Comments on: Nuke Site Converted Into Data Center

By: Nuclear-powered datacenters: coming soon? | Security and the Net

Nuclear-powered datacenters: coming soon? | Security and the Net — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:37:01 +0000

[...] other news, 1&1 Internet is doing exactly the opposite; they are building a data center in a decommissioned nuclear facility in Germany: The Siemens AG [...]

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:33:27 +0000

@Rob W

I worked with an EDS engineer a few years ago and apparently at the time, the 5th Level (above ground) was optimum for data centres because it was extremely unlikely to be flooded/etc but also not too high that the power drop was excessive.

By: Drew

Drew — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:06:24 +0000

….in regards to building in basements, economically yes it would be extremely efficient…maybe…however, the amount of power needed to run a datacenter is extremely immence…so new lines would need to be run, and since a basement isn’t large enough for the entire data center, multiple basements would be needed. This means multiple power sources all at different wattage prices…makes it a bit annoying and expensive on a budgetting standpoint. And how about staffing, this means there would need to be at least 2 employees to run a 24 hour shift. More money again, not to mention more time spent to keep track of the activities of each center.

That being said, DC’s are noisy. Apartment residence may complain. As well, zoning laws could also be an issue.

There are allot of other problems with this as well, but I’ll cut to my main point.

Security…DC’s are usually controlled through a mixture of human authentication and biometrics. Security gaurds, access codes, biometrics etc..all quite expensive. Multiple locations means additional costs.

Not to mention you’ll have tenants walking around within a floor of the DC….lets also talk about dirt and grime and dust, most DC’s are quite clean as dirt may damage the hardware.

Well, I think I’ll stop there.

Of course these are just opinions, but I was bored at work and thought I’d post.

By: Nuclear-powered datacenters: coming soon? | Security and the Net

Nuclear-powered datacenters: coming soon? | Security and the Net — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:27:48 +0000

[...] other news, 1&1 Internet is doing exactly the opposite; they are building a data center in a decommissioned nuclear facility in Germany: The Siemens AG [...]

By: Rich Miller

Rich Miller — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:54:49 +0000

Rob: There are a small number of multi-use buildings that contain data centers that have taken steps to harness heat and reuse it.The most interesting example of this is an IBM data center in Switzerland using excess heat from the data center to heat a nearby swimming pool.

Basements can be problematic, though. Back in 2001 there were a number of data centers in basement levels of office towers in Houston that flooded during Tropical Storm Allison. Not a happy scene.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:32:27 +0000

@rob
How about a laundrette? Heat flow would be good for drying clothes?

By: Rob W

Rob W — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:45:03 +0000

I’ve wondered before why we don’t have datacenters in the basements of apartment buildings, in relatively cool climates. Most of the year, all of that excess heat could be used directly to heat the building, right? Though perhaps in the summertime when the heat just needed to be vented it might be tough to find a place to blow it out that wouldn’t upset anyone….