Facebook's Open Compute- WOW! by Doug MOhney

Views and Opinions on Green IT (Apr 20 2011) Servers

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   Last week, Facebook unveiled its Open Compute Project (www.opencompute.org). Talk about a paradigm shift!  The company put all of its energy cards on the table by putting its server designs and data center designs as "open hardware." Anyone can build, use, and take advantage of the efficiencies Facebook put into its Oregon data center -- you know, the one using all that dirty coal power -- and apply them to their own operations.

   YES, I know there's a certain amount of PR-ism involved here so Facebook can demonstrate it is doing the right thing on energy efficiency before Greenpeace decides to dump a load of coal in its parking lot.  And there's a certain amount of O Henry-esque irony in the whole openness thing, given Facebook's historic  laisse  faire approach to privacy. 

   Ignore all that. Open Compute is a big rock thrown into a very still pond, and the ripples are going to be felt for years.  

   Facebook has shaken up thinking on how to build data centers and the gear that goes in them that can be applied in everything from massive installations down to a one room corporate data center.   By going open with hardware server and data center design, Facebook throws down the gauntlet to Google and others to stop treating its energy saving practices as trade secrets to be protected.  Instead, information is shared so the global community of data center operators can easily apply best practices.   For all of Google's hype of being "open," it isn't handing out data sheets and engineering drawings -- Facebook is.

   Secondly, publishing open specifications for simplified servers that any manufacturer can pick up is just brilliant.  It bridges the middle between stock off-the-shelf hardware and customized large-scale builds that only the big guys like Google and Facebook can afford.  Now anyone can buy a more energy-efficient server and multiple manufacturers can work their mojo to improve on the first generation designs and build more optimized solutions for individual customers.  

   Speaking of individuals, open-sourcing the specs also enables crowd-sourcing and solo efforts to refine designs.  Second and third-generation hardware designs will find the right balance/selection of reduced power consumption and optimized assembly and operation.

   Finally, Dell and HP are working with Facebook on next-generation servers.  An "open compute" server with less plastic and better energy efficiency should translate to a product that is also lower-cost and can be purchased in an off-the-shelf fashion, making it easier for both new data center builds and rolling in more efficient hardware into existing facilities.

   Facebook hasn't been shy about sharing its concepts and is bragging it has reduced energy consumption per unit of computing power by 38 percent at its new Oregon data center and has a PUE rating of 1.07.  If these results can be propagated across the data center world with continuous improvement every 18 months or so, this is a win-win model.

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