Want to see where the internet lives?

google datacentre

Wait, Google keeps the internet below a hatch?
Yup, and the wallpaper’s really bumpy. Don’t be silly – this man is checking the underfloor water channels that cool those banks of servers. Also, contrary to popular belief, the internet exists independently of Google, though a copy of some it does exist at this data centre in Georgia, USA.

And what happens if the internet’s broken?
There are multiple backups kept at a variety of locations. But when a drive fails, it’s destroyed on site – so your personal data are safe. Google’s usually quite secretive about its operation – one of the reasons this set of images is so revealing.

I thought working at Google was about sitting in a beanbag, eating free scoff
It’s true there are some perks. Witness the G-Bike (below, part of Google’s campus transport scheme) that’s been used to get around this server farm. In the firm’s Finland data centre, one of the meeting rooms has an en suite sauna. Try not to contemplate that as you survey the mould in your cramped office kitchen today.

google datacentre