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Re: [LUG] Data centres - money mouth etc

 

Michael Mortimore wrote:
 >
> You could set up something to remotely power cycle it for you.

My last call to a remote data centre was something along the lines of....

"Machine A can't talk to machine B. Both have working IP stacks, neither 
report their own ethernet connections as failing. Can you check the 
cable between the two switches involved?"

We had managed to remotely diagnose exactly the right problem, but 
sometimes hands and eyes on the ground are the only way to fix such 
things. But I don't think location is that important for many customers 
of data centers, heck the guy I was asking to check our switch was in 
San Francisco.

Although presence is more crucial when it is more than just one box that 
is being hosted. These days with network storage, and big virtualisation 
providers, there is little need to host individual servers (although 
folks still do).

Locality isn't the way to do it, the big rack mount box providers will 
preinstall basic OS, and ship it to the data centre of your choice, 
where you complete the installation remotely. Although these days, 
people buying that sort of service might as well get a virtual server, 
and let someone else worry about hardware.

As such I think a "carbon neutral" data centre wants to be located 
somewhere with a plentiful supply of (reliable) green electricity, and I 
think Devon is out, unless they build the Severn tidal barrier. I doubt 
Wind farms will hack it, although I guess if it were big enough, and 
sold electricity to the grid when it had surplus.... Geologically stable 
regions with plenty of green electricity -- hmm tidal barrier (France), 
or solar power (North Africa or Spain maybe), or am I missing something?

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