Google power

[xoggoth]

every hour Google's engine burns through 1 million kilowatt-hours. Google serves up approximately 10 million search results per hour, so one search has the same energy cost as turning on a 100-watt light bulb for an hour.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/...ty-secret.html

bleedin' eck!

[Sockpuppet]

Each server drawing 1 kilowatt?

I though google used standard desktop PCs as they were cheaper than massive servers for what they wanted? Which would draw maybe 400 watts at peak.

[xoggoth]

1Kw did seem an enormous figure but I assumed Google must be using super duper googly servers.

[NickFitz]

Fatal flaw in their calculations: Google doesn't just do search. What about GMail, Docs, YouTube, Translate, Maps, and all the rest?

[vetran]

Majestic runs on fluffy lambs and little chicks?

[NickFitz]

1Kw did seem an enormous figure but I assumed Google must be using super duper googly servers.

Google use bog-standard kit: cheap motherboards, components, HDDs, and so forth. When something breaks down they don't even bother replacing it until the next time they have a clear-out. However, they link them all together to form massive grids of computing power that automatically cope with and route around such failures.

This is why they're able to produce such interesting analyses as this one about HDD failure rates (PDF Alert) from 2007. They use the same HDDs as we do, but have hundreds of thousands - by now, possibly millions - of them

[Pogle]

Google use bog-standard kit: cheap motherboards, components, HDDs, and so forth. When something breaks down they don't even bother replacing it until the next time they have a clear-out. However, they link them all together to form massive grids of computing power that automatically cope with and route around such failures.

This is why they're able to produce such interesting analyses as this one about HDD failure rates (PDF Alert) from 2007. They use the same HDDs as we do, but have hundreds of thousands - by now, possibly millions - of them

Why does that thought make me go all tingly

[DiscoStu]

Majestic runs on fluffy lambs and little chicks?

You've got to hand it to AtW, other people pay the electricity bill for all his crawlers

[Pondlife]

You've got to hand it to AtW, other people pay the electricity bill for all his crawlers

Tis true.

Although I wonder how many would be so happy to do so if it were a major corporation. I also wonder if I am breaking the T&Cs of my 'home' broadband connection.

Still, every little helps.

[TimberWolf]

This is why they're able to produce such interesting analyses as this one about HDD failure rates (PDF Alert) from 2007. They use the same HDDs as we do, but have hundreds of thousands - by now, possibly millions - of them

My FF browser tab hangs when trying to open that PDF document. Is it just me? I appear to be able to open other PDF pages ok. Works ok in IE though.