Have you heard that Microsoft is testing underwater data centers? On the surface (well, actually on the ocean floor) it’s not a bad idea. Project Natick seals a node of servers in a steel pipe for an undersea adventure planned for at least 10 years. The primary reason is to utilize cold ocean temperatures to keep the machines cool as they crunch through your incessant Candy Crush Saga sessions.
Passive cooling is wonderful, and really drops the energy footprint of a data center, albeit a very small one which is being tested. Scaled up, I can think of another big impact: property taxes. Does anyone know what the law says about dropping a pod in the ocean?
I see a big parallel if Project Natick takes off. Presumably there will be thousands of the data center pods. They don’t need to be weaponized, recovering them from the floor of the ocean would be more risk than reward for a would-be thief. Tapping undersea communications has long been a tool of spycraft so data security is something to consider. And if total deployment numbers were to reach millions we may have an ocean warming problem to face.
Sticking a computer underwater isn’t a great idea. (PSA: DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!) But if you happen to be Microsoft, sticking a whole bunch of computer servers under the sea might just be a brilliant idea.
Microsoft’s prototype underwater server capsule, the Leona Philpot, about to be lowered into the water.
Sticking a computer underwater isn’t a great idea. (PSA: DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!) But if you happen to be Microsoft, sticking a whole bunch of computer servers under the sea might just be a brilliant idea.
See, data centers, or buildings where all of the internet is processed use a ton of energy. No, really. In the United States alone, they annually suck up the equivalent of the energy output of 34 coal-fired power plants. A lot of that energy goes to powering the actual servers, but almost half of it goes to keeping the servers nice and cool, so they don’t overheat and crash, sending us all into the apocalypse keeping parts of the internet offline for a while.
Computer scientists and architects have employed all kinds of methods for keeping data centers cool, from building data centers in cool climates to putting bags of liquid coolant inside server banks to using heat from data centers to warm buildings and heat water.
But Microsoft has a different idea: dump the servers deep in the ocean, where the cool temperatures of the surrounding water will keep the servers cool 24/7, regardless of the seasons on the surface.
“Project Natick” is still in the research phase. Microsoft ran a successful test last year, submerging servers in a vessel called the Leona Philpot
Project Natick seeks to understand the benefits and difficulties in deploying subsea datacenters worldwide. We did so by designing, building, and deploying our own subsea datacenter in the ocean, all in about a year. This is the story of the Leona Philpot and Project Natick.
Microsoft is testing an undersea data center through its new research initiative, Project Natick. The watery locale supposedly will lower costs, boost environmental sustainability, and accelerate deployment.
Data centers drain energy and generate massive amounts of heat. This has forced companies to get creative with how they house their data and regulate the temperature of devices storing it.
Deltalis RadixCloud data center, for example, is naturally cooled by chilly air and water in the Swiss Alps, where it occupies a former Swiss Air Force control center. Iron Mountain stores data in an underground limestone mine located in Pennsylvania.
Microsoft is pushing the boundaries of data storage with Project Natick.
Microsoft aims to explore the possibility of an undersea data center for lower costs and environmental sustainability with its Project Natick.
It was Feb. 2013 when Microsoft employee Sean James, who had served on a Navy submarine, introduced the idea of an underwater data center powered by ocean energy.
One year later, a prototype submarine was deployed one kilometer off the California coast. The team was concerned about hardware problems and packed the steel capsule with 100 sensors to gauge motion, pressure, and humidity, reported the New York Times.
The prototype was tested and monitored for 105 days between Aug. 2015 and Nov. 2015. After a successful first try, engineers decided to continue the experiment. The team is currently working on an undersea system three times the size of its prototype, which measured eight feet in diameter.
On Project Natick’s website, Microsoft explains how the project could reduce latency for people living near the coast. Half of the world’s population lives within 200km of the ocean, it says, and offshore data centers could boost Web speeds because of their close proximity to shore.
Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire:
After retrieving a submerged shipping-container-size data center from Scotland’s Orkney Islands, deployed in 2018, Microsoft says the project was a success
Two years after deploying a shipping-container-size data center to the depths off Scotland’s Orkney Islands, Microsoft has reeled it back in, scrubbed off algae and barnacles and assessed the findings of the unique underwater project.
The tubular data center, containing 864 servers, was pulled up earlier this summer after sitting on the seafloor at a depth of 117 feet. It’s part of the years-long Project Natick, designed to find out whether taking the cloud beneath the sea was a feasible exercise and whether the overall reliability of data centers could be improved by the conditions.
The Natick team said that a variety of factors on land can contribute to equipment failure, from oxygen and humidity, temperature fluctuations and bumps and jostles from people who replace broken components.
Microsoft found the underwater data center to be eight times more reliable than those on land, crediting the dry nitrogen air inside the container as being less corrosive than oxygen.
The longterm hope is that underwater data centers could better serve a larger population near coastal cities, because data would have a shorter distance to travel, making for smoother web surfing, video streaming and more.
You Xiaoying / Scientific American:
A look at Chinese company Hailanyun’s $223M undersea data center, about six miles offshore from Shanghai and using tech pioneered by Microsoft’s Project Natick — China is pulling ahead of the rest of the world in sinking data centers that power AI into the ocean as an alternate way to keep them cool
China is pulling ahead of the rest of the world in sinking data centers that power AI into the ocean as an alternate way to keep them cool
To grow its economy, China is betting big on artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other digital technology—and a big part of that bet involves rapidly building data centers to boost computing power. But these massive collections of servers gobble up growing amounts of energy, and each one cycles through hundreds of thousands of gallons of water a day to carry away the heat they generate.
That means these facilities—in China and beyond—will increasingly compete with water demand linked directly to human survival, from agriculture to daily drinking. Many companies have sited their data centers in some of the driest regions of the world, including Arizona, parts of Spain, and the Middle East, because dry air reduces the risks of damage to the equipment from humidity, according to an investigation by the nonprofit journalist organization SourceMaterial and the Guardian. Partly to address water concerns, China is now putting a data center in the wettest place there is: the ocean. This June construction began on a wind-powered underwater data center about six miles off the coast of Shanghai, one of China’s AI hubs. [Read more: What Do Google’s AI Answers Cost the Environment?]
“China’s ambitious approach signals a bold shift toward low-carbon digital infrastructure, and it could influence global norms in sustainable computing,” says Shabrina Nadhila, an analyst at energy-focused think tank Ember, who has researched data centers.
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9 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Devilishly Advocative: Microsoft Heats Ocean; Builds Skynet’s Safe Haven
http://hackaday.com/2016/02/03/devilishly-advocative-microsoft-heats-ocean-builds-skynets-safe-haven/
Have you heard that Microsoft is testing underwater data centers? On the surface (well, actually on the ocean floor) it’s not a bad idea. Project Natick seals a node of servers in a steel pipe for an undersea adventure planned for at least 10 years. The primary reason is to utilize cold ocean temperatures to keep the machines cool as they crunch through your incessant Candy Crush Saga sessions.
Passive cooling is wonderful, and really drops the energy footprint of a data center, albeit a very small one which is being tested. Scaled up, I can think of another big impact: property taxes. Does anyone know what the law says about dropping a pod in the ocean?
I see a big parallel if Project Natick takes off. Presumably there will be thousands of the data center pods. They don’t need to be weaponized, recovering them from the floor of the ocean would be more risk than reward for a would-be thief. Tapping undersea communications has long been a tool of spycraft so data security is something to consider. And if total deployment numbers were to reach millions we may have an ocean warming problem to face.
This Is Why Microsoft Is Putting Data Servers In The Ocean
20,000 servers under the sea?
http://www.popsci.com/microsoft-is-putting-data-servers-in-cool-new-place-ocean
Sticking a computer underwater isn’t a great idea. (PSA: DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!) But if you happen to be Microsoft, sticking a whole bunch of computer servers under the sea might just be a brilliant idea.
Leona Philpot
[Microsoft/YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2oJw1a_qEM
Leona Philpot
Microsoft’s prototype underwater server capsule, the Leona Philpot, about to be lowered into the water.
Sticking a computer underwater isn’t a great idea. (PSA: DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!) But if you happen to be Microsoft, sticking a whole bunch of computer servers under the sea might just be a brilliant idea.
See, data centers, or buildings where all of the internet is processed use a ton of energy. No, really. In the United States alone, they annually suck up the equivalent of the energy output of 34 coal-fired power plants. A lot of that energy goes to powering the actual servers, but almost half of it goes to keeping the servers nice and cool, so they don’t overheat and crash, sending us all into the apocalypse keeping parts of the internet offline for a while.
Computer scientists and architects have employed all kinds of methods for keeping data centers cool, from building data centers in cool climates to putting bags of liquid coolant inside server banks to using heat from data centers to warm buildings and heat water.
But Microsoft has a different idea: dump the servers deep in the ocean, where the cool temperatures of the surrounding water will keep the servers cool 24/7, regardless of the seasons on the surface.
“Project Natick” is still in the research phase. Microsoft ran a successful test last year, submerging servers in a vessel called the Leona Philpot
Tomi Engdahl says:
A research project to determine the feasibility of subsea datacenters
http://www.projectnatick.com/
Project Natick seeks to understand the benefits and difficulties in deploying subsea datacenters worldwide. We did so by designing, building, and deploying our own subsea datacenter in the ocean, all in about a year. This is the story of the Leona Philpot and Project Natick.
Microsoft’s underwater datacenter: Project Natick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2oJw1a_qEM
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft’s Project Natick: Underwater Data Center Takes The Plunge
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1328865&
Microsoft is testing an undersea data center through its new research initiative, Project Natick. The watery locale supposedly will lower costs, boost environmental sustainability, and accelerate deployment.
Data centers drain energy and generate massive amounts of heat. This has forced companies to get creative with how they house their data and regulate the temperature of devices storing it.
Deltalis RadixCloud data center, for example, is naturally cooled by chilly air and water in the Swiss Alps, where it occupies a former Swiss Air Force control center. Iron Mountain stores data in an underground limestone mine located in Pennsylvania.
Microsoft is pushing the boundaries of data storage with Project Natick.
Microsoft’s Project Natick: Underwater Data Center Takes The Plunge
http://www.informationweek.com/data-centers/microsofts-project-natick-underwater-data-center-takes-the-plunge-/d/d-id/1324132?
Microsoft aims to explore the possibility of an undersea data center for lower costs and environmental sustainability with its Project Natick.
It was Feb. 2013 when Microsoft employee Sean James, who had served on a Navy submarine, introduced the idea of an underwater data center powered by ocean energy.
One year later, a prototype submarine was deployed one kilometer off the California coast. The team was concerned about hardware problems and packed the steel capsule with 100 sensors to gauge motion, pressure, and humidity, reported the New York Times.
The prototype was tested and monitored for 105 days between Aug. 2015 and Nov. 2015. After a successful first try, engineers decided to continue the experiment. The team is currently working on an undersea system three times the size of its prototype, which measured eight feet in diameter.
On Project Natick’s website, Microsoft explains how the project could reduce latency for people living near the coast. Half of the world’s population lives within 200km of the ocean, it says, and offshore data centers could boost Web speeds because of their close proximity to shore.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ABB & Siemens Test Subsea Power Grids for Underwater Factories
https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/fossil-fuels/abb-siemens-test-subsea-power-grids-for-underwater-factories
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire:
After retrieving a submerged shipping-container-size data center from Scotland’s Orkney Islands, deployed in 2018, Microsoft says the project was a success
Microsoft pulls underwater data center back to the surface to assess benefits of deep-sea cloud
https://www.geekwire.com/2020/microsoft-pulls-underwater-data-center-back-surface-assess-benefits-deep-sea-cloud/
Two years after deploying a shipping-container-size data center to the depths off Scotland’s Orkney Islands, Microsoft has reeled it back in, scrubbed off algae and barnacles and assessed the findings of the unique underwater project.
The tubular data center, containing 864 servers, was pulled up earlier this summer after sitting on the seafloor at a depth of 117 feet. It’s part of the years-long Project Natick, designed to find out whether taking the cloud beneath the sea was a feasible exercise and whether the overall reliability of data centers could be improved by the conditions.
The Natick team said that a variety of factors on land can contribute to equipment failure, from oxygen and humidity, temperature fluctuations and bumps and jostles from people who replace broken components.
Microsoft found the underwater data center to be eight times more reliable than those on land, crediting the dry nitrogen air inside the container as being less corrosive than oxygen.
The longterm hope is that underwater data centers could better serve a larger population near coastal cities, because data would have a shorter distance to travel, making for smoother web surfing, video streaming and more.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/14/21436746/microsoft-project-natick-data-center-server-underwater-cooling-reliability
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.turningcloud.com/blog/underwater-cloud-computing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft shelves its underwater data center — Project Natick had fewer server failures compared to servers on land
https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/servers/microsoft-shelves-its-underwater-data-center
Tomi Engdahl says:
You Xiaoying / Scientific American:
A look at Chinese company Hailanyun’s $223M undersea data center, about six miles offshore from Shanghai and using tech pioneered by Microsoft’s Project Natick — China is pulling ahead of the rest of the world in sinking data centers that power AI into the ocean as an alternate way to keep them cool
China Is Putting Data Centers in the Ocean to Keep Them Cool
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-powers-ai-boom-with-undersea-data-centers/
China is pulling ahead of the rest of the world in sinking data centers that power AI into the ocean as an alternate way to keep them cool
To grow its economy, China is betting big on artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other digital technology—and a big part of that bet involves rapidly building data centers to boost computing power. But these massive collections of servers gobble up growing amounts of energy, and each one cycles through hundreds of thousands of gallons of water a day to carry away the heat they generate.
That means these facilities—in China and beyond—will increasingly compete with water demand linked directly to human survival, from agriculture to daily drinking. Many companies have sited their data centers in some of the driest regions of the world, including Arizona, parts of Spain, and the Middle East, because dry air reduces the risks of damage to the equipment from humidity, according to an investigation by the nonprofit journalist organization SourceMaterial and the Guardian. Partly to address water concerns, China is now putting a data center in the wettest place there is: the ocean. This June construction began on a wind-powered underwater data center about six miles off the coast of Shanghai, one of China’s AI hubs. [Read more: What Do Google’s AI Answers Cost the Environment?]
“China’s ambitious approach signals a bold shift toward low-carbon digital infrastructure, and it could influence global norms in sustainable computing,” says Shabrina Nadhila, an analyst at energy-focused think tank Ember, who has researched data centers.