-
Apple Adding Data Center in Silicon Valley

Apple is expanding its Internet infrastructure with a new data center in Silicon Valley, as it prepares to bring additional server and storage capacity online later this year. The new server space, housed in a third-party facility, will be smaller than the huge iDataCenter that Apple has built in North Carolina.The new data center will provide additional IT capacity at a time when Apple is rumored to be developing new cloud computing services delivering streaming media, which could include music, video and file storage. Apple has reportedly acquired the domain name iCloud.com for use with a new service.
Facility Ready in Third Quarter of 2011
In April, Apple signed a seven-year lease for 2.28 megawatts of critical power load in a new data center being built in Santa Clara, Calif. by DuPont Fabros Technology (DFT), a leading developer of wholesale data center space. The lease is scheduled to commence in the third quarter (July to September), when the building opens.
DuPont Fabros disclosed the Santa Clara lease in its first quarter earnings, but did not reveal the name of the tenant, which is consistent with its policies. In a conference call with analysts, company executives described the tenant as a “Fortune 50 technology company with excellent credit.” But multiple industry sources have since confirmed that the tenant is Apple.
The lease appears to be Apple’s first investment in wholesale data center space. In the wholesale data center model, a tenant leases a dedicated, fully-built data center space. This approach is attractive for companies that need to deploy additional data center space quickly, as wholesale space can be delivered more rapidly than building a new data center.
Most wholesale leases are now priced in power capacity rather than square footage. The Silicon Valley lease works out to about 11,000 square feet of data center space. By comparison, the iDataCenter in Maiden, North Carolina is 500,000 square feet, and includes more than 184,000 square feet of data center space, according to records filed with local officials. (See the Apple Data Center FAQ for more on the Maiden facility).
Data Center Capacity on Both Coasts
As we’ve noted several times previously, it’s likely that Apple will need at least one other large data center complex to provide backup capabilities for the facility in North Carolina. Most major Internet companies have major hubs on both coasts, which helps with content delivery and also provides the ability to keep copies of critical data “out of region” so that a single natural disaster wouldn’t threaten the survival of the data.
The Santa Clara facility would provide Apple with additional capacity on the West Coast, where Apple also has existing data centers in Newark, Calif. and on its Cupertino headquarters campus.
Santa Clara is the data center capital of Silicon Valley because the local power company, Silicon Valley Power, offers slightly lower rates than those available from PG&E in surrounding towns. Data center service providers with facilities in Santa Clara include Digital Realty Trust, CoreSite Realty, Savvis, Vantage Data Centers, Equinix, Terremark, Server Farm Realty and QTS (Quality Technology), among others.
Landlord for Major Internet Players
The Santa Clara site is the first West coast facility for DuPont Fabros (DFT), which also has data centers in northern Virginia, Chicago and New Jersey. The company’s tenants include Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and Facebook.
DFT’s Santa Clara site will be built in two phases, each with 18.2 megawatts of capacity. When it is completed, the building will span 360,000 square feet, with a total of 176,000 square feet of space on a 42-inch raised floor, which allows cooling capacity for high-density server installations.
It’s not clear whether Apple has any expansion options for additional space at the facility. But many of DuPont Fabros’ largest tenants follow a pattern in which they lease space in the first phase of a data center, and later take additional space once the second phase is available.
Analysts at Jeffries & Co. are predicting that Apple will build additional data centers in the U.S. and Europe to support a global streaming video service to compete with Netflix and YouTube. Jeffries analyst cites expansion reports about Apple’s North Carolina facility and references third-party reports that “plans for data center builds in other parts of the U.S. and Europe are accelerating meaningfully.”
What will the new data center capacity support? Stay tuned.
Want to know more about Apple’s data centers? See the Apple Data Center FAQ or check out some of our previous coverage:
- Where Apple’s ‘Secret Cloud’ Will Live
- Is an iTunes “Reboot” Driving the iDataCenter Project?
- The iDataCenter and the Cloud
- Maiden iDataCenter Will be 500,000 Square Feet
- The Apple-Google Data Center Corridor
Apple Data Center To Hit Silicon Valley? – [REPORT] | RazorianFly
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] Center Knowledge today reports that Apple may be set to introduce another of its data centers in Silicon Valley. Claiming the [...]
Crazy Articles Directory » Apple Building Out Minor Data Center Capacity Expansion in California
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] Data Center Knowledge reports that while Apple’s massive new data center in North Carolina has been gaining all of the attention over the past year or so, the company is still looking to expand capacity elsewhere, as evidenced by a recent commitment for space in a third-party data center in Santa Clara, California near the company’s headquarters. [...]
Apple To Open New Data Center In Silicon Valley | iGadgetsReport
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] is reportedly working on new data center in Silicon Vally. According to Data Center Knowledge, the data center in Silicon Vally will be smaller than the giant iDataCenter that Apple has built [...]
Apple Opening A New Data Center in Silicon Valley | iPhather
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] Data Center Knowledge reports Apple is adding a new data center in Silicon Valley, set to open in the third quarter of 2011 to provide “additional IT capacity” to Apple’s rumored new cloud services that include music, video, storage, and more. The new space, commissioned to DuPont Fabros Technology, is located in Santa Clara, California, and it’s smaller than the massive data center Apple has been building in Maiden, North Carolina, throughout 2010 and 2011. Apple is expanding its Internet infrastructure with a new data center in Silicon Valley, as it prepares to bring additional server and storage capacity online later this year. The new server space, housed in a third-party facility, will be smaller than the huge iDataCenter that Apple has built in North Carolina. [...]
Apple Beefing Up Yet Another Data Center on the West Coast
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] For months, we've been hearing about Apple's comprehensive preparations for the company's new 500,000 square-foot data center in North Carolina. While myriad clues exist as to how Apple may ultimately employ such resources, the folks in Cupertino are remaining tight-lipped on the cloud-related rumors that seem poised to become reality at any moment. Still, if there was any doubt about the massive server farm in NC not delivering enough capacity for, say, a new cloud-based iTunes service or the robust "digital lockers" we keep hearing about, get ready for another data center update. This time, however, Apple is toiling on the other end of the country, right in its very own back yard. Data Center Knowledge has published an eyebrow-raising new report indicating that Apple's new data center in North Carolina isn't the only juggernaut data center on Apple's radar. The evidence shows that Apple has committed to leasing space – a lot of space, in fact – at a third-party data center in Santa Clara, California – just a stone's throw from Cupertino, relative to the North Carolina facility. In April, Apple signed a seven-year lease for 2.28 megawatts of critical power load in a new data center, the report reads, adding that its being built by DuPont Fabros Technology (DFT), "a leading developer of wholesale data center space." If the report is accurate, the lease is scheduled to become effective in the third quarter (July to September) of this year, when the building opens. "DuPont Fabros disclosed the Santa Clara lease in its first quarter earnings, but did not reveal the name of the tenant, which is consistent with its policies," the DCK report found. "But multiple industry sources have since confirmed that the tenant is Apple." Source: Data Center Knowledge [...]
Apple Building A Data Center In Silicon Valley
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] [DataCenterKnowledge] [...]
Steve Walton
Posted May 18th, 2011Sweet. Once the new DC is up, maybe my Apple Me mail won’t suck quite so badly compared to any and all other email hosts. I’ve never had worse performance in my life than the webmail version of Me.com
Apple tendrá otro data center, esta vez en Silicon Valley — AppleWeblog
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] Al ya más que conocido data center de Carolina del Norte habrá que sumar otro, más pequeño, situado en Santa Clara, en pleno Silicon Valley. Con lo que Apple poseería con este cuatro centros de este tipo, uno en Newark, otro en las [...]
What’s Apple’s Other Giant New Data Center For? | Gizmodo Australia
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] the square footage isn’t on the same scale as the NC data centre. As for its primary role, Datacenter Knowledge speculates that it’s likely going to be backing up its east coast counterpart. Which is to say, it keeps [...]
Apple Beefing Up Yet Another Data Center on the West Coast | The iPhone Index
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] Data Center Knowledge © 2011 The iPhone Index Privacy [...]
Rumor: Apple renta espacio para otro complejo de servidores en Silicon Valley | Appleismo
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] | Data Center Knowledge Archivado en: Apple, Rumores Tags: California, Carolina del orte, información, [...]
Apple setting up another data center in Silicon Valley | eWallstreeter
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] in North Carolina, but apparently Apple wants more — the company is also setting up another new data center much closer to home in Silicon Valley. The 11,000 square foot setup is smaller than the big complex in North Carolina, which is said to [...]
Apple setting up another data center in Silicon Valley
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] center in North Carolina, but apparently Apple wants more — the company is also setting up another new data center much closer to home in Silicon Valley. The 11,000 square foot setup is smaller than the big complex in North Carolina, which is said to [...]
Apple setting up another data center in Silicon Valley - Veletech
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] center in North Carolina, but apparently Apple wants more — the company is also setting up another new data center much closer to home in Silicon Valley. The 11,000 square foot setup is smaller than the big complex in North Carolina, which is said to [...]
Apple setting up another data center in Silicon Valley – ComputerUser.ca
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] center in North Carolina, but apparently Apple wants more — the company is also setting up another new data center much closer to home in Silicon Valley. The 11,000 square foot setup is smaller than the big complex in North Carolina, which is said to [...]
Apple setting up another data center in Silicon Valley | Inside Cellphone
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] in North Carolina, but apparently Apple wants more — the company is also setting up another new data center much closer to home in Silicon Valley. The 11,000 square foot setup is smaller than the big complex in North Carolina, which is said to [...]
Mac News » Apple setting up another data center in Silicon Valley
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] in North Carolina, but apparently Apple wants more — the company is also setting up another new data center much closer to home in Silicon Valley. The 11,000 square foot setup is smaller than the big complex in North Carolina, which is said to [...]
Apple Adding Even More Datacenter Space… Does It Finally Get The Cloud?
Posted May 18th, 2011[...] Data Center Knowledge reports that Apple has claimed a bunch of new space at a datacenter in Silicon Valley, adding to its existing plans. [...]
Today’s Tech News #0063 at Today's Tech News
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] Apple Adding Data Center in Silicon Valley [...]
Apple setting up another data center in Silicon Valley | Rohan Sood's Blog
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] in North Carolina, but apparently Apple wants more — the company is also setting up another new data center much closer to home in Silicon Valley. The 11,000 square foot setup is smaller than the big complex in North Carolina, which is said to [...]
Apple leases space in new Silicon Valley data center – JailBake
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] Silicon Valley data center, according to a report citing “multiple industry sources”.Data Center Knowledge reports that Apple has signed a seven-year lease for space in a new data center being built in by [...]
Apple Building Data Center Closer To Home - 57Digital UK iPhone Deveopers, UK iPad Developers, Mobile Developers
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] Data Center Knowledge believes that this will be Apple’s first investment in a “wholesale data center,” which is where tenants can lease a dedicated, fully-built data center space. [...]
Apple may lease data center space in Silicon Valley | AppleiGaga
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] leasing space from a new wholesale data center facility in Silicon Valley.Data Center Knowledge reports that Apple signed a seven-year lease with DuPont Fabros Technology last month, worth approximately [...]
Apple Prepares Another Data Center On The West Coast |
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] Read More [...]
Apple Opening New Data Center In Silicon Valley | MacTrast
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] Data Center Knowledge. Image: CNET] blog comments powered by Disqus [...]
Thursday's Apple (AAPL) Rumors -- 4G First in China | InvestorPlace
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] information for Apple users from music purchases to event calendars. A Wednesday report from Data Center Knowledge (via Mac Rumors) said that Apple is now going to be investing more capital in its data center [...]
New Data Center, Patents Shed Light on Apple’s Cloud Ambitions | Tech News Ninja
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] huge new data center in North Carolina is getting a little brother. According to Data Center Knowledge, Apple is building a new data center in Santa Clara, CA. Data Center Knowledge reports that [...]
New Data Center, Patents Shed Light on Apple’s Cloud Ambitions | Know All That!
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] huge new data center in North Carolina is getting a little brother. According to Data Center Knowledge, Apple is building a new data center in Santa Clara, CA. Data Center Knowledge reports that [...]
New Data Center, Patents Shed Light on Apple’s Cloud Ambitions – JailBake
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] Apple’s huge new data center in North Carolina is getting a little brother. According to Data Center Knowledge, Apple is building a new data center in Santa Clara, CA. Data Center Knowledge reports that [...]
Apple Adds Data Center Capacity on West Coast | John Paczkowski | Digital Daily | AllThingsD
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] Data Center Knowledge, which first reported the news, says Apple has signed a seven-year lease with Dupont Fabros for 2.28 megawatts of power. [...]
Report: Apple eyes datacentre in Silicon Valley | Datacentre Management . org
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] Data Center Knowledge reports that Apple sealed a seven-year franchise with DuPont Fabros Technology in April, for approximately 11,000 block feet of datacentre space in a Santa Clara, California facilities. The commencement of a understanding is slated for someday in a third quarter, when a trickery is adult and running. [...]
Apple may lease data center space in Silicon Valley | Datacentre Management . org
Posted May 19th, 2011[...] Center Knowledge reports that Apple sealed a seven-year franchise with DuPont Fabros Technology final month, value [...]
How Apple Plans To Make Cloud-Based iTunes A Seamless Experience
Posted May 20th, 2011[...] (Apple's huge server farm in North Carolina, most probably, although there's also news about a new farm in Silicon Valley)."In some embodiments, the user will be able to enable a partial [...]
How Apple Plans To Make Cloud-Based iTunes A Seamless Experience | Fast Company
Posted May 20th, 2011[...] (Apple's huge server farm in North Carolina, most probably, although there's also news about a new farm in Silicon Valley)."In some embodiments, the user will be able to enable a partial [...]
The biggest question is.. are they going with DC technology or AC?? Makes a big difference…. check out the ABB announcement this week for controlling interest in Validus DC!!
Apple Aims The Cloud, Plans A New Data Centre | Single Name Server
Posted May 20th, 2011[...] Technology (DFT), a leading developer of wholesale data centre space,” a Data Centre Knowledge report claimed. var [...]
Apple to Show Off iOS 5, iCloud, Mac OS X Lion at WWDC June 6 | Business Computing | MMC NEWS
Posted May 31st, 2011[...] has been building up a data center in North Carolina for some time, and it’s also piecing together a smaller data center in Santa Clara, Calif., both of which are expected to serve at the heart of Apple’s cloud [...]
Apple to show off iOS 5, iCloud, Mac OS X Lion at WWDC June 6
Posted May 31st, 2011[...] has been building up a data center in North Carolina for some time, and it’s also piecing together a smaller data center in Santa Clara, Calif., both of which are expected to serve at the heart of Apple’s cloud [...]
Steve Jobs Provides A Look Inside the iDataCenter | EJobPortal
Posted June 6th, 2011[...] franchise for 2.28 megawatts of vicious appetite bucket in a new information core being built in Santa Clara, Calif. by DuPont Fabros Technology (DFT), a heading developer of indiscriminate information core space. [...]
Apple launches iCloud; here’s what powers it — Cloud Computing News
Posted June 6th, 2011[...] will be housed — in the iDataCenter, in Apple’s Newark, Calif., data center or in the new space it has leased in Silicon Valley, or spread among the three facilities — but it’s mere presence [...]
Apple iCloud Raises Wi-Fi Expectations, Value | Telecompetitor
Posted June 7th, 2011[...] iOS, Apple’s mobile device operating system which runs the iPhone, iPad, and iPod.Apple is managing iCloud in huge new data centers located in North Carolina and California. Apple will offer a basic level of iCloud for free, but [...]
Apple leases extra office space ahead of HQ 2.0 | Pros Global TV
Posted July 21st, 2011[...] is Apple’s latest high-profile leasing deal for big space in the area. A report in May from Data Center Knowledge noted that Apple signed a seven-year lease with DuPont Fabros Technology worth 11,000 square feet [...]
How many datacenters does Apple have around the world? - Quora
Posted November 25th, 2011[...] Clara, CA. [3][1] http://www.theregister.co.uk/201…[2] http://www.datacenterknowledge.c…[3] http://www.datacenterknowledge.c…This answer .Please specify the necessary improvements. Edit Link Text Show answer summary [...]
Sweet. Once the new DC is up, maybe my Apple Me mail won’t suck quite so badly compared to any and all other email hosts. I’ve never had worse performance in my life than the webmail version of Me.com
RESOURCE LINKS:
Building A Cloud-Savvy Model for TCO and ROI
How Storage is Shaping The Cloud Data Center
Bringing Colo to the Customer: Modular Gets Local
Microsoft’s $1 Billion Data Center


May 18th, 2011