Why the US Government has so many data centers

: But if a majority of the "data centers" are a single server
: in a room, the cost savings of moving it to a different
: room may not save billions of dollars. But no one will
: remember.

Many are not one, rather several. For example, in a job there
were two M$ servers in a room. The guides required an AD setup
(with a backup AD), 2 NTP servers with Stratum 1 (for, you know
the logs in the syslog server; they need to be accurate), a
router, a LAN switch (can't put a LAN switch card in the router)
and a firewall. All for *two* servers. I'm not even mentioning
the administrative requirements for all the boxes.

It's all phunny money. Real economics are not even considered.
At all.

: Prediction, there will be a glowing report in a year or so
: about the huge cost savings, and then a couple years later
: will be an Inspector General report about problems counting
: things.

And he will get his money, so the counting will get done.
Bigger budget, more responsibility, more scope of authority,
higher pay. Not the IE just gov't managers in general.

: If that's what taxpayers want, that's what they'll get.

Taxpayers get no say in the process. We can chant 'more
efficiency' all we want. It's just water on a duck's back.
Nothing will change. Like an ant trying to turn a tank.

scott

And what makes your think the Data Center Optimization Initiative is any different, when they are counting single servers instead of data centers?

If it was a rational, coherent plan; that would be great. Instead I see lots of people spending years looking for servers, and writing reports about counting servers, and moving servers from on room to another room. What's the return on investment counting paperclips?

Declare victory now.

But when they're finished, they'll have the serial number of each individual
paperclip, and a paperclip history form to go with it.

Plus a subsequent GAO report accounting for a miscount due to using paperclips on the history forms.

Yeah, but at the end we will have reduced paper clip losses significantly! Of course paper clip usage will go up to support the new paper clip auditing department.