Underground data center to reduce energy consumption

Author: ArunIn an effort to reduce energy consumption in data centers, SunMicrosystems is planning to lower their Blackbox into an underground coal mine in Japan. The main advantage with this underground data center is of course less energy consumption than the usual ground-level data center. Excerpts from a Techworld article:

The coolant will be ground water and the site's temperature is a constant 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) all year, meaning no air-conditioning will be needed outside the containers. This reduces the energy required for the water chillers, used with surface-level Blackbox containers.

The containers will be lowered 100m into the mine and linked to power, water cooling and network lines via external connectors.

Such a subterranean data center will be easier to secure against unauthorized entry and terrorist attacks. The Blackbox containers are robust enough to withstand earthquakes, being capable of withstanding a quake of magnitude 6.7 on the Richter scale.

This underground data center is said to be very secure. Earthquakes cannot affect it. There won't be any wayward truck drivers taking down the datacenter, for sure!

Read full article here.