Today, it is difficult to imagine the internet without Google. The search engine has become so commonplace that it is almost “invisible” — it simply exists. Yet Google was not always a technological giant. The company was officially founded on 4 September 1998, and its beginnings were modest, far removed from today’s billion-dollar data centres and global infrastructure.
Those early years of Google are also associated with an intriguing detail. Few people know that in Google’s very first server racks, motherboards rested on pads made from… corkboard.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Google before it became a giant
3. Servers on… a corkboard – a true story
4. Cork in a technology museum
5. Why did they choose cork?
6. Where is cork used today?
7. Summary
8. FAQ
Google before it became a giant
In 1999, Google was still a young startup, just beginning to step outside the academic environment of Stanford and take its first steps as an independent company. There was no recognisable brand, no global offices, and no massive investments yet. What there was, however, was an idea — the PageRank algorithm — and a belief that searching for information on the internet could be done better than anyone had managed before.
The budget was minimal, while the needs grew day by day. The search engine was quickly gaining users, which meant one thing: the necessity to process ever-increasing amounts of data. Google could not afford expensive, corporate-grade technological solutions, so from the very beginning it relied on improvisation, ingenuity, and making the most of available resources.
Servers on… a corkboard – a true story
The term “corkboard server rack” may sound today like a joke or an internet legend, but in reality it refers to a very specific and well-documented chapter in Google’s history. These were the company’s first production server racks, used in its own data centre around 1999, after it had moved beyond its purely academic phase.
What exactly was such a rack? In short: a self-built server cabinet in which traditional metal enclosures were abandoned. Instead, motherboards, hard drives, power supplies, and fans were mounted on cork (or a cork-like material), placed on simple shelves within a metal frame. The entire setup was open, densely packed, and intensively cooled by dozens of fans.
Natural cork served a very practical purpose here. It was an inexpensive and easily accessible material that acted as:
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a spacer between the electronics and the metal structure,
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a simple electrical insulator.
Why was this solution so brilliant — for its time? Because it perfectly addressed the real needs of a young startup. Google had to build significant computing power quickly and at minimal cost. Ready-made server racks were expensive, inflexible, and designed for corporations rather than a rapidly growing search engine. The “corkboard server rack” made it possible to:
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scale infrastructure extremely quickly,
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use inexpensive, mass-produced PC components,
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easily replace and modify hardware,
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do everything faster and cheaper than the competition.
Cork in a technology museum
Today, one of Google’s first cork-based server racks is no longer operating in a forgotten server room, but instead holds a place of honour at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View — one of the world’s most important technology museums. It is there that exhibits are preserved which have genuinely influenced the development of computing and the internet.
Why did such a makeshift, almost “garage-style” construction become part of a permanent museum collection? Because it symbolises a pivotal moment. This unassuming rack shows how the infrastructure of a company that now handles billions of queries each day was born. It is admired for the idea behind it: maximum functionality achieved with minimal resources.
Google’s cork rack became a museum artefact because it tells the behind-the-scenes story of the digital revolution. Instead of gleaming enterprise-grade servers, we see improvisation, experimentation, and the courage to break established standards. It is proof that groundbreaking technologies are not always born in sterile laboratories — sometimes they emerge on a corkboard, built from inexpensive parts and driven by big ambitions.
Why did they choose cork?
The choice of cork in Google’s first server racks was neither accidental nor “magical”. It was not a material experiment or an ecological statement — natural cork simply worked. In the reality of the late 1990s, with a limited budget and immense pressure to scale infrastructure quickly, concrete and practical properties mattered most.
First of all, natural cork is a natural electrical insulator. It separated motherboards and hard drives from metal structural elements, reducing the risk of short circuits in an open, enclosure-free system. In improvised racks, where electronics were literally “on display”, this was critically important.
Secondly, cork was inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to work with. It could be quickly cut, replaced, and adapted without specialised tools. For a startup building its own servers almost “day by day”, this was an invaluable advantage.
Where is cork used today?
Google’s story presents cork in a highly unconventional technological context, yet the material itself has for years found a remarkably wide and modern range of applications — especially where performance, durability, and comfort are essential.
Construction and insulation
Cork is a highly valued insulating material. It is used, among other things, in the form of:
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insulation boards for walls, roofs, and façades,
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cork underlays for floors, which improve thermal and acoustic insulation and increase walking comfort.
Thanks to its structure, cork retains heat effectively, is resistant to moisture, and does not lose its properties over time.
Interiors and design
In contemporary interiors, cork increasingly serves an aesthetic function as well. It can be found as:
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decorative wall panels,
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upholstered elements,
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cork flooring that combines a natural appearance with everyday comfort.
The natural texture of cork brings warmth to interiors and works well in both minimalist and more organic styles.
Acoustics
One of the greatest advantages of cork lies in its sound-absorbing properties. The material effectively reduces reverberation and noise, which is why it is used in:
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conference rooms,
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recording studios,
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open-plan offices,
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educational and cultural spaces.
Offices, homes, and public spaces
By combining insulation, durability, and aesthetics, cork is used in private homes as well as in modern offices and public buildings. It performs well wherever user comfort, good acoustics, and resistance to intensive use are required.
From Google’s improvised servers to contemporary architecture and design — natural cork remains a material that works in practice, regardless of scale or purpose.
Summary
The story of Google’s cork-based servers is more than just a technical curiosity from the late 1990s. It is a story about how great ideas are born in modest conditions, and how limitations can become a catalyst for innovation. Before Google became one of the world’s most powerful technology companies, it was a startup that improvised, experimented, and searched for the simplest possible solutions.
Natural cork — a material now associated with construction and design — played a surprising yet very concrete role in this story. Not as a symbol of ecology or futuristic technology, but as a practical tool that helped a young company build its first infrastructure cheaply, quickly, and effectively.
FAQ – natural cork
1. What is natural cork?
Natural cork is a material obtained from the bark of the cork oak. It is lightweight, flexible, durable, and fully natural, and its structure allows it to provide excellent thermal and acoustic insulation.
2. Which properties make cork so versatile?
Cork is:
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a thermal and acoustic insulator,
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an electrically non-conductive material,
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resistant to moisture and mould,
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elastic and resistant to deformation,
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pleasant to the touch and quiet in everyday use.
These qualities are precisely what make cork “work” across such a wide range of applications.
3. Why did cork prove effective even in such an unusual use as Google’s servers?
Because it offers natural insulation, vibration damping, and electrical safety. Although Google used it in a makeshift way, its fundamental properties were genuinely useful.
4. Is natural cork a durable material?
Yes. When used correctly, cork retains its properties for decades. It does not crumble, lose elasticity, or suffer under intensive use.
5. Is cork an eco-friendly material?
Yes. Cork is a renewable raw material — it is harvested without cutting down trees, and its production has a low carbon footprint. This is one of the reasons it is increasingly returning to modern architecture and design.
