Cool land could help meet bandwidth needs, just look below you
Posted 03.25.2013 at 3:33 pm
7 Comments
Data Caves
Arup via The Register
Companies have made data centers--those big warehouses full of servers--into creative, even beautiful, spaces before. But, short on available land, Hong Kong is looking into where to put new data centers, and they're thinking caves might be the ticket.
It might not be as tough as you'd assume. In fact, as The Register points out, data centers in Norway and Kansas City have already made it happen. The land--er, the area underneath the land--could be purchased from whoever owns the above-ground area. The natural coolness of a cave could even help keep the data centers from overheating. The government has already selected five areas, with 20 hectares of land each, that might work for the data centers.
But there's still some issues to get past. Toxic materials would have to be removed from the site before construction, and fresh air would need to be somehow allowed in. Even the director of the engineering consultancy firm involved with the project, Arup, says they're a few years behind digging in and actually making this plan a reality.
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Plan for flooding.
LOL, earth quakes on happen ontop of the ground. No really!
It's ulterior motive is probably hardening against nuclear war.
from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Yes, stone is great for natural cooling...initially. However, once you heat it up, stone is also great at holding heat. So, while there may be a short term benefit of that cool rock, in the long term I would think it would be more of a detriment.
I consider it the same as our field stone fireplace. Once you warm it up it can keep the house warm for the rest of the day with no fire. I don't see how these server caves will be any different.
I would think they're going to have to have plans for huge ventalation shafts to keep this thing cool. Overall I think google's plans for a floating server farm that uses the deep cool ocean currents is a better plan than this.
http://www.deltalis.ch/
Hong kong is tropical, right? In the other locations you can pump in winter air and have the thermal mass keep you cool all summer. But in the tropics Ajohnson above has a point.