Key Highlights:
- Google has announced plans to build new cloud computing centres in the Berlin region and the town of Hanau
- More than 140 megawatts of electricity would be purchased by Google
- The company plans to use 100% renewable energy by 2030
Expanding Cloud Computing Infrastructure
The Cloud computing infrastructure is a combination of hardware and software components to empower cloud computing. It includes computing power, networking, and storage, along with an interface that allows users to access their virtualized resources. As with the physical infrastructure, virtual resources include components such as servers, network switches, memory pools, and storage clusters.
Cloud infrastructure contributes to the identical abilities as physical infrastructure. However, it can provide additional benefits, such as lower cost of ownership, scalability, and unlimited storage capacity. By using these benefits, companies don’t have to spend as much money on purchasing and maintaining equipment. Cloud infrastructure decreases costs related to downtime. Since downtime is extremely rare with cloud-based systems, it means companies don’t have to spend time and money correcting any problems related to downtime.
In addition, scalability reduces the risks associated with in-house operational problems and maintenance. Companies have access to high-performance resources with professional solutions and zero up-front investment. Furthermore, the cloud infrastructure has a virtually limitless capacity to store any sort of information in a wide variety of cloud data storage types, depending on availability, performance, and frequency of data access.
Cloud computing infrastructures are available to support private cloud, public cloud, and hybrid cloud systems. It’s also possible to rent cloud infrastructure components from a cloud provider through cloud infrastructure as a service (Iaas). However, the service providers are always working on expanding their computing infrastructure. Recently, Google announced it will invest 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) by 2030 to develop its cloud computing infrastructure in Germany and promote the usage of renewable energy.
Google’s Plan for Coming Years
The internet giant Google announced plans to add new cloud computing centers in the Berlin region and the town of Hanau, close to the DE-CIX data exchange in Frankfurt. Google said it would purchase more than 140 megawatts of electricity from the German subsidiary of French utility company Engie over the next coming years to operate the data hubs.
The company said Engie will ensure that 80% of its electricity originates from carbon-free sources, including a new solar park and 22 current wind parks in Germany. Google plans to use 100% renewable energy by 2030. Germany’s economy minister, Peter Altmaier, termed the announcement a “strong signal” for green energy and digital infrastructure.
Also Read: Google Cloud takes an initiative towards a sustainable future
