The Most Unusual Date Centers: Data Centers as Art
For a long time you will not surprise anyone with ultra-modern data centers (DPCs), of which there are a great many in the world. Reliability, scalability, adaptability - the main parameters that engineers were guided by when designing Data Centers. Until recently ...
Nowadays, more and more Data Centers have begun to appear, which, without exaggeration, can be called real works of art. In my opinion, there are several reasons for this, starting from the desire to lure the client due to the unusualness of the object (to get marketing advantages) and ending with the banal desire to save money, but at the same time do something useful, for example, preserve the architectural object.
Ever thought of a server room in a chapel? But in Barcelona, the Spaniards not only thought, but also built. In 2005, the server area of about 120 square meters. m. successfully began to function in the former chapel of Torre Girona, where they placed one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, with a capacity of about 94 teraflops.
Thus, the “modernized” chapel helps scientists solve various problems, such as weather forecasting, the study of the human genome, or the invention of a new medicine.
Interesting facts about the cluster:
- consists of 2560 nodes;
- total weight of about 40 tons;
- each node is equipped with two dual-core processors with a frequency of 2.3 GHz and 20 GB of RAM;
- total performance of 94 teraflops.
Another interesting Data Center is located in Stockholm and is very similar to the structure from James Bond films, its name is Bahnhof or Pionen White Mountains (the code name that has been preserved from the object since the war).
It is located 30 meters under a rock in a former nuclear shelter. The Bahnhof still enjoys Cold War-style backup power - diesel generators designed for use on submarines. Just for fun, at the same time, the sound horns of the warning system from the original German submarine were installed.
A 40-centimeter steel door separates the Data Center from the outside world; the office of a telecommunications company and a traffic exchange point are also located on the territory of the shelter. More details on the video:
Interesting facts:
- The area of the object is more than 1100 square meters. m.
- completely refitted in 2007-2008;
- can withstand the explosion of a hydrogen bomb;
- is the office of one of the largest Internet providers in Sweden;
- The Maybach MTU Cold War backup power system provides about 1.5 MW of power;
- triple redundancy of communication channels (optical links are made of three different inputs);
- the cooling system allows you to safely remove heat from several hundred cabinets completely filled with equipment (with power consumption up to 1.5 MW);
- daylight is simulated, there is a greenhouse and artificial waterfalls, which creates a comfortable working atmosphere;
- 15 employees of only senior technical personnel are constantly at the facility.
A few photos from Pionen White Mountains:
NOC is located in a cozy jungle setting: “These fog lamps almost make us think about cloud computing. Misty computing? :) ”
On the left is a view from the conference hall (the floor is in the form of a lunar surface), on the right is a power supply system.
Artificial waterfalls and a large number of green plants decorate the halls.
On the left are submarine engines used for backup power, on the right is a power supply system.
Data Center Plan
So the bunker looked before conversion, a significant difference, right? :)
There are Data Centers that are designed to the highest environmental standards. For example, the ACT data center in Iowa became the first US owner of LEED-Platinum Certification. Its construction uses a wide range of renewable or recycled materials, such as aspen fibers, cork floors and cotton wall insulation. At the same time, the data center is able to withstand natural disasters, including tornadoes (it can withstand wind speeds up to 250 km / h).
The data center is energy efficient because it uses geothermal energy, which is a truly unique phenomenon (traditionally, geothermal energy is not compatible with data centers due to heat and the need to keep equipment cool). The data center is connected to a second data center located a few kilometers away.
At the University of Quebec, Canada, a research consortium turned a building that once served as Van de Graaff's particle accelerator into a multi-level data center.
Server cabinets are located on 3 tiers of the outer side of the accelerator circuit, and the heat produced by the equipment is successfully used to heat the university campus.
In 2011, a project was launched in Norway to build a Data Center in the thickness of a mountain on the shores of the Boknafjord fjord in a bunker, which previously housed the NATO ammunition depot. Several underground halls with a total area of over 21,000 square meters. m. will be converted to accommodate server equipment. According to engineers, their Data Center will become the “greenest” on the planet, as it will use a network of pipes with water from the fjord to cool it, the temperature of which at any time of the year does not exceed 8 degrees. This will save a significant amount of energy that traditional refrigeration units and chillers consume, and as a result, reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Nowadays, more and more Data Centers have begun to appear, which, without exaggeration, can be called real works of art. In my opinion, there are several reasons for this, starting from the desire to lure the client due to the unusualness of the object (to get marketing advantages) and ending with the banal desire to save money, but at the same time do something useful, for example, preserve the architectural object.
The server room in the chapel
Ever thought of a server room in a chapel? But in Barcelona, the Spaniards not only thought, but also built. In 2005, the server area of about 120 square meters. m. successfully began to function in the former chapel of Torre Girona, where they placed one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, with a capacity of about 94 teraflops.
Thus, the “modernized” chapel helps scientists solve various problems, such as weather forecasting, the study of the human genome, or the invention of a new medicine.
Interesting facts about the cluster:
- consists of 2560 nodes;
- total weight of about 40 tons;
- each node is equipped with two dual-core processors with a frequency of 2.3 GHz and 20 GB of RAM;
- total performance of 94 teraflops.
James Bond Date Center
Another interesting Data Center is located in Stockholm and is very similar to the structure from James Bond films, its name is Bahnhof or Pionen White Mountains (the code name that has been preserved from the object since the war).
It is located 30 meters under a rock in a former nuclear shelter. The Bahnhof still enjoys Cold War-style backup power - diesel generators designed for use on submarines. Just for fun, at the same time, the sound horns of the warning system from the original German submarine were installed.
A 40-centimeter steel door separates the Data Center from the outside world; the office of a telecommunications company and a traffic exchange point are also located on the territory of the shelter. More details on the video:
Interesting facts:
- The area of the object is more than 1100 square meters. m.
- completely refitted in 2007-2008;
- can withstand the explosion of a hydrogen bomb;
- is the office of one of the largest Internet providers in Sweden;
- The Maybach MTU Cold War backup power system provides about 1.5 MW of power;
- triple redundancy of communication channels (optical links are made of three different inputs);
- the cooling system allows you to safely remove heat from several hundred cabinets completely filled with equipment (with power consumption up to 1.5 MW);
- daylight is simulated, there is a greenhouse and artificial waterfalls, which creates a comfortable working atmosphere;
- 15 employees of only senior technical personnel are constantly at the facility.
A few photos from Pionen White Mountains:
NOC is located in a cozy jungle setting: “These fog lamps almost make us think about cloud computing. Misty computing? :) ”
On the left is a view from the conference hall (the floor is in the form of a lunar surface), on the right is a power supply system.
Artificial waterfalls and a large number of green plants decorate the halls.
On the left are submarine engines used for backup power, on the right is a power supply system.
Data Center Plan
So the bunker looked before conversion, a significant difference, right? :)
Date Center ACT
There are Data Centers that are designed to the highest environmental standards. For example, the ACT data center in Iowa became the first US owner of LEED-Platinum Certification. Its construction uses a wide range of renewable or recycled materials, such as aspen fibers, cork floors and cotton wall insulation. At the same time, the data center is able to withstand natural disasters, including tornadoes (it can withstand wind speeds up to 250 km / h).
The data center is energy efficient because it uses geothermal energy, which is a truly unique phenomenon (traditionally, geothermal energy is not compatible with data centers due to heat and the need to keep equipment cool). The data center is connected to a second data center located a few kilometers away.
From particle accelerator to data center ...
At the University of Quebec, Canada, a research consortium turned a building that once served as Van de Graaff's particle accelerator into a multi-level data center.
Server cabinets are located on 3 tiers of the outer side of the accelerator circuit, and the heat produced by the equipment is successfully used to heat the university campus.
Green Mountain Data Center - First Fjord Centers
In 2011, a project was launched in Norway to build a Data Center in the thickness of a mountain on the shores of the Boknafjord fjord in a bunker, which previously housed the NATO ammunition depot. Several underground halls with a total area of over 21,000 square meters. m. will be converted to accommodate server equipment. According to engineers, their Data Center will become the “greenest” on the planet, as it will use a network of pipes with water from the fjord to cool it, the temperature of which at any time of the year does not exceed 8 degrees. This will save a significant amount of energy that traditional refrigeration units and chillers consume, and as a result, reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.