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LinkedIn’s Texas expansion was reported in 2013 as a long-term lease for data center capacity in the Dallas area—not as a facility the company built and owned. Data Center Knowledge reported an $116 million, 11-year lease identified in an SEC filing, and attributed the provider to Digital Realty based on industry sources. Digital Realty itself did not disclose the tenant.
What LinkedIn’s Texas data center deal involved
On November 6, 2013, Data Center Knowledge reported that LinkedIn had signed an $116 million lease for data center space in the Dallas area, with an 11-year term. The outlet said the transaction was identified in an SEC filing. That figure describes the reported lease commitment; it is not a construction cost or a stated price for servers or other equipment. Data Center Knowledge’s report is the source for the deal details.
The article associated the lease with Digital Realty based on industry sources, but noted that Digital Realty had not disclosed the tenant. The provider identification therefore came from the outlet’s reporting, not a public tenant confirmation from Digital Realty.
What Digital Realty’s 7-megawatt statement confirms—and what it does not
Digital Realty CEO Michael Foust, as quoted in the November 6, 2013 report, said: “We’re pleased to announce that on Monday this week, we signed a 7-megawatt lease with a social networking company that had outgrown its existing colocation footprint.” Foust described the tenant as an unnamed social networking company. Data Center Knowledge separately connected the reported Dallas lease to LinkedIn using industry sources; the quote alone does not identify LinkedIn as the tenant.
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The report discussed Digital Realty’s Digital Dallas campus in Richardson, Texas, as a likely candidate for the leased space, not as a confirmed building match. It described that campus as 70 acres and 800,000 square feet. Those are campus figures, not measurements of LinkedIn’s leased area.
How the Texas lease fit LinkedIn’s reported footprint in 2013
Data Center Knowledge said LinkedIn had also secured a 6-megawatt wholesale lease in Northern Virginia earlier in 2013. Together, the Northern Virginia and Texas deals amounted to 13 megawatts of data center space leased during that year, according to the report. The outlet also said LinkedIn rented dedicated cages in Equinix facilities.
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| Arrangement reported in 2013 | Capacity or term | Provider and certainty |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-area wholesale lease | $116 million over 11 years; Digital Realty CEO Foust separately described a 7-megawatt lease with an unnamed social networking company | Digital Realty was identified by Data Center Knowledge using industry sources; the company had not disclosed the tenant |
| Northern Virginia wholesale lease | 6 megawatts, secured earlier in 2013 | LinkedIn lease reported by Data Center Knowledge; the cited report does not state a provider here |
| Equinix colocation | Dedicated cages; capacity and contract terms not stated in the report | Equinix facilities, according to Data Center Knowledge |
Wholesale leasing and colocation describe different ways to obtain data center capacity. The report characterized the Virginia and likely Dallas arrangements as wholesale leases for finished data hall capacity, while describing LinkedIn’s Equinix presence as dedicated cages. It also noted that large leases can help data center developers secure anchor customers.
For context, the 2013 article said LinkedIn had 259 million users at the time. That is a contemporaneous figure from the report, not a current user count.
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What the 2013 report does not establish
The report does not establish whether the Texas lease remains active, the exact building or address LinkedIn occupied, or LinkedIn’s current data center footprint or power demand. It also provides no basis for stating the company’s current cooling or water use. The story documents what was reported about a 2013 commercial lease; it should not be read as a description of LinkedIn’s present infrastructure.
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