebook's new facility in Prineville over the summer. But Apple's plans are said to be "in flux," as the iCloud operator wants to ensure there is adequate electricity available in Prineville.



The city is said to be a big attraction for tech companies like Apple and Amazon because of tax breaks, in addition to a mild climate and relatively low power costs. Depending on the size of the facility, if Apple chooses to build it, Apple could reportedly receive a tax exemption of several million dollars.



Apple opened a massive, 500,000-square-foot data center in Maiden, N.C., earlier this year. In October, it was revealed that the company also plans to build a new solar farm opposite the data center. The new $1 billion data center supports Apple's iTunes and iCloud services.
«134

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Apple has been using server farms for years with their extensive iTunes Store so what could these new massive server farms be used for? I don't think iCloud or Siri are going to cut it as answers.
  • Reply 2 of 72
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    Apple has been using server farms for years with their extensive iTunes Store so what could these new massive server farms be used for? I don't think iCloud or Siri are going to cut it as answers.



    Their three mapping companies.
  • Reply 3 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Their three mapping companies.



    And their own web search?
  • Reply 4 of 72
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    I don't think iCloud or Siri are going to cut it as answers.



    Why not?



    iCloud and SIRI are relatively new things and perhaps more server space will be needed.



    Apple is already backing up the contents of many, many millions of devices every single day.



    With iCloud, SIRI and iTunes match, there is a hell of a lot of content for Apple to store. Who's to say that they simply don't need more space?



    And tens of millions of people are buying new Apple devices every quarter. That's a lot of backing up for Apple to deal with.
  • Reply 5 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Why not?



    iCloud and SIRI are relatively new things and perhaps more server space will be needed.



    Apple is already backing up the contents of many, many millions of devices every single day.



    With iCloud, SIRI and iTunes match, there is a hell of a lot of content for Apple to store. Who's to say that they simply don't need more space?



    And tens of millions of people are buying new Apple devices every quarter. That's a lot of backing up for Apple to deal with.



    Compared to the data being pushed from the iTS and App Store over these years? I think this push for massive data centers are for something not yet released. Perhaps it involves your iCloud account (like an always ready television subscription) or Siri (like a more fully functional web search that competes more directly with Google), but it's something they have right now, IMO.
  • Reply 6 of 72
    conradjoeconradjoe Posts: 1,887member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post








    Apple may join Amazon, Facebook and Google in having a large data center operating in Prineville, Oregon, if it follows through on plans to build the new facility.












    See what happens, North Carolina?





  • Reply 7 of 72
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    Compared to the data being pushed from the iTS and App Store over these years? I think this push for massive data centers are for something not yet released. Perhaps it involves your iCloud account (like an always ready television subscription) or Siri (like a more fully functional web search that competes more directly with Google), but it's something they have right now, IMO.



    You could be right that it's also for something else not yet released but I don't think that you can compare the iTunes store to iCloud, because as you said, iTunes has merely been pushing the content and delivering it to people, while with iCloud, it is the devices that are pushing the data to Apple every day and Apple has to store it.



    If you count all of the people who use iCloud and have Macs, iPhones, iPod Touches, iPads, MBP's, Macbook Airs, that has got to be a lot of data for Apple to store.
  • Reply 8 of 72
    Apple TV, streaming media, iCloud storage. There are plenty of reasons for Apple to build more data storage capacity.



    What about when they open things up in China??? I mean really open it up!
  • Reply 9 of 72
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    Apple has been using server farms for years with their extensive iTunes Store so what could these new massive server farms be used for? I don't think iCloud or Siri are going to cut it as answers.



    Maybe for the Apple Department of Redundancy Department ...
  • Reply 10 of 72
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by battiato1981 View Post


    Maybe for the Apple Department of Redundancy Department ...



    Oh yeah! I always forget about the ADRD.
  • Reply 11 of 72
    8002580025 Posts: 175member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    See what happens, North Carolina?







    Hopefully the folks in Oregon won't be complaining about Apple's failure to provide local furniture trade jobs, like the folks in North Carolina.
  • Reply 12 of 72
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    Apple has been using server farms for years with their extensive iTunes Store so what could these new massive server farms be used for? I don't think iCloud or Siri are going to cut it as answers.



    I'm not even sure about Apples ownership of the iTunes infrastructure. In any event consider the following.
    1. Geographic separation of facilities us very important. It is a security thing, imagine if one gets hit by a hurricane.

    2. Siri results in a significant load as apparently a lot of processing is done on the server. It is no surprise that Apple has limited Siri to iPhone 4S.

    3. Apple is very interested in mapping technology so that is a significant load.

    4. Related to #1 iCloud stores user data. You don't want that data stored in just one place. It needs to be replicated for reliability.

    5. iTunes, especially moves and TV shows use considerable bandwidth, spreading that load out across the country helps manage load on the pipes.

    6. For Siri to grow properly it will need access to multiple data sources This means Apple will need a knowledge base that it manages it would be faster that going to other sources but more important is Apples control over the data.

    I could go on but one big theme is to keep all of your eggs out of one basket.
  • Reply 13 of 72
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 80025 View Post


    Hopefully the folks in Oregon won't be complaining about Apple's failure to provide local furniture trade jobs, like the folks in North Carolina.



    One thing I'm certain of that has nothing to do with it. There is a strategy to locating such facilities.
  • Reply 14 of 72
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Will Apple fill this new data center with the same Mac Mini and Mac Pro "Servers" that they tell their customers to use?
  • Reply 15 of 72
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Apple is going to need more Data Center because of their Cloud initiatives.



    Someone on the west coast should not be relying on the NC Data Center for their iCloud. This only serves to increase latency and diminish the effectiveness of utilizing the cloud.



    The West coast should be handled by west coast DC and the East should be handled by eastern DC.



    Pus I figure there will be more services rolled out over the new few years.
  • Reply 16 of 72
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    Apple is going to need more Data Center because of their Cloud initiatives.



    Someone on the west coast should not be relying on the NC Data Center for their iCloud. This only serves to increase latency and diminish the effectiveness of utilizing the cloud.



    The West coast should be handled by west coast DC and the East should be handled by eastern DC.



    Pus I figure there will be more services rolled out over the new few years.



    What...about....those....of....us....in.....space?
  • Reply 17 of 72
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rugby_kid View Post


    What...about....those....of....us....in.....space?



    Mars Cloud



  • Reply 18 of 72
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    Mars Cloud







    That would be so awesome. I'm gonna ask Siri if it's okay to take my helmet off!
  • Reply 19 of 72
    kent909kent909 Posts: 731member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 80025 View Post


    Hopefully the folks in Oregon won't be complaining about Apple's failure to provide local furniture trade jobs, like the folks in North Carolina.



    We are used to not having any jobs in Oregon. The company I worked for just had a 20% lay off last month.



    \
  • Reply 20 of 72
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 'Apple


    [;2000562'If you count all of the people who use iCloud and have Macs, iPhones, iPod Touches, iPads, MBP's, Macbook Airs, that has got to be a lot of data for Apple to store.



    But is it? Most unique user content that is stored is text in one way or another. Media such as movies, books, music and magazines are not stored uniquely for each person. There is no additional storage requirement if 10 million people back up a particular song as opposed to one. Of the 5 gb allotted to each person for free I bet only half is used.



    But Apple is increasingly developing web based services and I imagine their server requirements will continue to grow for a long time.
Sign In or Register to comment.