Our Council Bluffs data center provides over 115,000 square feet of space. We make the best out of every inch, so you can use services like Search and YouTube in the most efficient way possible.
We keep pipes like these ready with highly-pressurized water in case of a fire. This water, in particular, is cleaned and filtered so if we use it, we don't contaminate the facility.
This is a closer view of the backup tapes in our tape library. Each tape has a unique barcode so our robotic system can locate the right one.
Denise Harwood diagnoses an overheated CPU. For more than a decade, we have built some of the world's most efficient servers.
Associate Facilities Manager Jeff Hajer burns some wire in a fabrication area at our Lenoir center.
This control station monitors the building and power with the ability to take calls from the field, validate repair tickets and authorize repairs.
Our data center in The Dalles, Oregon sits on the banks of the Columbia River. Here our team members enjoy rafting, wind surfing, fishing and hiking.
A sunset over Saint Ghislain, Belgium illuminates our water storage tanks and cooling towers.
A beautiful landscape forms during winter in Finland, as the gulf ices over and creates a picturesque view.
Bright lights and the moon light light up our Mayes County data center. These modular units provide cooling for a portion of the center.
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Inside our campus network room, routers and switches allow our data centers to talk to each other. The fiber optic networks connecting our sites can run at speeds that are more than 200,000 times faster than a typical home Internet connection. The fiber cables run along the yellow cable trays near the ceiling.
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A sustainable data center starts with making our computers use as little electricity as possible.

Our Council Bluffs data center provides over 115,000 square feet of space. We make the best out of every inch, so you can use services like Search and YouTube in the most efficient way possible.
Hovering above the floor in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the scale of our data center there begins to take shape. Huge steel beams both support the structure and help distribute power.
Plastic curtains hang in a network room inside our Council Bluffs data center. Here we serve up cold air through the floor, and the clear plastic barriers help keep the cold air in while keeping hot air out.
These colorful pipes are responsible for carrying water in and out of our Oregon data center. The blue pipes supply cold water and the red pipes return the warm water back to be cooled.
Our pipes aren't the only colorful things at our data centers. These cables are organized by their specific hue. On the floor, this can make things less technical: “Hand me a blue one."
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Hard disc sizes and models can vary. In this photo, you will notice some 2 TB drives.

As part of our commitment to keeping our users' data safe, we destroy all failed drives, on site.
Insulated pipes like these have a U-bend (called this due to their shape) so they can expand and contract as the fluid temperature inside the pipe changes.
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On average, two gallons of water is consumed for every kilowatt-hour of electricity produced in the US. By using less electricity to power our computing infrastructure, we also save fresh water. Every year our efficient data centers save hundreds of millions of gallons of drinking water simply by consuming less electricity.

Thousands of feet of pipe line the inside of our data centers. We paint them bright colors not only because it's fun, but also to designate which one is which. The bright pink pipe in this photo transfers water from the row of chillers (the green units on the left) to a outside cooling tower.
These colorful pipes send and receive water for cooling our facility. Also pictured is a G-Bike, the vehicle of choice for team members to get around outside our data centers.
We keep pipes like these ready with highly-pressurized water in case of a fire. This water, in particular, is cleaned and filtered so if we use it, we don't contaminate the facility.
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Our servers lose only a fraction of the electricity they pull from the wall during power conversion. By closely monitoring this process and keeping power efficient, we save over 500 kWh per server annually over a typical system.

Blue LEDs on this row of servers tell us everything is running smoothly. We use LEDs because they are energy efficient, long lasting and bright.
An overhead view of one of our cooling plants, where seawater from the Gulf of Finland entirely cools the data center there.
Server floors like these require massive space and efficient power to run the full family of Google products for the world. Here in Hamina, Finland, we chose to renovate an old paper mill to take advantage of the building's infrastructure as well as its proximity to the Gulf of Finland's cooling waters.
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With over 100,000 square feet of space in this data center, we had to create a numbering system so team members know where they are at all times. What would you say here? “1A.” This is the starting point of the grid underneath our cooling towers in Hamina, Finland.

These colorful pipes carry water. Three of our data centers, like this one in Finland, run on 100% unprocessed or greywater. The idea behind this is simple: instead of depending on clean, potable water, we use alternative sources of water and clean it just enough so it can be used for cooling. This water still needs to be processed, but treatment for data center use is much easier than cleaning it for drinking.
These ethernet switches connect our facilities network. Thanks to them, we are able to communicate with and monitor our main controls for the cooling system in our data center.
In case anything should happen to our data, we have it all backed up. One of the places we back up information is here in our tape library. Robotic arms (visible at the end of the aisle) assist us in loading and unloading tapes when we need to access them.
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Unlike a real library, you can't check out anything, but if you try, we have a security team standing by.

This is a closer view of the backup tapes in our tape library. Each tape has a unique barcode so our robotic system can locate the right one.
Storage tanks like these can hold up to 240,000 gallons (900,000 liters) of water at any given time. This insulated tank holds water that we'll send to the heart of the data center for cooling.
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Millions of feet of wire connect our servers together worldwide and make sure you can access Google services like Search and Gmail.

Each of our server racks has four switches, connected by a different colored cable. We keep these colors the same throughout our data center so we know which one to replace in case of failure.
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We optimize our servers and racks to use minimal fan power, and the fans are controlled to spin only as fast as necessary to keep the server temperature below a certain threshold.

A rare look behind the server aisle. Here hundreds of fans funnel hot air from the server racks into a cooling unit to be recirculated. The green lights are the server status LEDs reflecting from the front of our servers.
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Tieg Weathers

Data Center Operations

Maintaining the right temperature inside our data centers is a crucial part of what keeps them stable. Here Tieg Weathers, who works in water maintenance in Council Bluffs, Iowa, cuts a piece of pipe to patch into a new cooling system.

Tieg worked as part of our data center operations team while he put himself through college. He says, “I'm not a techy guy, but I'm astounded at how we use energy at each stage in the data centers. I'm proud that we do it efficiently and are the best stewards of the energy that we can be.”

Tieg Weathers cuts a piece of pipe to patch into a new cooling system.
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Denise Harwood

Hardware Operations

Surrounded by the deep blue lights of our servers, Denise Harwood diagnoses an overheated CPU. It's half of her job as a repair technician to help keep equipment up-and-running at all times. The other half is working on the data security team, making sure what goes into our centers is thoroughly protected. 

Denise discovered her Google job in a unique way. “It was through playing Dungeons and Dragons,” she says. While playing the game, she met a Google employee and discussed future work plans. “I had originally planned to get a degree in literature, but later changed my major to Computer Science,” she says. After graduating, she applied to our data center in The Dalles, Oregon, where she now works as part of a 150-person team.

Denise Harwood diagnoses an overheated CPU. For more than a decade, we have built some of the world's most efficient servers.
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Mike Barham

Hardware Operations

As an operations technician, Mike Barham receives alerts multiple times a day when servers need new parts. After getting the notification, Mike accesses an interactive software tool to pinpoint the problem. Sometimes the fix requires that he swap out a hard drive or, in this case, a motherboard.

Mike came to work with Google from the Navy, where he worked as an information system technician in charge of communications with ground troops. When asked about the feeling of working inside the Internet, he comments: “The sheer scale of the data centers blows my mind.”

Mike Barham swaps out a motherboard. When server parts break, we first try to repair them. If we can't, we break them up into raw materials (steel, plastic, copper, etc.) and recycle the components.
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Mounir Ben Moussa,
Ray Coss

Data Center Operations

It takes teamwork to keep Google running. Here technicians Mounir Ben Moussa and Ray Coss conduct generator maintenance. Mounir and Ray are part of a team that works on keeping the power and cooling systems operational at our center in Belgium.

Here technicians Mounir Ben Moussa and Ray Coss conduct generator maintenance.
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Patrick Davillier

Data Center Operations

Patrick Davillier does a visual inspection of the water pipes running below the floor. Our maintenance standards require us to constantly monitor the functionality of our cooling systems. This ensures our servers are properly cooled, all the time.

Patrick Davillier

Data Center Operations

The water used for cooling our data centers doesn't need to be drinkable, so when possible, we use recycled water (greywater) instead of drinking water, and we save that valuable resource for those who need it.

Patrick Davillier does a visual inspection of the water pipes running below the floor.
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Norman Martin

Data Center Operations

As Norman Martin describes matter-of-factly: “The Internet never sleeps—we keep it going!” So, what happens when the power goes out? Our data centers quickly switch over to emergency back-up generators to prevent any downtime. (That then turn off when power is restored.) These special batteries (pictured) ensure that the generators start up quickly. Workers like Norman make visual inspections to ensure these batteries are charged and ready to be activated at any time.

Norman Martin

Data Center Operations

“Working here is like taking an extended field trip to a toy store. We get to see and play with all the new toys. The ones that are broken, we fix, and the ones that work fine, we make better. We push technology and efficiency to the max.”

Norman Martin makes visual inspections to ensure battery banks are charged and ready to be activated at any time.
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Ash Williams

Data Center Operations

Here, Ash Williams removes the lid of a storage tank to check its interior lining. Our data center in Douglas County, Georgia utilizes an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), which uses recycled water to keep equipment at the optimum temperature. Ash points out: “Working here has shown me how important the infrastructure is, from the location to utilities, weather and most of all, people.”

Ash Williams

Data Center Operations

Both our Georgia and Belgium data centers use Water Treatment Plants which allow us to utilize recycled water in the cooling towers.

Ash Williams points out: “Working here has shown me how important the infrastructure is, from the location to utilities, weather and most of all, people.”
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Jeff Hajer

Associate Facilities Manager

Associate Facilities Manager Jeff Hajer burns some wire in a fabrication area at our Lenoir center. Welding is one of Jeff's many jobs, which include performance evaluations, managing technicians and coaching. He's proud to manage this data center and says he loves the sense of accomplishment it gives him. Outside of Google, Jeff restores classic cars and loves to fish.

Jeff Hajer

Associate Facilities Manager

Jeff is using metal inert gas welding, also known as MIG welding. It's a welding method preferred for its versatility, speed and the relative ease of adapting the process to robotic automation. And, it creates a strong weld.

Associate Facilities Manager Jeff Hajer burns some wire in a fabrication area at our Lenoir center.
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Rachel Mitchell

Hardware Operations

When Rachel Mitchell isn't repairing the servers that store Google's corner of the Internet, she's rocking out to Aerosmith and getting around on a scooter through our Lenoir, North Carolina data center's floor. “It's so big, we ride from end to end,” she says. “I love that I'm a part of something so huge.”

Rachel Mitchell

Hardware Operations

In her free time, Rachel likes to participate in zombie marathons, 5k runs through the mud where you encounter zombies (other people) who chase after you. “You can be one of three runner groups: the appetizer, the main course (that's me) or the dessert (the slowest runners).”

Rachel Mitchell preps a cart to repair the servers that store Google's corner of the Internet.
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Jon Rogers

Environmental Health and Safety Technician

Environmental health and safety technician Jon Rogers applies a floor-tile-grabber (he promises that is the actual name) to the floor to check the status of pipes underneath. Besides making sure the North Carolina center complies with all safety regulations, Jon is involved in the community and has helped award several grants to local schools.

Jon Rogers

Environmental Health and Safety Technician

“What amazes me about our data centers is that they power Google for the world, and they never turn off!”

Jon Rogers applies a floor-tile-grabber (actual name) to the floor to check the status of pipes underneath.
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Mitch "Mikke" Fleming

Data Center Operations

Mitch Fleming tightens a valve coupling that ensures we contain seawater from the Gulf of Finland in the appropriate cooling pipes. Mitch is no stranger to making adjustments. He once designed a 2-piece plate to go inside the cooling units to better regulate airflow and save energy when we switch the units on and off. “You look at things as open-ended problems. I can basically stop what I'm doing and develop something at will. You are allowed to think outside the box here.” he says.

Mitch Fleming tightens a valve coupling to ensure we keep seawater from the Gulf of Finland in the appropriate cooling pipes.
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Neal Menkus

Hardware Operations

"As part of Google's security plan, when we remove a storage drive from the data center floor, we send it to a team that includes Neal Menkus. Inside the data security cage, Neal and other workers use special equipment to completely erase all of the data. After erasing the failed drive, we physically destroy it an industrial shredder. (This is Neal's favorite job.)

When Neal's friends ask him what he does for a living, he answers “Imagine you walk into a large warehouse and there's nothing there except aisles of computer motherboards, thousands of them, stacked on top of each other in racks the size of refrigerators.” Then he asks his friends to think about how often they have a problem with their computer at home. “The same things happen to our servers, and guess who gets to fix them?”

Neal Menkus

Hardware Operations

Neal stands in front of storage lockers for the data security cage inside our Moncks Corner center. Many employees wear headphones like these to block out the low-hum of server noise.

Neal uses special equipment to completely erase all of the data on old servers.
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Justin Hobbs

Data Center Operations

This is the inside of the command center at our Mayes County, Oklahoma location, as manned by Justin Hobbs. This control station monitors the building and power with the ability to take calls from the field, validate repair tickets and authorize repairs. The wide range of responsibilities is something Justin welcomes. “I enjoy not being pigeonholed,” he says.

Justin Hobbs

Data Center Operations

Thanks to this data center in Oklahoma, Google has been able to create 100 new jobs. In a recent Oklahoma Magazine Mayor Jimmy Tramel called the data center's contribution “immense” and has been outspoken about Google's community support which includes several grants to local schools.

This control station monitors the building and power with the ability to take calls from the field, validate repair tickets and authorize repairs.
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Roger Harris

Hardware Operations

Starting as a construction worker, Roger Harris helped build our Mayes County, Oklahoma data center and was given the opportunity to apply for an internal position. “I submitted a resume and got the job. Now I take care of the infrastructure that allows Google to do what it does,” he says. In this picture, he's taking in a wider view of our Oklahoma center, while accessing a laptop that controls air flow for the whole facility.

Roger Harris

Hardware Operations

“I love the fact that I work for a company that truly wants to make the world a better place and make information accessible to all.”

Roger Harris takes care of the infrastructure "that allows Google to do what it does,” he says.
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We have 14 fixed and steerable dishes with a 70 degree arc over the Americas. This setup is specifically designed to pick up all TV distribution and contribution satellites.

This massive antenna receives signals for our Access Services unit which brings fiber optics to residential homes all over the globe. These antennas are also the primary signal source for hundreds of TV channels that make up Google Fiber's TV service.
This family of deer have moved in next to our Council Bluffs, Iowa center.
Wildflowers bloom around cooling towers at our Iowa data center.
Steam rises above the cooling towers in The Dalles data center in Oregon. These plumes of water vapor create a quiet mist at dusk.
Plumes of steam rise above our cooling towers. When you can see the water vapor – meaning humidity and temperatures are low – our cooling towers are at their most efficient.
Our data center in The Dalles, Oregon sits on the banks of the Columbia River. Here our team members enjoy rafting, wind surfing, fishing and hiking.
A sunset over Saint Ghislain, Belgium illuminates our water storage tanks and cooling towers.
Dusk settles around our data center in Douglas County, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta.
A cool spring night falls on our Lenoir, North Carolina data center. From this beautiful location, we're able to provide our services – in the middle of the night – to the entire world.
A beautiful landscape forms during winter in Finland, as the gulf ices over and creates a picturesque view.
Hamina is one of three data centers we maintain in Europe. Previously it was the home of the Stora Enso paper mill.
Another view of our Hamina location, taken while standing on the frozen Gulf of Finland.
At our data center in Finland, we converted an old paper mill and used its infrastructure. The tanks in this picture were previously used in the paper making process.
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These chairs (as well as the rest of the building) were designed by famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

Different data centers offer different amenities. This conference room, inside our Hamina location, is just outside a sauna area which is available for employees whenever they like.
Our Hamina team enjoys ice fishing in the frozen Gulf of Finland.
Dawn lights up the sky over our data center in Berkeley County, South Carolina.
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This pond is now the home of several alligators.

A peaceful scene outside our data center in Berkeley County, South Carolina. We're currently experimenting with this rainwater retention pond as another source to cool our systems.
A sunset highlights the beautiful landscape surrounding our Pryor, Oklahoma data center.
Bright lights and the moon light light up our Mayes County data center. These modular units provide cooling for a portion of the center.
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The 70-degree arc specifically allows these dishes to reach communication satellites and broadcast all the way across the Americas.

Satellite arrays like these are the primary signal source for hundreds of Google Fiber's national TV channels.
Water storage tanks make sure our data centers stay cool day or night.
In case anything should happen to our data, we have it all backed up here in our tape library.
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We omit parts on servers that aren't needed for our applications. Hardware is limited to what is necessary for the applications to run, and does not include unnecessary components such as peripheral connectors or video cards.

In an unoccupied area, motion-sensors automatically switch off the main lighting to save power. The result is the dazzling glow of the world's data filtered through multicolored LEDs. It's like holiday lights year-round.
Green hills rise behind our location in The Dalles, Oregon. Google's data centers use 50% less energy than the average data center, and if you add our renewable energy use and carbon offsets, our environmental footprint is zero.
Water storage tanks below the cooling towers ensure we have water available whenever we need it.
Team members walk across this platform to check our cooling towers. In other companies' data centers, chiller-based cooling is responsible for a 30-70% overhead in energy usage. We’ve slashed that percentage by using free cooling techniques to minimize the amount of time that chillers need to run.
A closer look at a water valve manifold and pressure sensors at our treatment plant in Belgium.
All of the electricity that goes into a data center ultimately turns into heat, so we use fans, pumps and air conditioning equipment to remove it. Fortunately, there's an energy-efficient method to do this called free cooling, and we use it as much as possible. Pictured here are cooling towers, a key component of the free-cooling process.
This system of pipes composes a water filtration unit underneath a cooling tower outside our data center in Lenoir, North Carolina.
Water storage tanks and cooling towers make sure our data centers stay cool day or night.
These are butterfly valves, used to regulate and isolate the flow of water and air. They got this name because they consist of round disks that pivot on a rod, making them resemble butterfly wings.
One of our team members brazes some copper tubing for a water manifold.
Blue lights like these mean everything is functioning properly on the server floor.
Inside our network room in Hamina, Finland, panels like these make up the control center for our Computer Room Air Conditioners (CRACs). Here we can connect and disconnect power from the motors in the event that we need to make a change.
The LED lights on our server equipment are highly efficient, long-lasting and bright. Their different colors are an indication of their current status.
Water storage tanks and cooling towers make sure our data centers stay cool day or night.
An employee works at light speed on building out a new server floor in our South Carolina data center.
Google staff walk across this platform to check our cooling towers. Our cooling infrastructure use less energy than most data centers because we use free cooling techniques to minimize the amount of time that chillers need to run.
Sunrise illuminates the cooling towers and water storage tanks, two essential ingredients in our highly efficient cooling system process.
The sun rises over our cooling towers and water storage tanks in our Oklahoma data center.
Water storage tanks and cooling towers make sure our data centers stay cool day or night.
On this long catwalk at our Pryor, Oklahoma data center, workers can get a good view as they monitor cooling towers and other equipment.
Mike Harvey checks the cooling towers as the hills rise behind him at our data center in The Dalles, Oregon.
Inside our campus network room, routers and switches allow our data centers to talk to each other. Here fiber optic cables (yellow trays near the ceiling) connect our sites at speeds that can be 200,000 times faster than a typical home Internet connection.
This building in Hamina, Finland, holds the best of both worlds – a conference room for work and a sauna for after work. Both are available to employees whenever they like.
Plastic curtains (shown on the right and left side) hang in a network room inside our Hamina data center. Here we pump cold air in through the floor while these clear plastic barriers help keep warm air out.
This catwalk runs between our cooling towers and allows our staff to inspect and maintain the equipment.
This catwalk allows data center employees to observe our cooling towers (shown on the right of the photo).
Our servers are some of the most efficient in the world. One of the ways we've innovated to make them better is by putting a DC power source (battery) right on the server rack.
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