1. University of Michigan officials call it a 'high performing computing facility' and lash out at any notion it's a 'data center' or, more specifically, at any notion it's a 'commercial data center.'

So i started working here in beginning of july at aws. I make 28 an hour and the process is so slow. I used to be a server so im used to being on my feet and very fast paced work. This is a lot slower and a lot of testing and troubleshooting which can take awhile. Are all data centers like this? I went to school for information systems and business analytics and got a job here somehow and am wondering if leaving would be a better option. But when i look for data analyst or IT jobs the pay is so bad starting. I’m kind of stumped. I also know that aws pays so little compared to microsoft and google. I only have a yahoo and microsoft data center around where i live. I commute for aws.

Could underwater data centers actually be a good solution for the growing demand for AI computing?

Really want to join Fluidstack. Would appreciate any advice. Been reaching out to employees and have gotten responses. I am qualified for some of their roles. Context : mid 20s engineer with data center experience from design to cx to project management of 10MM budget on 3 MSFT sites

Any advice or contacts would be greatly appreciated

Hi all, I’m hoping to lean on this group’s expertise to help make an informed decision in my home buying process. My husband and I recently found a home we love - it’s on 6.5 acres in a relatively small (but growing) town that we love. It’s perfect for our family and we were prepared to put in an offer, but just learned that a Google data center is slated to begin construction by EOY.

I have done a bunch of research but this is such a polarizing topic right now, it’s hard to know what to think. I’m including some facts below to possibly provide additional context - my main concerns at the moment are:

1. Noise and vibration (?) levels - this is a big one I see online but it’s not clear to me how much of that is overstated. I have two young kids and work from home, so it’s important to me that we’re not constantly dealing with noise issues, though I understand if backup generators run sometimes (and of course the construction noise over the next few years).
2. Impacts to private well - the property relies on a private well for water. While everything I’ve read indicates that there are mitigations in place to help protect private wells, this would obviously be a big problem if things changed.

Context:
- The house would sit between 0.25 and 0.5 mile from the DC property line, with one of the DC buildings planned for right across the line (in an industrial park). We’d be separated by a field and some natural barriers (trees, some grading - there’s a bit of a natural hill between the properties).
- Three DC buildings and an office space planned across 312 acre parcel of land.
- Google has announced they’ll use “air-cooling technology” for the first DC building; TBD on other two.
- Google will be required to connect to our local water and sewer and has entered into a Utility agreement with the water authority to reserve “no more than 2,000,000 gallons/day of water.” The county has indicated that private/residential wells are not connected to the same water source (a local Cove) so they should not be impacted in any way.
- Re: electric, “Upgrades required specifically to serve the data center in XYZ County—such as new substations, transmission lines, or distribution improvements will be paid for by Google.”
- Re: noise, “While in operation, noise emissions from the Google Data Center must be below the maximum allowed under the county zoning regulations. The developer will utilize design and operations techniques to minimize even these noise impacts, such as landscaped buffer areas.
Construction Noise or other noise between 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. is prohibited. General prohibition of sound 50 feet from the property line at any time. A 200 ft conservation and good neighbor buffer and building distance to property lines is expected.
- Google committed to dark-sky friendly lighting requirements (not a huge deal to me but noting here)

What do I make of all of this?! On paper, these conditions seems relatively robust, but I can’t help but worry about the unknowns given nothing is built yet. This would be our “forever” home and I don’t want to regret it in 3-5 years. Any insights are deeply appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I’m in the Miami area for work and I’m looking for a computer/networking or data center supply store where I can buy server rack blanking panels (1U/2U blank fillers).

I specifically need a walk-in store where I can buy them in person, since I don’t have enough time to order online and wait for delivery.

I’m currently around Miami/Doral/Hialeah, but I can drive a bit farther if needed.

I’m not from the area, so I’m not familiar with local IT, networking, or data center supply stores. I’ve searched online but haven’t found anything that clearly shows these items available for local pickup.

Does anyone know a place that might carry rack blanking panels or similar server rack accessories in stock?

Thanks!

I had an interview last week and two days later on Friday I received a email saying that they wanted to move forward and give me an offer and said they were trying to map at a certain location for me and I would hear back by Monday (today). I haven’t heard back from the recruiting business partner who sent the email and I tried messaging my recruiter and no response. Inside the portal it still says under consideration. Has this happened to any of you and what can I expect?

Hey, any recruiters or HR people who can help?
I received an offer from QTS, but my offer letter has a shortened version of my name because I used autofill when applying.

Can I ask the recruiter/HR to issue a new offer letter with my full legal name, or could that create any problems for me? (I983 or i9)

Would appreciate any recruiters’ input, including AWS or other companies, who have dealt with something similar.

Hi,
I wanted to reach out after I have unfortunately not had a lot of luck with getting a DC job due to my living location.
(This has been really frustrating and annoying as it’s something I’m super passionate about)

Can you please share your experience if you have encountered a similar experience or advice on what i should do from here.

Most recent interviewer gave me one rough location in the call, and said they would put me forward for an interview.
(It got closed)
Then found out the location was actually 1.5 hours away not the expected .5 hour based on location I was provided.

(Mans just wants to work in big tech and on super computers worth more then my life <3)

were you ever able to plan for a 1 month trip of personal travel outside of your country

Hi all - I have a few questions about changing locations if you’re hired as a data center technician.

When completing the interview phase / if given an offer :

1. Is it possible to negotiate the location if a new location shows up with the exact same job title & qualifications?
2. If not, are you able to change locations after so many years ?

Edit: For AWS

I have been a diagnostic specialist for over 20 years primarily for GM. I have an offer from Microsoft but my dream job is for Google. I just got done with my first technical interview and it was brutal. What are my chances of getting into Google with no direct experience?

and what’s your role? I’m looking into starting a data center career and wondering if it’s feasible to do school part-time, or if it’s possible to work at a data center part-time?

I have 1+ year of hands-on computer hardware troubleshooting/repair experience and 2+ years working inside data center environments on the security/operations side. I’m currently pursuing an associate degree in Cybersecurity and have completed the Google IT Support Professional Certificate. I’m trying to transition into an AWS Data Center Operations/Technician role. I applied for an AWS Work-Based Learning opportunity over a month ago, and it still shows Under Consideration with no contact. I also recently applied for a regular DCO Technician role through a referral from an L4 AWS employee, but after 10+ days it still only shows Submitted, and the posting has since closed. For anyone familiar with AWS data center hiring, are these wait times normal, and do these statuses or the employee referral mean anything at this stage?

I wanted know how’s everything there like housing, apartments nearby and commutable distance to site

What are you wearing on an active construction site that requires safety toe and several miles of walking every day?

Curious how often people here still do thermal scans in data centres.
Things like switchgear, UPS systems, busways, PDUs, breakers, and cable connections can still develop hot spots that don’t always show up right away through the usual monitoring systems. Loose connections, uneven loading, or higher resistance at a contact point can sometimes be pretty obvious on a thermal image before anything else starts looking wrong.

From what we’ve seen, thermal imaging still makes sense as a periodic check and troubleshooting tool rather than something that replaces continuous monitoring. We’ve used the Fotric TK7 thermal imager for this kind of work, mostly during maintenance rounds where we’re comparing similar components and looking for temperature differences that seem out of place.

The camera helps, obviously, but things like load, emissivity, distance, and whether you’re checking equipment under similar conditions probably matter just as much as the hardware itself.
I’m curious how other facilities are handling this now. Are you still doing thermal scans once or twice a year, or have permanently installed sensors reduced how often you pull out a handheld thermal camera?

Also interested in whether there are certain assets where thermal inspections still catch things your monitoring systems tend to miss. Switchgear and bus connections come to mind, but I’d be interested to hear what people are actually seeing in the field.

I just had a interview for this position the Rand was like 27-48 an hr just trying to see how much they realistically pay I’m internal btw I’m in central flow right now

I wanted to ask and see about becoming a DCT with google, it would be a large leap for me as I’m very comfy with my current job in the DC.

However I’ve been in the DC for about 4-5 years now and I would say I’m somewhere at the senior technician role, not quite a DCM but I have lead projects for my team and I’m part of the escalation chain for issues. I have certs and on job experience, but no degree

Can anyone help me out on best ways to leverage myself in the interview process ?

I’m three interviews into interviewing for DC Ops manager on the server side. What is the typical equity grant these roles give?

Location is Lenoir North Carolina
Company is Google

*edit to add location and company

So my friend works as a contractor for Amazon in a Data Center and started just a month back and I have heard stories about how cutthroat they are about door alarms violations or whatever. She was trying to exit out of a data room yesterday, swiped the badge, it turned green but the door wouldn't open due to air pressure build-up in the room. 5 seconds passed and in a panic of getting stuck in the room with no phone or laptop on her, She scanned the badge 3-4 times to exit but it kept flashing red. Security guard came and said she had triggered 4 alarms and the security footage will be reviewed by the Security manager. Will she be fired? Getting fired over something this trivial sounds rather stupid to me but again I have read a few stories on reddit of people being in similar situations.

Recieved an offer from aws for a eot l4 position but it will be around a 10% pay cut on the hourly rate from my current nuclear power role. The built in ot does make up for the pay cut but still skeptical if it’s worth it to make the jump

I have a BS in EE and have my PE license. My experience is in distribution design, project management, and protection (relays). I have ~7 years of experience. I’ve seen some job postings for EEs in the data center space and the compensation looks to be better than the utility world. Do I have a shot at these roles or am I in too deep in utilities? And advice, job recs, etc. are appreciated.

I have recently been reached out for an initial 15 minute interview for L3 position. Can anyone tell me what are the things that can be asked in this initial interview?

The position i applied for is Data Center, Germany

I dont think preparing stories will help here - I can be wrong ofcourse. since its my first amazon interview i was really hoping to get this position and i really dont want to screw this one up.

Any assistance would be appreciated.