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Startup Building Floating Data Centers

1sockchuck writes "A Bay Area startup is planning to build data centers on cargo container ships, which would be docked at piers in major Internet markets. The company, known as IDS (International Data Security) says it plans to use biodiesel to power its generators and use heat from equipment to manage temperature on board the ships, reducing their reliance on grid power. IDS is telling prospects that it hopes to eventually have more than 20 floating data centers docked at ports around the U.S."

30 of 256 comments (clear)

  1. the pirate bay by an.echte.trilingue · · Score: 5, Funny

    I bet you could sell server space on one of these to thepiratebay...

    --
    weirdest thing I ever saw: scientology advertising on slashdot.
    1. Re:the pirate bay by EMeta · · Score: 5, Funny

      Sell? They're the Pirate Bay. Why would they buy it?

  2. I can see the marketing now... by faloi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sick of stable data centers inland, free from the excitement that comes from not knowing whether your data center will survive the latest hurricane or tropical storm? Tired of never meeting interesting longshoreman on your way to work? Try our new data center model!

    --
    "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
    1. Re:I can see the marketing now... by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, but you have the advantage of actually using sysadmins as galley slaves.

      --
      No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
    2. Re:I can see the marketing now... by CRCulver · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sick of stable data centers inland, free from the excitement that comes from not knowing whether your data center will survive the latest hurricane or tropical storm? Tired of never meeting interesting longshoreman on your way to work? Try our new data center model!

      On the other hand, think about the marketing potential when you can pitch this sort of data centre to nerds brought up on Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash as the Raft come to life. And didn't glimpses of the future in old popular science magazines tell of the coming generations living on or under the water (commuting in flying cars)?

  3. Seems silly, but... by russotto · · Score: 5, Funny

    Never underestimate the bandwidth of a server farm under tow!

    (latency's a bitch, though)

  4. Re:terrorism by spleen_blender · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh god. Oh god. I am SO excited about this! I can finally live out my dream of being a pirate hacker! I think I just found my calling in life!

    Raiding ship to ship, carrying off booty in binary, sword fights, parrots, wenches! ARRRRGH

    *head asplodes*

  5. take it one more step by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Float the ships off the coast, in international waters, fly a pirates flag and host accordingly.

  6. WTF would you need that for? by Loibisch · · Score: 2, Funny

    "[...] docked at piers in major Internet markets."
    Why would anyone ship data to a major internet market when you can just send it via an attachment? Duh...

  7. D5! by scoser · · Score: 5, Funny

    You sunk my dataship!

    1. Re:D5! by u-bend · · Score: 2, Funny

      I guess for once they don't want investors to sink their money into this one.

      --
      u-bend
  8. Not trying to be snarly here... by AndGodSed · · Score: 3, Funny

    I hope this idea floats, I hope they have enough liquid assets...

    Oh the puns! I can't resist!

  9. Rationing applies by rodney+dill · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sys admins will only get one pint of grog per day.

    --

    Use your head, can't you, use your head,
    You're on earth, there's no cure for that
    - S. Beckett
  10. Re:well by SnowZero · · Score: 5, Funny

    and how they plan to connect to the shore? lay a fibre cable? piering agreements.
  11. Re:terrorism by djasbestos · · Score: 5, Funny

    They can still use pier to pier connections.

  12. Re:terrorism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...programming in Sea+

  13. Datatypes by Dan+East · · Score: 3, Funny

    Startup Building Floating Data Centers

    That's nice, but is there a demand for data centers that store only one type of number? What if we need to store integers?

    Dan East

    --
    Better known as 318230.
  14. Re:What a bad idea by angus_rg · · Score: 2, Funny

    Don't forget how easy it will be for Soviet subs to ping our servers. At least they should be safe from Land attacks.

  15. Never underestimate the bandwidth of by mkcmkc · · Score: 2, Funny

    a container ship filled with 9-track tapes... :-)

    --
    "Not an actor, but he plays one on TV."
  16. Whooosh... by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    We need a new rating, Whoosh, for humorless droids who feel the need to correct jokes.

  17. ambiguous by sqldr · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Sir, the datacentre's gone down!".

    "ok, please clarify exactly what you mean by that.."

    --
    I wrote my first program at the age of six, and I still can't work out how this website works.
  18. Re:Port Fees? by pragma_x · · Score: 4, Funny

    There are really not ANY benefits to running a data center on a ship that I can think of other than the ability to use pirate lingo.


    Mister Smith, secure them backup tapes; I won't be havin' me data slidin' about on deck. Mister Taylor, re-run those CAT-5 cables and make it quick. There'll be no tangled rigging, or loose arrrr-J45's on my ship. Mister Martin, ye be throwin' them Cisco routers overboard, and invite their mangy sales crew over for a good plank walkin' - they be too slow for the likes o' me.

    Mister Jones, if it weren't for them lying, theiving scoundrels at the I-arrr-S, I'd have no deal with the likes of ye accountin' folks. Apparently, the lot of 'em don't understand the meanin' of "parlay". But enough of me rambin' - just make sure ye decimal points be just, or I be keelhaulin' the lot of ya.

    And as for the rest of ye lilly-livered scalawags, there'll be no drinkin', boozin', torrent-n' or World o' Warrrrcraft until after businessin' hours.

    Arrr Meetin' be o-journ'd.
  19. Re:terrorism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Does that mean cutlasses are now Sea Sharps?

  20. Re:Try Earthquake protection. by Descalzo · · Score: 5, Funny

    And the 1906 disaster was caused by lack of modern building codes and fire protection as much as anything else.
    I disagree. It was caused by an earthquake.
    --
    I cried real tears when Li Mu Bai died.
  21. Offshoring? by dlim · · Score: 4, Funny

    Perhaps they just got a little confused about the offshoring trend...

  22. Re:Because... by Fallen+Seraph · · Score: 2, Funny

    Then clearly they didn't want to sell to TPB because they needed to construct additional pylons...

  23. Buzz-word 2.0 compliant by HighOrbit · · Score: 3, Funny

    Because "bio-diesel" sounds niffy, cutting edge, and enviro-friendly. Just the sorta thing that a bay-area tech exec who has money to spend will latch on to. Not to mention that bio-diesel will help them achieve enterprise-level scalability, lower TCO, and higher ROI by leveraging eco-friendly synergies.

  24. Re:well by Cousin+Scuzzy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Maybe they'll use a subnet.

  25. Warning, bad jokes. by LarsG · · Score: 2, Funny

    CERT-advisory on limpet mines.

    New April 1st RFC - floating point transfers over sub-nets.

    The network is obviously pier to pier-based, you need good piering agreements.

    Connection reset by pier.

    The data center is down due to wetware failure.

    Special offer - free salt for all your crypto needs.

    Careful with that firewall, closed ports are bad.

    "Digital Pirates" just acquired a new meaning.

    The Dreaded Backhoe will be replaced by people phishing on the pier and people dropping <A>s

    Sneakernet replaced by flippernet.

    Overclockers rejoice, think of the extreme water-cooling possibilities.

    Forget the Boston Tea Party. The Boston LAN Party will be way cooler.

    --
    If J.K.R wrote Windows: Puteulanus fenestra mortalis!
  26. Re:Try Earthquake protection. by GaryPatterson · · Score: 3, Funny

    While some of the fires were caused by ruptured gas lines, I understand that many of the fires following the earthquake were caused by people realising that they were uninsured against earthquakes (act of God) but were insured against fire.