5 ms·

This same street has a Facebook data center, an AWS data center, and a Google data center (within a couple of miles). There is a biotech research campus, Bath

by rotten 5y ago

This same street has a Facebook data center, an AWS data center, and a Google data center (within a couple of miles). There is a biotech research campus, Bath & Bodyworks main research lab, and the main operations center for AEP (a midwest electric company). If you travel about 2-3 miles orthogonal to that street we have a big data center for Nationwide Insurance, a campus for Discover (credit cards), and a State Farm insurance facility. It is literally across street from one of the Ohio East-2 availability zones. If they were making rack-mounted server boards, they could just walk them across the street and plug them into the cloud.

sanchay 5y ago
That's why I come to HN, would have been oblivious to the fact otherwise
- afandian 5y ago
  Me too, but I'm reasonably sure this is information I will never use.
MisterPea 5y ago
Exactly what I was going to say. "Friends don't let friends use us-east-1" - us-east-2 will be a huge spot for computing in the coming decade.
chasd00 5y ago
> This same street has a Facebook data center, an AWS data center, and a Google data center (within a couple of miles). There is a biotech research campus, *Bath & Bodyworks main research lab*, and the main operations center for AEP (a midwest electric company). i bet it would be fun to chat and talk shop with engineers at the bath and body works lab during a lunch.
- rotten 5y ago
  They regularly dump batches of perfume into the air - you can smell it for miles. It probably confuses pollinators and other wildlife because the smells are so intense.
55873445216111 5y ago
Silicon fabs do not make server boards. They just produce the silicon wafer i.e. "die" of a semiconductor device. Most die must be assembled into a package before they can be used. The die packaging aka "backend" is almost never done at the same place as the fab. Most backend is in Taiwan or Malaysia or China. Even after the die is packaged, it needs to be mounted on a complete PCB with all the other components. Intel typically does not do PCB assembly, they mostly just sell assembled CPUs (or other devices) to other companies that do the PCB assembly.
- rotten 5y ago
  They said that there would be spin off and supporting industry also moving into this new industrial zone. Maybe a board manufacturer will move in, to pick up the chips from Intel one side of their operation, and deliver them to AWS on the other.
- nebula8804 5y ago
  I know there are PCB manufacturers somewhere in the US. I don't know about packaging. Do you know which firms do packaging of the dies and why can't the US do it(It can't just be cost)? How hard can it be really? Its essentially plastic , maybe some metal, and gold isn't it? Maybe an argument could be made to locate at least one source of manufacturing for all these steps in a local area. But thats just the programmer in me wanting to optimize without understanding the realities of manufacturing costs.
  - 55873445216111 5y ago
    It's all about cost. The assembly and test is the "low tech" part of semiconductor manufacturing and can be done well in Asia by workforces that are not as highly educated as those you need to run a fab. US and western economies have always focused on doing the highest value add portions of manufacturing domestically (where the highly educated workforce is key) while outsourcing the lower value add (lower margin) portions of the supply chain. Consumers demand low cost. Many times they just buy the cheaper widget, because most people are not even capable of distinguishing the differences in performance or quality between two different widgets. But the difference in price is obvious to everyone and so most people just use that. The pressure of reducing every single penny out of the cost or semiconductors is enormous. Top 10 OSAT (outsourced assembly and test) companies: https://evertiq.com/news/51003 https://evertiq.com/news/51003
timr 5y ago
Curious -- grew up near New Albany, but haven't been back in years. What street is it?
- saruken 5y ago
  Beech Rd SW. Here's a link to the FB data center location: https://goo.gl/maps/UXrJePXbNNUZQG1H8 https://goo.gl/maps/UXrJePXbNNUZQG1H8
  - timr 5y ago
    Thanks!
redisman 5y ago
Welcome to Shenzhen, OH

by rotten 5y ago

sanchay 5y ago

That's why I come to HN, would have been oblivious to the fact otherwise

afandian 5y ago
Me too, but I'm reasonably sure this is information I will never use.

MisterPea 5y ago

Exactly what I was going to say. "Friends don't let friends use us-east-1" - us-east-2 will be a huge spot for computing in the coming decade.

chasd00 5y ago

> This same street has a Facebook data center, an AWS data center, and a Google data center (within a couple of miles). There is a biotech research campus, *Bath & Bodyworks main research lab*, and the main operations center for AEP (a midwest electric company). i bet it would be fun to chat and talk shop with engineers at the bath and body works lab during a lunch.

rotten 5y ago
They regularly dump batches of perfume into the air - you can smell it for miles. It probably confuses pollinators and other wildlife because the smells are so intense.

55873445216111 5y ago

Silicon fabs do not make server boards. They just produce the silicon wafer i.e. "die" of a semiconductor device. Most die must be assembled into a package before they can be used. The die packaging aka "backend" is almost never done at the same place as the fab. Most backend is in Taiwan or Malaysia or China. Even after the die is packaged, it needs to be mounted on a complete PCB with all the other components. Intel typically does not do PCB assembly, they mostly just sell assembled CPUs (or other devices) to other companies that do the PCB assembly.

rotten 5y ago
They said that there would be spin off and supporting industry also moving into this new industrial zone. Maybe a board manufacturer will move in, to pick up the chips from Intel one side of their operation, and deliver them to AWS on the other.
nebula8804 5y ago
I know there are PCB manufacturers somewhere in the US. I don't know about packaging. Do you know which firms do packaging of the dies and why can't the US do it(It can't just be cost)? How hard can it be really? Its essentially plastic , maybe some metal, and gold isn't it? Maybe an argument could be made to locate at least one source of manufacturing for all these steps in a local area. But thats just the programmer in me wanting to optimize without understanding the realities of manufacturing costs.
- 55873445216111 5y ago
  It's all about cost. The assembly and test is the "low tech" part of semiconductor manufacturing and can be done well in Asia by workforces that are not as highly educated as those you need to run a fab. US and western economies have always focused on doing the highest value add portions of manufacturing domestically (where the highly educated workforce is key) while outsourcing the lower value add (lower margin) portions of the supply chain. Consumers demand low cost. Many times they just buy the cheaper widget, because most people are not even capable of distinguishing the differences in performance or quality between two different widgets. But the difference in price is obvious to everyone and so most people just use that. The pressure of reducing every single penny out of the cost or semiconductors is enormous. Top 10 OSAT (outsourced assembly and test) companies: https://evertiq.com/news/51003 https://evertiq.com/news/51003

timr 5y ago

Curious -- grew up near New Albany, but haven't been back in years. What street is it?

saruken 5y ago
Beech Rd SW. Here's a link to the FB data center location: https://goo.gl/maps/UXrJePXbNNUZQG1H8 https://goo.gl/maps/UXrJePXbNNUZQG1H8
- timr 5y ago
  Thanks!

redisman 5y ago

Welcome to Shenzhen, OH