4 ms·

I don't think this is done for the sake of efficiency, but rather latency. For example, if you had a underwater data center that sat in the middle of the atlan

I don't think this is done for the sake of efficiency, but rather latency. For example, if you had a underwater data center that sat in the middle of the atlantic ocean in between new york and london, you could do some serious trading with that capability.

Nican 8y ago
Even in the coast of large cities, like NYC or Boston. The real state cost of having a data center in those regions are high, but it would be much cheaper to just hide your servers underwater, near where your users are.
- wpdev_63 8y ago
  This is a big reason. The cost of leasing out space is definitely more expensive than the cost of cooling these datacenters. Why spend several million dollars in leasing space when you can drop a datacenter capsule off the coast with free cooling? Who cares about the cost of hardware.
  - pjc50 8y ago
    The cost of connecting the thing via submarine cable to a suitable land point is likely to be a lot higher than you think.
    - antpls 8y ago
      Do you have a source to back this statement?
- hinkley 8y ago
  So you’re going to put servers in a public waterway and you don’t think the US Government is going to have a word with you about it? You’re going to pay even if it doesn’t have a street address.
dmurray 8y ago
No, you could not. You would gain nothing over having a datacentre in London and a datacentre in New York and a low latency link between them. You can note, for example, that there is no data centre half way between Chicago and New York, even though that area has cheap accessible real estate and billions of dollars have been spent on low latency communication links between the two.
Redoubts 8y ago
Indeed. http://www.alexwg.org/publications/PhysRevE_82-056104.pdf http://www.alexwg.org/publications/PhysRevE_82-056104.pdf
- testplzignore 8y ago
  For those confused by this like I am, the key part to look at is the "emulation" paragraph.
pjc50 8y ago
However, Orkney isn't in the middle of anywhere, it's some distance even from Telehouse London.
- arethuza 8y ago
  Closer to Norway than London! Of course, Orkney was part of Norway before becoming part of Scotland in 1468.
  - macintux 8y ago
    TIL. Those pesky Vikings. My cousin, from Indiana, is currently serving as a minister on Stronsay. The scenic photos he's sharing are certainly encouraging me to contemplate a visit.
    - arethuza 8y ago
      My great grandfather was skipper of the Evangeline who died along with all the crew off of Stronsay in 1909: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=27&v=0UVWUbJp3Ys https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=27&v=0UVWUbJp3Ys http://www.axfordsabode.org.uk/disaster/evangeli.pdf http://www.axfordsabode.org.uk/disaster/evangeli.pdf Edit: (Can't work out if was great great grandfather or not! - but certainly some ancestor!) Edit2: I'd definitely recommend visiting Orkney - it regularly gets evaluated as one of the nicest bits of the UK to live, the scenery is fantastic and it has some of the most amazing historical artifacts in Europe.
      - macintux 8y ago
        Thank you, that document makes for compelling reading.

Nican 8y ago

Even in the coast of large cities, like NYC or Boston. The real state cost of having a data center in those regions are high, but it would be much cheaper to just hide your servers underwater, near where your users are.

wpdev_63 8y ago
This is a big reason. The cost of leasing out space is definitely more expensive than the cost of cooling these datacenters. Why spend several million dollars in leasing space when you can drop a datacenter capsule off the coast with free cooling? Who cares about the cost of hardware.
- pjc50 8y ago
  The cost of connecting the thing via submarine cable to a suitable land point is likely to be a lot higher than you think.
  - antpls 8y ago
    Do you have a source to back this statement?
hinkley 8y ago
So you’re going to put servers in a public waterway and you don’t think the US Government is going to have a word with you about it? You’re going to pay even if it doesn’t have a street address.

dmurray 8y ago

No, you could not. You would gain nothing over having a datacentre in London and a datacentre in New York and a low latency link between them. You can note, for example, that there is no data centre half way between Chicago and New York, even though that area has cheap accessible real estate and billions of dollars have been spent on low latency communication links between the two.

Redoubts 8y ago

Indeed. http://www.alexwg.org/publications/PhysRevE_82-056104.pdf http://www.alexwg.org/publications/PhysRevE_82-056104.pdf

testplzignore 8y ago
For those confused by this like I am, the key part to look at is the "emulation" paragraph.

pjc50 8y ago

However, Orkney isn't in the middle of anywhere, it's some distance even from Telehouse London.

arethuza 8y ago
Closer to Norway than London! Of course, Orkney was part of Norway before becoming part of Scotland in 1468.
- macintux 8y ago
  TIL. Those pesky Vikings. My cousin, from Indiana, is currently serving as a minister on Stronsay. The scenic photos he's sharing are certainly encouraging me to contemplate a visit.
  - arethuza 8y ago
    My great grandfather was skipper of the Evangeline who died along with all the crew off of Stronsay in 1909: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=27&v=0UVWUbJp3Ys https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=27&v=0UVWUbJp3Ys http://www.axfordsabode.org.uk/disaster/evangeli.pdf http://www.axfordsabode.org.uk/disaster/evangeli.pdf Edit: (Can't work out if was great great grandfather or not! - but certainly some ancestor!) Edit2: I'd definitely recommend visiting Orkney - it regularly gets evaluated as one of the nicest bits of the UK to live, the scenery is fantastic and it has some of the most amazing historical artifacts in Europe.
    - macintux 8y ago
      Thank you, that document makes for compelling reading.