[PLUG-TALK] Driving Around Google in the Dalles

[Paul Heinlein]

On Mon, 11 Aug 2008, glen e. p. ropella wrote:

> Michael wrote:
>> A google data center doesn't need much in the way of people.
>
> I'm not sure I believe that.  I understand that a data center 
> doesn't require many people, or many man-hours.  But, it strikes me 
> that a) the fewer people needed, the more important each individual 
> person is and b) the higher the ratio of machines:people, the more 
> people are on the critical path for the business' objectives.

Oh, a data center needs people -- but those people needn't be on-site 
staff. The sysadmins, DBAs, network staff, and managers can do a very 
large percentage of the work remotely. I doubt that any of the 
developers whose applications are running in The Dalles have ever seen 
the Columbia Gorge. The on-site folks would largely be hardware 
caretakers; their work is crucial, but it wouldn't amount to a high 
percentage of the overall labor costs.

-- 
Paul Heinlein <> heinlein at madboa.com <> http://www.madboa.com/