• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, April 8, 2016

Google has built software that allows it to use high-performance semiconductors from International Business Machines (IBM) to run some of its servers in its many data centers that support search services. It also is working with cloud computing company Rackspace Hosting to develop a data center server designed around IBM's new chip.

Although it may seem a little geeky for marketers, it all means faster and better search and advertising services, as well as cloud storage with zero downtime.

The work with OpenPOWER/OCP involves allowing servers to operate faster and more efficiently using the same amount of energy they currently use, said Aaron Sullivan, engineer at Rackspace.

Sullivan acknowledges that the demand for computing powers continues to increase. "If servers weren’t getting faster, it would take more machines to accomplish the same job," he said in an email to Search Marketing Daily Thursday. "There will be a performance gain for whoever is operating these machines."

"Whomever" is the key word because Sullivan would not hypothesize on how Google specifically might use the computing powerhouse, but the history makes it clear that as Google continues to grow its search and cloud services businesses, the company will need as much power and speed as it can muster up.

Rackspace declined to speak on what Google will potentially use these server designs for, but the company did provide clarification on their involvement in the project.

"Demand for compute [power] at Google has been relentless and it isn’t slowing down any time soon," Maire Mahony, hardware engineering manager at Google, wrote in a blog post earlier this week. "We’ve found 60 trillion Web addresses so far, versus one trillion in 2008."

Rackspace and Google are working together to develop a next-generation OpenPOWER server design using the Power9 chip, which belongs to IBM.

The two companies plan to deliver the design in Open Compute form factors and intend to contribute the design to the Open Compute Project. 

Last year, Rackspace shared the concept design for its first OpenPOWER/OCP server design it calls Barreleye. The server is in production and will move into broader availability throughout the year.