Google Datacenter Video

As a supplement to the earlier post on Google's Servers & Datacenters, here's an astounding video.

It's just amazing how out-of-the-box the datacenter thinking is, and yet how scalable and reliable it is as well.

We see a lot of the software side of Google as the glamorous side-- Google Earth, GMail-- hell, even Blogger. It's good to shine some light on the awesome work the IT Infrastructure guys do.

Google's Server... the secret is revealed

This one's not an April Fool's joke. Google has finally presented their server design as well as their modular datacenter plans. It's quite a bit different than most large datacenter providers, and I think there are some really good lessons both on how to design a datacenter as well as the individual server units-- both in what to leave in and what to take out. The goal here was to help other companies with power saving initiatives, but we got a lot more information than just that.

I think the most important take-aways are:

Simplify your systems! The design cuts to the bare bones of what is needed. They're then able to expand with lots and lots of simple units. The designs look an awful lot like a motherboard on a tray that they were using in the beginning.

The nodes are really, truly generic. They've gone through 5 generations of these simple systems, and it doesn't matter what they do. Each one is a compute unit with no differentiation.

Since Google has the ability to build their own systems really and truly to spec (including entirely custom motherboards) they can do away with unimportant bits to save cost and add costs where necessary (e.g. the motherboad does the 5v step-down instead of the power supply-- a few dollar feature that is worthwhile for their specific design as it saves on power efficiency in the PSU, saving more than a buck or two in the long run.)

While Google is rumored to be not interested in repairing servers (they were famously supposed to leave broken servers in place and not bother fixing them), the most failure-prone stuff is very easy to service.

Batteries on each unit vs. a large UPS is a brilliant move. These guys won't last long enough for battery aging to be a big deal, and even if it is, they're small, discrete, and easy as hell to service compared to any UPS battery. Saving space, money, weight, etc. on UPSes really helps.

The whole containerized, customized datacenter design is so radical, I'm not really sure I fully appreciate it yet. It's got all the basics of a hot aisle system, but fantastic density. I'm going to have to think about this one it's so radical.

Anyway-- very cool stuff Google.

Computer built under slave-like working conditions in China?

Looks like it's darn near slave labor, according to BoingBoing

I have a new appreciation for the Dell keyboards as shown in the photo...

Hardware: High Failure rates on Seagate 7200.11 drives

I had seen inklings of this before, but now it's getting very close to official. Seagate 7200.11 1TB drives, primarily ones out of Thailand are bricking themselves with no warning. This typically happens a few months after the drive is installed, so we're seeing this get critical now that the drive has been out a while. This is on top of other firmware and related issues with the 7200.11 and ES.2 family. If you've got valuable data on a 7200.11 drive, be warned and get your backups sorted ASAP.

I don't know for sure whether or not the ES.2 1TB drives are affected or not, and if they are, to what degree. I've got my eye on both, as I manage both.

Since this failure is happening without warning, it's not clear yet how big this might be. We might be looking at the biggest batch of drive failures since...well, you know.

Seagate has recently cut its warranty on consumer drives to 3 years (in general) down from 5 years (across the board).

Apple: Steve Jobs stepping down for 4-6 months

I don't know what more there is to say that hasn't been said better elsewhere, but "Teh Jobs" is stepping down for health reasons, and at least nominally to keep his health problems from distracting Apple's business. I'm not entirely hopeful that this is temporary, but we'll see. Best of luck to Steve as he fights whatever is really wrong.

Abit: Not Dead Yet?

Well, perhaps the rumors aren't exactly on target. Abit's website still indicates that they'll return to normal business on 1/5/2009, or basically "now" with the wonder of time zones. I guess we'll see what the future holds for Abit. They're certainly not a powerhouse anymore, but 12/31/2008 came and went... Best of luck to Abit, and as more news happens, I'll try to keep on top of it. Apologies to Abit, if this is an unbstantiated rumor.

Industry: ABit to exit the motherboard market?

TweakTown is reporting that ABit is leaving the motherboard market on 12/31/2008. Things have been bleak for the once beloved motherboard maker for quite some time, but with a lack of products shipping and all signs pointing towards failed product launches, the best outlooks are all pretty bleak. Perhaps ABit will be able to reorganize itself as a company hawking more consumer-oriented wares like Soyo... But with just a few weeks to go, the death watch awaits the news.

Unless things change, this will count for my eulogy. The recent boards were pretty much fine, but the fondness I have for the NF7-S v2.0 and BP6 does not fade with time. Of course, your capacitors did, but to be fair you were not alone...

Big Week: Core i7 and NXE

This is a big week-- I've been tremendously busy with work and being sick lately, but stuff is happening with or without me. Core i7 released today, although motherboard and RAM prices will keep it from the mainstream for now. Tomorrow is the grand re-launch of the XBox360 with the New Xbox Experience.

Exciting times!

Intel: i7 first benchmarks released.

I'm not going to rehash what's out there, and what's out there is still pouring in, but Core i7 is fast. Big surprise there. Here are some early reviews:

Maximum PC
TechSpot
PC Perspective

Expect mass-market acceptance by Q2-Q3 of '09, but with the Core i7 920 at around $270, that's tempting for a midrange + system now. i7 Xeon benchmarks are still MIA as far as I can tell, but expect similar performance.

Shanghai will be good, but Intel has so much breathing room now... things are looking grim over at the green camp.

Windows 7: Hope you like the name.

Well, the product that started as Blackcomb, then codename Windows 7 will officially be called... (drum roll please)... Windows 7!

Never mind that it's a lot closer to a "6.1" version, this may mark the return to relatively sensible version naming at Microsoft.

Coincidence that Nehalem has been named i7? Windows 7 on i7? Sounds like a match made... somewhere.

Intel: Best Quarter Ever

Intel just reported their best quarter ever with a gross margin of 59% while still selling most products at very competitive prices. The worst part? They don't expect the downturn to make that much of a dent by Q4. Even if things look bleaker long term, that's a helluva war chest.

Poor AMD.

Intel Strikes Back: the poison pill edition

It looks like Intel is trying to block the AMD/Foundry deal-- AMD and Intel cross license each others' Intellectual Property very heavily and they object. This would transition some Intel IP to probably be used by Foundry, and Intel and Foundry do not cross-license. I expect this to get a little legally ugly here, as Intel has the upper hand. If AMD pulls x86-64, that would really hurt Intel, but without x86, AMD is deader than dead.

AMD goes Fabless

Well, it's official. AMD is spinning this pretty hard, but they are selling all of their Fabs and will no longer be manufacturing their own CPUs. AMD sold off all of their Fabs worldwide in a deal with ATIC -- Advanced Technology Investment Corporation. ~3000 AMD employees will transition to the new company/joint venture which will be named Foundry.

The Inquirer is already dubbing the joint venture Arabian Micro Devices, and I can't say that I disagree. I'm concerned that this is funded ultimately through ATIC by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi itself. Yes, AMD will retain 45% share in stock, but if things turn sour the already troubled chipmaker is now at the mercy of the new managers of its former Fabs as well.

Obviously a lot of chipmakers operate in a fabless manner. I've had some experience with Silicon Labs-- a company that has never owned or operated a Fab, but still does OK for itself. Certainly the advantage is that you don't have to specialize in desiging, building and operating the Fab itself in a manner that recoups your huge facility investments in the most efficient manner possible. That frees you up to concentrate on design and be more agile... but it also prevents you from having any direct control of Fab outputs. Not getting enough ICs? Bad yields? They can't just shuffle production around by fiat to get the outputs they need.

If this were such a positive deal, why wouldn't AMD have gone for this 5 years ago, when Fabless started to become the new awesome thing? They were already having problems with their own fabrication processes. Chartered Semiconductor is already doing Fabrication for them as a partner, and ATI produces their chips through TSMC. This is a clear sign of desperation to be doing it now, and they're lucky to have found a suitor willing to take on ~$1.3 billion in debt along with a $700 million set of fabrication assets.

I've got to admit, I'm a little nostalgic at the news. I lived a few blocks from the K5 Fab (Fab 25) as it was spinning up in the mid 90's. I sat at the bus stop many a day and watched AMD hotshots drive past in their Lotus Esprits. Those days are not to return.

VIA to Exit Chipset Manufacturing

VIA saw the handwriting on the wall... with the "Intel Platform" being one of their big strengths along AMD acquiring ATI for their chipset design, it's getting tough for 3rd parties to compete in the chipset market. VIA is officially announcing that they're leaving the 3rd party chipset market. nVidia's already on shaky ground with respect to chipset design and manufacturing, so that only leaves SiS at the extreme budget (read: low profit margin) end of the spectrum. My only fear is that 3rd parties are good for overclocking and tweaking, serving as a great market force in that respect.

VIA will continue to design and manufacture chipsets for their Nano processor- just not for Intel or AMD CPUs.

Intel: Nehalem to be Branded Core i7

It appears the rumors are true. The next-generation Intel Nehalem architecture (successor to the Core 2 family) will be branded Core i7, at least for the Bloomfield versions.

The picture of release information is also getting a little clearer. Intel's original Q3 2008 promise might be a little more like very late Q3 to Q4 date for the processor being released in anything remotely approaching "volume." These will all be higher end processors with three models ranging from $284 to $999 in thousand lots. Low-end and mobile CPUs are due in Q3 2009. I'll go out on a limb and say that some price cuts/new models will introduce some sort of mid-high end CPUs around the Q1/Q2 2009 time frame, with Core 2 still being a strong low-mid contender through 1H 2009.

The Bloomfield logo is pictured at right, with the Extreme part (at the $999 price point) supposedly sporting a black/grey logo.

Industry: nVidia to Leave the Chipset Market?

Xbit Labs and the Inquirer are reporting that nVidia is set to leave the chipset market entirely, with the Inq saying it's a done deal. Digitimes is proposing a more moderate view on the rumor, while the Tech Report has an article that contains a full, apparently official rebuttal from nVidia. There seems to be more than a grain of truth here as nVidia hasn't reached a deal with Intel to be able to license QuickPath Interconnect for the upcoming Nehalem processor. With no plans in sight yet to support new Intel motherboard technologies after roughly Q3 2008, that leaves nVidia with their original market, AMD.

There's just one problem with that... AMD finally has an in-house chipset maker with the ATI acquisition and they're pushing their own ATI chipset-based products. So faced with stiff competition over the bottom 20% of the market, what's nVidia to do? Is SLI doomed? Will nVidia break the software restrictions on SLI and allow SLI in Intel or even ATI motherboards? What about some of the cool tech that's trickling out like hybrid SLI?

With the failure of mobile G84/86 chipsets and falling stock prices, things must be a bit tense over at nVidia right about now. Competing aggressively with Intel has to be in the cards for nVidia to remain relevant in the chipset market.

Gateway Ditches Direct Sales

It seem like so long ago, but once upon a time, Gateway was one of the darlings of the early direct-sales model. They were exceedingly competitive with the likes of Dell through the P2/P3 era and instrumental in the whole paradigm of ordering custom-configured computers first over the phone and later over the web.

Gateway, now a subsidiary of Acer, has floundered tremendously in the last few years. The idea of selling product directly and indirectly through Gateway Country stores floundered and they had begun selling through retail and e-tail channels.

This weekend, Gateway announced that they're giving up entirely on direct sales, and going to a 100% pre-configured, non-customized sales model. Last week, buying a pre-configured computer at 'retail' was just an option if you wanted a Gateway. Now, you get a choice of pre-configured systems and no more.

I'm going to call this one as a bad move, even if there are massive cost-savings that can be passed down to consumers. They're basically giving up on the business markets and high-end prosumer, leaving the low-margin "plain old computer" buyer.

Good luck, Gateway...

Happy 40th, Intel

All the best-- 40 years is a few lifetimes in the tech industry. Of course, this wish comes with a fervent request that you not repeat the debacles of Netburst, RAMBUS and the FDIV bug. I will gratefully take a nice Wolfdale off your hands if you have one to spare, though!