(The Hosting News) – Facebook’s Luleå, Sweden data center is now up and running. The social network provider announced the move Wednesday, noting via a blog post that the facility was “now handling live traffic from around the world.”
The Luleå data center features a distinct location: The edge of the Arctic circle (Talk about server cooling!). The location makes use of “chilly Nordic air.”
Facebok based the location’s design on the Open Compute Project – an organization developed by the company with the idea of spreading more efficient blueprints in an open source manner.
“As our systems come online for the first time, we are proud to say that this is likely to be one of the most efficient and sustainable data centers in the world. All the equipment inside is powered by locally generated hydro-electric energy. Not only is it 100% renewable, but the supply is also so reliable that we have been able to reduce the number of backup generators required at the site by more than 70 percent,” stated the company.
The data center is used to provide for Facebook photos, comments, videos, likes, etc.
The Luleå facility represents the social network’s first venture outside the United States. Facebook maintains other locations in Oregon and North Carolina to handle its traffic.