Spanky Deluxe said:
Telstra here in Australia has just set up a service exactly as you described!!
Bigpond movies
aussie_geek
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Apple buys Data Center ($45M-$50M)
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Telstra here in Australia has just set up a service exactly as you described!!
Bigpond movies
aussie_geek
aswitcher said:
Yeah that's correct, because 1) Windows DRM is not compatible on Mac's and also it uses WMP10
The quality they use is higher than 320 by 240.
JohnMcKee said:
Actually, weren't there a few patents discovered a few months back that talked about Apple using a caching system for iTunes video purchases? To me it's obvious that this data centre is the implementation of the patent. Which in turn would make me think that today's announcement is going to be about new video products...
Back to the original article...
"Data centers generally house computing, data-storage and networking equipment assisting in Web-based services and transactions." - SJ Business Journal
This obviously points to iTMS, which is only going to grow in content and traffic.
HOWEVER, the article only mentions similar data centers being built/bought by other telecom companies, like Sprint Nextel and Verizon. I have Sprint for my cell and Verizon for my home/DSL, and I'm not aware of ANY significant web-based services they offer. So is this data center also equipped for cellular network support, is this part of the 'Mobile Me' thing?
Also, wasn't there an Apple patent last month or so about controlling your home from a portable device and streaming content from your home computer to a portable device, or some such application? Maybe this data center has to do with that service.
One can hope, anyway...
"Data centers generally house computing, data-storage and networking equipment assisting in Web-based services and transactions." - SJ Business Journal
This obviously points to iTMS, which is only going to grow in content and traffic.
HOWEVER, the article only mentions similar data centers being built/bought by other telecom companies, like Sprint Nextel and Verizon. I have Sprint for my cell and Verizon for my home/DSL, and I'm not aware of ANY significant web-based services they offer. So is this data center also equipped for cellular network support, is this part of the 'Mobile Me' thing?
Also, wasn't there an Apple patent last month or so about controlling your home from a portable device and streaming content from your home computer to a portable device, or some such application? Maybe this data center has to do with that service.
One can hope, anyway...
The computer hardware that controls power, HVAC and security systems is probably OK.Sunrunner said:
Not so obvious...
It's far too expensive to pump all that data through cross-country (and cross-ocean) pipes from a single data center - you want multiple centers sharing the load (and offering site redundancy and disaster tolerance).
Besides, any connection with any product to be announced this morning is difficult to imagine. It can take months to bring the new center online (and Apple would probably wait for Intel XServes - who would want to buy a PPC Apple right now?).
Not obvious, unless Apple are also buying additional centers across the country.ickies said:
It's far too expensive to pump all that data through cross-country (and cross-ocean) pipes from a single data center - you want multiple centers sharing the load (and offering site redundancy and disaster tolerance).
Besides, any connection with any product to be announced this morning is difficult to imagine. It can take months to bring the new center online (and Apple would probably wait for Intel XServes - who would want to buy a PPC Apple right now?).
AidenShaw said:
Though, it's quite common to have a primary facility (core), and then points of presence on the edge of major carrier networks. Basically, doing what Akamai do which is content delivery.
We work in a similar way for our corporate network - we have our own primary centre, and then facilities located within public data-centres and in some cases, within our customer's data centres.
Because it's distributed, you get the wonderful benefit of redundancy (essentially, the way edge caching normally occurs, you have a good backup distributed around the edge of the network).
AidenShaw said:
Don't forget, Apple is ahead in the design cycle - they'll already be seeding internally Intel based hardware - I wouldn't be surprised if they have the next 12 months worth of hardware in seed already. Going by our experience, hardware and software spends more time in Alpha and Beta than development!!
Anyway, that's going off the point. Think back to the construction of the Big Mac supercomputer. Big customer, big order, Apple manufactured a faster configuration for them, 6 months prior to the update was released publicly, to close the contract. We where on the tail end of the period, and ended up waiting for the update prior to purchasing 6 of them ourselves. We have around 25-30 Xserves at any one time, and therefore have nowhere near the buying power they had.
So, if Apple was working an internal project - as with conventional business, they become as internal customer, and in this case, have incredible leverage over the design/development team. Don't think for one minute that Apple gets it's internal hardware for free - they only make a small margin after parts and manufacturing, which even internally, has to be recouped. It's all about ROI and TCO. So, Apple IT, or whatever the department is, now becomes a very big customer, and gets to call the shots. So, if they're putting a system together, they'll be using the next generation, and most likely at the quantities they're buying, at an even higher custom manufactured spec. They're demand could even justify a special model and/or a production line dedicated to manufacture solely for the project duration!
ickies said:
The description was quite naive, stating "assisting in Web-based services and transactions".
Data Centres, simple put, are a series of big rooms that are:
- environmentally protected and maintained (air conditioning, humidity control, dust extraction etc)
- power protected (multiple incoming supplies, battery backup/UPS, backup generators etc)
- physically secured (walls normally metal shielded, no glass, intense inbound and outbound access security, CCTV etc)
- racked (normally, have racks for mounting equipment)
- cable routing (cable baskets, false floors etc - lots of ingress points from external ducting, and room-to-room)
- fire protection (gas, liquid dump, ducting foam etc)
You then have different types of centres, normally dictated by their geographic location. Some are on the top of fibre exchanges (or rather, the fibre exchanges are inside the centre), some are in offices, some on campus' etc. Those in offices, or on campus' are normally private usage, and will normally house a company's networking, computing and data storage. Those ontop of fibre exchanges are normally more towards communications, and inter-networking.
Sprint and Verizon are carriers, and house their network in data centres. Most data centres sell off space/capacity to carriers and service-providers to locate fragments of their network - it's likely MCI would only have used a small percentage of the facility, and leased the rest out.
To use a shell (which has power and protection), you need to install racks, power to rack distribution (PDU's from taps under the floor), cabling between your equipment, cabling from external sources (Fibre etc) and of course, install your equipment.
...
RE: Tier IV(4)runninmac said:
Hey this is likely not just for the bennifit of Apple's costomers.
I work for an organization that requires a high-level of data security, not because the majority of the data is sensitive, but because the data is valuable- i.e. recordings. Our data centers (and likely Apple has more than one) are really data stores need to be very redundant, but I don't think we even qualify as a Tier I(1). All this talk about physical security is stupid and reminds me of Shadow Run. My supposition is that it may be to eventually provide for less expensive .Mac and digital downloads, but also to provide a new primary hub for Apples QT proxy servers.
The UpTime Institute, which I thought was an NPO, designed the Tier designation for designation for Data Centers, as well as sub delineating it for internal electrical lay out, cooling, etc...
Up Time Institute said:
NTG said:
Note: As of now, there is no greater Tier designation than IV(4). 100% uptime is technically not possible, due to the potential for some types of catastrophes like fires, when for safety, everything must be shut down with out regard to kicking in off site redundancy. Intra-redundancy of tasks, connections, etc. is not part of the Tier rating.
Note: The Level designation has also been used, and I can't find a reference to it. APC also has White Papers on Tier and Level grades for Data Centers. Level designation is (to my memory) relative to size, connectivity, through put and external redundancy.
- See
White Paper on Tier I(1) through Tier IV(4) grades Up Time Institute
Data Center at Wikipedia
A Web Forum on Data Centers Like MacRumors, but for uber nerds.
APC Mobile Tier 4When you absolutely positively have to be Tier IV overnight!
White Paper on Tier IV(4)Network Technology Group
Article on Apple's Tier IV(4) BizJournal
Apple's Other Tier IV(4) centerComputer World 2004.
I still think that this is this month's (Feb) big story.
750 tons of cooling? does that include 1200 tons of chillers?
This is absolutely amazing. I would love to tour it, although all you would see is rows of servers and cables...still would be sweet, and entirely out of my reach. Perhaps this is where The Steve will test his iDogs, the autonomous, souless guard dogs, to sick on OSX86, and Steve Ballmer. but then again, Steve Ballmer is an automous, souless...thing. http://www.ntk.net/media/developers.mpg
This is absolutely amazing. I would love to tour it, although all you would see is rows of servers and cables...still would be sweet, and entirely out of my reach
. Perhaps this is where The Steve will test his iDogs, the autonomous, souless guard dogs, to sick on OSX86, and Steve Ballmer. but then again, Steve Ballmer is an automous, souless...thing. http://www.ntk.net/media/developers.mpgPictures
Here is a link to toe closeupishs that I took today.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthall/
Here is a link to toe closeupishs that I took today.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthall/
Anyone notice the change in the new Intel Mini banner???
It was very subtle, but as soon as the new Intel Mini was announced, there was a picture of the mini and some screen shots of the cool things you could do. Take a look at the current Man Mini banner:
http://www.apple.com/macmini/
Right now, the screenshot on the very right end has the heading "Movie Trailers". Did anyone else notice that this same screenshot was different this morning? It was very similar, but had an iMovie icon instead, but didn't say Movie Trailers. It was just a black screen with the same kind of Movie ad images, but they were also images of different movies. I SWEAR IT!
Why would Apple change the image unless it was giving away too much information about an upcoming offering???
I think it's obvious that the data center will be needed to support additional servers for ITMS, but also because Apple is going to start offering a movie download service and judging by the apparent slip and quick fix today, I think it's going to happen very soon!
It was very subtle, but as soon as the new Intel Mini was announced, there was a picture of the mini and some screen shots of the cool things you could do. Take a look at the current Man Mini banner:
http://www.apple.com/macmini/
Right now, the screenshot on the very right end has the heading "Movie Trailers". Did anyone else notice that this same screenshot was different this morning? It was very similar, but had an iMovie icon instead, but didn't say Movie Trailers. It was just a black screen with the same kind of Movie ad images, but they were also images of different movies. I SWEAR IT!
Why would Apple change the image unless it was giving away too much information about an upcoming offering???
I think it's obvious that the data center will be needed to support additional servers for ITMS, but also because Apple is going to start offering a movie download service and judging by the apparent slip and quick fix today, I think it's going to happen very soon!
CHess said:It was very subtle, but as soon as the new Intel Mini was announced, there was a picture of the mini and some screen shots of the cool things you could do. Take a look at the current Man Mini banner:
http://www.apple.com/macmini/
Right now, the screenshot on the very right end has the heading "Movie Trailers". Did anyone else notice that this same screenshot was different this morning? It was very similar, but had an iMovie icon instead, but didn't say Movie Trailers. It was just a black screen with the same kind of Movie ad images, but they were also images of different movies. I SWEAR IT!
Why would Apple change the image unless it was giving away too much information about an upcoming offering???
I think it's obvious that the data center will be needed to support additional servers for ITMS, but also because Apple is going to start offering a movie download service and judging by the apparent slip and quick fix today, I think it's going to happen very soon!
Nicely spotted. Fortunetly I have it here
EDIT - difference appears to be iMovie logo and Title of "file/preview" in original one and green slate with Movie Trailers in the latest one. Also some weird little black and white "box" to the right of the original...
Now, not having front row I dont know, but does it play from iPhot or iMovie for previews?
Attachments
CHess said:That's the picture! Yay, I'm not crazy!!!
So, now you have it, what does this mean?
I don't know, but for some reason all I can think right now is when Darth Vader says, "I have you now!" and then they escape and then Vader has no one.aswitcher said:
I'm thinking that they may have changed the title in the picture to "Movie Trailers" just because it makes the screen's function a little more obvious without the context you would get from really using Front Row.CHess said:
That little box shows the MPAA rating in real Front Row.aswitcher said:
It doesn't start up any apps for those, it just relies on QuickTime.
iMeowbot said:
So, no leaks then? Mmm. I guess so but I still wonder why the changes are so large at the last minute.
There will be a major project underway to install all new UPS systems, generators, distribtuion, and incoming power. Nothing existing will be used. Eventually about 14 MW of UPS power capacity without taking into account redundancy. Probably end up with about 10 MW of UPS power capacity with redundancy. Major cooling upgrade installation will also take place. Lots of money to still be spent on this place. Most likely they will end up with about 70K sq. ft. to 80K sq. ft. of data center. This will end up being about 125 to 145 watts/sq. ft. with redundancy. I know.
