Facebook is pushing forward with a major expansion of its data centers, announcing the installation of a pair of massive new data storage centers in Oregon. Based near the town of Pineville, the new centers are expected to start taking shape in December.
Both data centers together will feature a total footprint of 900,000 square feet, along with a 70,000-square foot administrative building. Actual costs of the project are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The new centers are projected to come online in 2020.
Facebook already has a presence in Pineville, home to a Facebook campus, two existing data centers and a cold storage facility. The cold storage building is used to house storage systems that contain data rarely accessed.
Facebook will also be adding new data centers in Papillion, Nebraska, New Albany, Ohio, Henrico, Virginia, and overseas in Denmark.
One of the drivers behind the requirement for new data center capacity is the increasing use of video by Facebook users. The introduction of new features like 360-degree photos and the prospect of more options to support virtual reality means that Facebook needs to substantially increase its storage capabilities.
The data centers house servers, custom-designed for Facebook’s needs. The centers provide power for the 277-volt AC the servers run on, rather than the more traditional 208 volts.
Actual costs of running the Facebook network of data centers are hard to assess. In 2015, the company reported more than $2.5 billion in capital expenditure alone on data centers, office buildings associated with them, servers and network infrastructure. In SEC filings, its network equipment has been valued at over $3.6 billion.