Google Grabs the Modular Data Center Patent

On Wednesday, Google was assigned the patent for something called the “Modular Data Center,” a distinction for which it applied in 2003, and which was given the final approval this week by the US Patent Office.

Specifically, the idea describes a data center built within an intermodal shipping container - the sort of container handled by multiple carriers and shipped in multiple modes.

The obvious application there being the sort of prototype mobile data centers that have been on the road the past few years, such as Sun’s Project Blackbox or, say, APC’s InfrastruXure Express.

The patent itself describes using rack or shelf mount computing systems, mounted and configured to be shipped and operated within the container (A lot of that is, from what I can tell, language taken directly from the patent, just barely paraphrased).

So it would seem that Google managed to patent the (very general sounding) idea behind some of the more interesting data center construction projects in recent years. However, the point here is not “what about Project Blackbox?” As many of the writers covering Sun’s Project Blackbox tour were quick to point out, the mobile data center is not so much a breakthrough as a refinement. HP and IBM have offered things like this for a while – to customers who were willing to pay.

The idea, according to this Register article, seems to be that Google is unlikely to set out immediately to impose its patent rights on companies like Sun, given its past complaints about the injustice of the patent system. But it’s not clear just what Google does intend to do, or whether the company has modular data centers either in production or operation.

According to The Register, Sun is aware of the patent issued Wednesday, but is holding off on making any sort of comment about it until the company is better acquainted with just how it stands to be impacted.