Microsoft sinks data centre to investigate underwater cooling

Microsoft sinks information centre to investigate underwater cooling

Underwater information centres would theoretically reduce the cost of cooling and repairs

Underwater Microsoft data centre

Microsoft sunk a data centre to meet if the sea could provide better cooling.

Dubbed Project Natick, Microsoft hopes to prove underwater information centres are a viable alternative to ones on land.

The data eye, a large cylinder full of computers, was sunk off the coast of the Orkney Islands. The small archipelago sits 16 kilometres off the coast of Caithness, Scotland. In that location are approximately 70 islands in Orkney, 20 of which are inhabited.

The computers on board Projection Natick accept enough infinite to store 5 million movies. Compared to some of the massive data sheds that exist on land, Natick is tiny with only 12 server racks.

Reduced costs

The cylinder could sit on the sea floor for upwardly to five years. It will use an undersea cable to bring power to the information centre and transfer data to the cyberspace. Nonetheless, if one of the computers breaks, it tin't exist repaired.

Theoretically, the cost of cooling and the demand for repairs will be reduced underwater.

"Nosotros think we actually get much better cooling underwater than on country," says Ben Cutler, who is in charge of the project.

"Additionally because there are no people, we tin can have all the oxygen and near of the h2o vapour out of the atmosphere which reduces corrosion, which is a pregnant problem in data centres."

The projection selected Orkney for the site because of the island's commitment to renewable energy. Orkney was an early adopter of current of air free energy. The islands produced more energy than needed since 2012.

Environmental touch on

Still, not everyone is sure about the environmental impact of the project.

"You but end up with a warmer body of water and bigger fish," Professor Ian Bitterlin, a data heart consultant for nearly 30 years, told the BBC.

Cutler insists the furnishings on water temperature will exist minimal. Overall the environmental impact of Projection Natick would exist positive.

If the project is successful, Microsoft is planning a hereafter where it could deploy an off-shore data heart in ninety days — much shorter than the years it takes on land. The company could sink groups of five information centres at a time.

Because how many people live virtually a coast worldwide, offshore data centres could exist a much more practical solution for storing the globe's information.

Source: BBC