How big is Apple's new iDataCenter in Maiden, North Carolina? It's plenty big, as illustrated by this aerial video posted to YouTube (apparently taken by an area realtor) of the 500,000 square foot facility. The new $1 billion data center will be nearly five times the size of Apple's existing 109,000 square foot Newark, Calif. facility, and is seen as a key component of Apple's cloud computing strategy. The video is brief (about 35 seconds), but provides an interesting perspective on the new facility:

Apple's data center in Maiden is expected to provide the back-end for a larger move into cloud computing, with most speculation focusing on a shift of iTunes user libraries from user desktops to online storage. For those just joining this story, here's a summary of our reporting on Apple's new facility:

Can this video tell us anything interesting about Apple's data center design and what's happening inside the facility? Have a look at the video and share your insights and theories in the comments.