jdhmnovel Chapter 175 Building a Data Center
Chapter 175 Building a Data Center
Seven people sat on either side of the long conference table.
Ling Yun sat in the main seat, with Michael Thomson, the board representative of Dell, to his left and Eric, the company's chief technology officer, to his right. Coffee cups, printed reports, and laptops were scattered on the table.
Outside the window was the typical blue sky of Silicon Valley, without a single cloud.
"This is the financial report for last quarter." CFO Emily pushed the folder to the center of the table. "Revenue increased by 17 percent, but net profit decreased by 3 percentage points. This was mainly due to increased server hosting fees and bandwidth costs."
Thomson opened the financial report and his gaze fell on the expenditure items.
"Bandwidth costs are $400,000 more than last quarter?" he asked.
"It's due to user growth," Eric replied. "The number of downloads for the Star System is increasing every month, and the number of browser users surpassed one million last week. Our mirror servers are distributed across three data centers, and synchronizing data requires bandwidth."
Thomson nodded and closed the financial report.
"We'll discuss two topics today," Ling Yun began, his voice low, but the meeting room immediately fell silent. "First, data center construction. Second, the development of new browser features."
He picked up a black folder from beside his feet and took out two documents. The first was architectural design drawings, and the second was a functional requirements document.
"I plan to invest in building my own data center." He pushed the architectural plans to the center of the table. "The budget is $50 million, and the location is in Oregon. Electricity is cheap there, and the climate is suitable for cooling."
Thomson sat up straight.
"Fifty million?" he repeated. "Wouldn't that be a bit risky?"
"There's not much risk," Ling Yun said. "The 1.2 million yuan raised can't just sit idle without generating any returns. The sooner the data center is built, the better."
Emily quickly performed calculations on her laptop.
"Investment return cycle?"
"Three years," Ling Yun said. "After the data center is completed, it will first support the mirror service of the Starry Sky system, which can save the current annual hosting fee of two million. The remaining capacity will be leased out, mainly to small and medium-sized Internet companies."
"Have you done market research?" Thomson asked.
"Done." Lingyun pushed a report over. "Currently, the server hosting demand from small and medium-sized companies in Silicon Valley is growing by more than 30% annually. They can't afford large data centers, but they're not satisfied with virtual hosting. We provide a middle ground solution."
Thomson reviewed the report. The data was very detailed, including questionnaire samples, interview records, and competitor analysis.
"The second topic," Ling Yun said, picking up the functional requirements document, "is that Star Browser needs to develop two new features. First, user-configurable cloud roaming. Second, instant messaging."
Eric looked up.
"Instant messaging? Like ICQ?"
"It goes even deeper than ICQ." Ling Yun opened his laptop and connected it to the projector. "After a user registers an account, their browser settings, bookmarks, history, and plugin configurations are all uploaded to our data center. When they log in from a different computer, the configurations automatically sync."
A flowchart appeared on the screen.
"This will increase user stickiness." Ling Yun pointed to the chart with a laser pointer. "Once users store their data here, the cost of switching to other browsers becomes higher."
Thomson leaned forward.
"How difficult is it to implement technically?"
"Not much," Eric replied. "It's mainly about data structures and synchronization algorithms. We already have a user system; we just need to expand it."
"What about instant messaging?" Thomson asked.
Lingyun switched slides. This time it was a simple interface sketch, with a contact list on the left and a chat window on the right.
"The first phase focuses on basic functionalities: text chat, file transfer, and online status display. These will be integrated into the browser sidebar, eliminating the need for users to install additional software."
"Why not make a standalone client?"
"Lower the barrier to entry," Ling Yun said. "Users already have a browser installed, so they can just click and use it. A standalone client requires downloading and installing, which will lose 70% of potential users."
The meeting room was quiet for a few minutes. The only sounds were the air conditioning vents and the occasional tapping of a keyboard.
"Timetable?" Thomson asked.
"The data center will be designed in one month, built in six months, and put into use next April," Ling Yun said. "New browser features and roaming configurations will be launched within two months, and instant messaging will have a beta version within four months."
"Personnel arrangements?"
"I'll personally oversee the data center project." Ling Yun looked at Eric. "You'll lead the team for the new browser feature. Hire more people if needed, and allocate a separate budget."
Eric took notes in his notebook.
"Any more questions?" Ling Yun looked around the conference room.
"How can we guarantee security?" Mark, the legal manager who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. "User data is stored here, and if it's leaked, the consequences will be severe."
"Three layers of encryption," Ling Yun said. "SSL for transmission, AES-256 for storage, and two-factor authentication for access control. We will release a detailed security white paper."
"Compliance?"
"Have a professional auditing firm conduct the certification. ISO 27001, and relevant US standards."
Mark nodded and wrote a few words in his notebook.
Thomson spoke last.
"The board needs to vote formally," he said. "A $50 million investment requires approval from more than two-thirds of the board."
"Now we'll vote," Ling Yun said. "Those who agree to the data center construction plan, please raise your hands."
Seven people, five hands raised. Thomson hesitated for two seconds, then raised his hand as well.
Passed unanimously.
"Approved," Ling Yun said. "Emily, begin the funding process tomorrow. Mark, prepare the company registration documents. Eric, I want to see the detailed development plan for the new browser features this afternoon."
"OK."
Meeting adjourned.
People started packing up. The sounds of laptops closing, chairs being dragged, and papers being organized filled the air.
Thomson was the last to leave. As he reached the door, he turned back.
"Lingyun," he said, "fifty million is no small sum."
"I know."
"Dell headquarters will be paying attention to this project."
"We welcome your attention," Ling Yun said. "By this time next year, they will see the value of this investment."
Thomson looked at him for a moment, nodded, and left.
Ling Yun was the only one left in the conference room. He walked to the window and looked down at the parking lot. There weren't many cars—a few American cars and a few Japanese cars.
In Silicon Valley in 1997, the internet bubble had not yet peaked. Yahoo's stock price was still rising, Amazon had just gone public, and Google had not yet been founded.
He wants to build a data center, implement browser-based instant messaging, and achieve cloud synchronization.
These concepts were unheard of by most people in 1997.
But it's okay.
He doesn't need most people to understand him. He just needs to create it and get users using it.
Once users get used to storing data in the cloud, chatting in their browsers, and having their computer configurations automatically synchronized when they change, they'll never be able to go back.
At that time, StarCraft was no longer just an operating system or a browser.
It is an ecosystem.
An ecosystem that Microsoft cannot break.