Google opens window into secretive data centres ahead of Hong Kong launch
Internet search giant offers tour of its nerve centre
Google is opening a virtual window into the secretive data centres where an intricate maze of computers process internet search requests, show YouTube video clips and distribute e-mail for millions of people.
Virtual tours of a North Carolina data centre also will be available through Google’s “Street View” service, which is usually used to view photos of neighbourhoods around the world.
The photographic access to Google’s data centres coincides with the publication of a Wired magazine article about how the company builds and operates them. The article is written by Steven Levy, a journalist who won Google’s trust while writing In The Plex, a book published last year about the company’s philosophy and evolution.
The data centres represent Google’s nerve centre, although none are located near the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.