Amaya Toman Apple keeps details about its data centers under wraps. But he recently made an exception and allowed a local newspaper Arizona Republic look into one of them. Take a look with us at what the giant impregnable data fortress Mesa looks like in Cupertino, California.
Plain, white-painted halls criss-cross the center, some of which seem like endless stretches of gray concrete floors. The editors of the Arizona Republic were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour the heavily guarded 1,3 million square foot data center at the corner of Signal Butte and Elliot streets. Notoriously secretive Apple has not shared any details about how it works inside the center, understandably out of security concerns.
In a room called "Global Data Command," a handful of employees work ten-hour shifts. Their task is to monitor Apple's operating data - it can be, among other things, data related to applications such as iMessage, Siri, or iCloud services. In the halls where the servers are located, electronics are humming all the time. The servers are cooled in one piece by powerful fans.
Five other Apple data centers from California to North Carolina operate in a similar style. Apple announced in 2015 that it would open operations in Arizona as well, and as of 2016 has employed roughly 150 workers in downtown Mesa. In April, another addition to the center was completed, and with it, additional halls with servers were added.
The sprawling data center was originally built by First Solar Inc. and was supposed to employ around 600 workers, but it was never fully staffed. GT Advanced Technologies Inc., which acted as a supplier of sapphire glass for Apple, was also located in the building. The company abandoned the building after its bankruptcy in 2014. Apple has been actively redeveloping the building in recent years. From the outside, you can't tell that this is a place that has anything to do with Apple. The building is surrounded by dark, thick walls, overgrown walls. The place is guarded by armed guards.
Apple has said it will invest $2 billion in the data center over ten years. The apple company also plans to offset the impact of the center's operation on the environment by building solar panels that will help power the entire operation.
