Data Center

11 photos · 2017–2023

11 photographs tagged Data Center, 2017–2023.

Google data center campus in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with a large server building and cooling equipment. — Google’s data center campus in Council Bluffs, Iowa, is centered on a warehouse-scale server building with extensive cooling and electrical infrastructure. The facility is part of Google’s large operational footprint in Council Bluffs, developed beginning in the late 2000s. Data centers like this house the computing, storage, and networking systems behind Google’s online services and cloud operations.

Aerial view of Google data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, showing metal-roofed buildings and cooling infrastructure. — Google broke ground on its Council Bluffs data center in 2007 and brought the facility online in 2009, making it one of the company's earliest Midwest computing hubs. The campus sits in Pottawattamie County along the Missouri River, chosen partly for access to abundant water and power infrastructure. Google has since expanded the site multiple times, with cumulative investment in the Council Bluffs campus surpassing $5 billion. The facility relies on rooftop cooling systems and outdoor chiller units to manage heat generated by rows of servers, a design common to Google's newer data centers that reduces reliance on traditional air conditioning. Iowa's cooler climate for much of the year helps lower energy costs tied to cooling the servers that power Google Search, Gmail, and cloud computing services.

Google data center facility with large metal-roofed buildings in Council Bluffs, Iowa. — Google's data center campus in Council Bluffs sits on the city's north side, near the Missouri River bluffs that gave the city its name. The company broke ground on the site in 2007, making it one of Google's first wave of purpose-built data centers outside its original Oregon location. Council Bluffs was chosen in part for its access to low-cost electricity and fiber infrastructure along the Union Pacific rail and telecommunications corridors that pass through the area. Google has expanded the campus multiple times since its opening, adding server buildings and cooling equipment to support growing demand for cloud computing and search infrastructure. The facility employs several hundred workers and remains one of the larger private employers in Pottawattamie County.

511 Building, the Minnesota Technology Center in Downtown Minneapolis — The 511 Building, also known as the Minnesota Technology Center, stands on the eastern edge of downtown Minneapolis near Interstate 94. Constructed in the 1980s, the low-rise complex was designed for large-scale telecommunications and data operations. The building has been renovated and updated over time and remains in use as a data center and colocation facility.

Foxconn's spherical glass data center with mirrored blue-green panels in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. — Foxconn's spherical building in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, opened in 2020 as part of the company's Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park, a project announced in 2017 as a multibillion-dollar LCD manufacturing campus. Standing about 80 feet tall, the globe now functions as a data and network operations center rather than the factory space originally planned for the site. It sits along Wisconn Valley Way near Interstate 94, close to Foxconn's other buildings at the Mount Pleasant campus, including the company's electric vehicle assembly facility. The project marked one of the largest foreign direct investment announcements in Wisconsin history, though Foxconn later scaled back its original manufacturing plans for the location.

Perimeter fence with security cameras and lighting surrounds the NSA Utah Data Center in Bluffdale, with mountains beyond. — The NSA's Utah Data Center sits in Bluffdale, south of Salt Lake City, along the base of the Wasatch Range. Officially titled the Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center, the complex opened in 2013 and covers roughly 1.5 million square feet. Analysts have nicknamed it "Bumblehive," and estimates of its storage capacity have ranged from three to twelve exabytes. The perimeter is secured with fencing and camera systems, part of a broader security setup that also includes checkpoints and patrols not open to public access.

NSA Utah Data Center in Bluffdale with Wasatch Range mountains at sunset. — The NSA Utah Data Center in Bluffdale operates under the formal name Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center, though it's widely known by its nickname, "Bumblehive." Built for roughly $1.5 billion and completed in 2014, the complex covers about 1.5 million square feet, with estimates of its data storage capacity ranging from 3 to 12 exabytes. It sits south of Salt Lake City at the base of the Wasatch Range, near Camp Williams, on land the National Security Agency acquired from the Utah National Guard. Residential subdivisions have since spread closer to the site, filling in land that was largely open when construction began.

NSA Utah Data Center facility in Bluffdale with Wasatch Range mountains at sunset. — The NSA's Utah Data Center occupies a site in Bluffdale, at the base of the Wasatch Range, under the formal name Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center. Built between 2011 and 2013 at a reported cost near $1.5 billion, the complex totals roughly 1.5 million square feet, though server halls make up only a portion of that space. Independent estimates of its data storage capacity have ranged from 3 to 12 exabytes, figures the agency has never officially confirmed. Cooling the servers requires a large water system drawing millions of gallons annually from regional supplies. The site sits west of Point of the Mountain, close enough for a commute from Salt Lake City yet set apart from the valley's denser development.

NSA's Utah Data Center in Bluffdale features server halls, cooling systems, and fuel storage tanks on hillside overlooking — The Utah Data Center in Bluffdale, nicknamed "Bumblehive," is the National Security Agency's primary facility for storing and processing intercepted communications and signals intelligence. Formally titled the Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center, it opened in 2014 after roughly $1.5 billion in construction costs. The complex covers about 1.5 million square feet, though only a fraction of that space houses actual server halls, with the rest given over to power substations, cooling infrastructure, and security operations. Independent estimates of its storage capacity have ranged from several exabytes to over a yottabyte, though the NSA has never confirmed exact figures. The site sits near Camp Williams, a Utah National Guard training facility, on land the state provided in part to help meet the project's water and power needs.

NSA Data Center facility in Bluffdale, Utah, with wind turbine and mine tailings visible on surrounding hillsides. — The NSA's Utah Data Center in Bluffdale carries the formal name Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center, along with the nickname "Bumblehive." Built between 2011 and 2013 at a cost of roughly $1.5 billion, the complex totals about 1.5 million square feet, though only a portion of that is actual server space. Outside analysts have estimated its potential data storage capacity at anywhere from 3 to 12 exabytes. The facility sits near Camp Williams, a Utah National Guard training post that supplied land and infrastructure support for its construction, in the valley south of Salt Lake City near the Jordan Narrows.

Spherical glass data center building at the Foxconn campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. — Foxconn's spherical data center sits within the Wisconsin Valley Science and Technology Park in Mount Pleasant. The company signed a 2017 agreement with the state promising a massive LCD manufacturing campus in exchange for billions of dollars in incentives. That manufacturing plan was later scaled back dramatically, and Foxconn shifted its focus to smaller ventures, including data centers and other tech-related projects on the site. The globe-shaped building has become one of the few completed structures from the original campus plan.

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