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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."

18 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
  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. D5! by scoser · · Score: 5, Funny

    You sunk my dataship!

  6. 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!

  7. Re:well by SnowZero · · Score: 5, Funny

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

    They can still use pier to pier connections.

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

    ...programming in Sea+

  10. 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.
  11. Whooosh... by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

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

  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Offshoring? by dlim · · Score: 4, Funny

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

  16. 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.

  17. 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.