Microsoft wants to put data centers at the bottom of the ocean

Microsoft wants to start building server farms under the sea, taking advantage of natural cooling and power generation.

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We might be running out of room on the Earth for server racks and compute power. Or maybe not, but Microsoft still wants to start putting server farms and small clusters of data-centers in the bottom of the ocean. It might even be greener and more cost effective.

Microsoft wants to put data centers at the bottom of the ocean | TweakTown.com

Project Natick is precisely the venture that Microsoft is concocting to put our data under the sea. The logic is actually quite sound, however. The idea is that containerized data centers can, if properly equipped, be cooled naturally and even use the energy from currents and waves to power them. It's a novel approach to making data, and the cloud, a more environmental friendly thing. If they don't leak and pollute the ocean of course.

And the researchers plan their submersibles to have a five year life-cycle, where they can be retrieved, refitted and upgraded with new hardware. And what if there's a malfunction or problem? Hardware failures happen, it's just a fact of life. So what if there's a HDD that suddenly can't write, and it needs to be replaced and the data restored? Presumably it'll have to be retrieved by boat and attended to, which could cost more money in manpower and equipment than just having a data-center easily accessible by humans.

So far the team has already tested their first capsule, the Leona Philpot, which was placed off the coast of California in August of 2015. It was retrieved in December and is now being looked at to see how the hardware physically handled the pressures of its underwater journey.

The next steps in this berserk plan is to further develop better ways to service the equipment once it's down there. And to research how to make hardware more reliable in those conditions. I can see underwater labs coming to fruition ala SEALAB (or the fictional Sealab 2021). Just fill of datacenters and a quick sub ride away.

NEWS SOURCE:projectnatick.com

Jeff grew up in the Pacific Northwest where he fell in love with gaming and building his own PC’s. He's a huge fan of any genre of gaming from RTS to FPS, but especially favors space-sims. Now he's stepped into the adult world by becoming a professional student looking to break into the IT Security world. When he’s not deep in his studies, he’s deep in a new game, revisiting an old game, or testing the extreme limits of his own PC. He's now a news contributor for TweakTown, looking to bring a unique view on technology and gaming.

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