How Large Internet Companies Maintain Their Servers

Internet companies like Google and Amazon host millions of customers on their websites as well as serve their clients with products such as cloud-based servers. This traffic takes a lot of servers to maintain and route the end-user to the information that they are looking for as well as facilitates the operations of the company itself. Here are a few reasons why they have thousands of servers to operate and how they maintain them. 

Cloud Based Servers

To make the end-user processes more efficient, companies like Google and Amazon have advocated the use of cloud servers. This allows their customers to keep their information in an offsite, safe location where they can access at any time and from any location. The data kept on the cloud is protected with antivirus and antimalware software and measures are put into place to keep outside hackers from getting to it. Software programs can be accessed from the cloud which frees up space on the client’s computer. With the additional memory, the system will run faster and live longer than if those same programs were on the hard drive. 

Data Centers

To serve their large number of customers, these companies have established data centers all over the world. These buildings are filled with servers that each client, both corporate and individual, connect to. These servers also take care of the websites that the corporation offers outside of the cloud service which can take a large amount of data as well. Each of these systems is equipped with network security to keep those who use the service safe from viruses and other programs that can corrupt and destroy the data. The programs that run all these computers are updated regularly and any other daily maintenance is performed. The information kept in these data centers are located on multiple servers in the event of a power outage or one breaks down. The centers are staffed round the clock to ensure that issues are addressed and corrected as soon as possible.

Efficient Energy

A data center that processes the information of the world every minute of the day can use a great deal of energy. Internet companies like Google have found ways to reuse that energy and to adjust their facilities to keep their electricity costs low. Many have installed renewable energy sources such as solar power to keep their production running. Google has also adjusted the temperature inside their facilities to use less. They keep it cool enough for the machines to run at their optimum performance but warm enough to keep from drawing on their air conditioning constantly. They also utilize outside air to regulate the interior of the data center.

Purchasing Economically

With the large number of data centers in the world, buying the equipment to run them can get expensive. One strategy that the large data corporations have used is purchasing standard machinery that you would find in your own home instead of high priced systems. With the volume that needs to be acquired, it is more economical to get these servers. They are also easy to replace. With the skill set of the people who are employed there, they can be maintained and upgraded as well to meet the needs of the company and their clientele. More memory can be added to these standard units as well as larger hard drives and cooling systems.

This will cost the company less in the long run to replace the units they have over buying the top of the line servers that might also malfunction. Having such a large presence on the internet requires thousands of servers to stay up and running every hour of every day especially when clients take advantage of the cloud based systems offered to them. Being aware of the energy it takes to operate these systems as well as the protocols it takes to maintain them is what makes these web companies like Google and Amazon successful.