Servers Ahoy — Startup To Build Floating Data Centers

1sockchuck writes "Startup International Data Security says it is moving ahead with plans to build data centers on cargo ships docked in the San Francisco Bay. IDS first announced its plans in 2008, but they were postponed by the credit crunch. The company says it has now lined up funding and an anchor tenant for a proof-of-concept 'dataship' that will hold 500 racks of servers in its cargo holds. IDS isn't alone in contemplating ship-board server farms, as Google has applied for a patent for a 'water-based data center.'"

Comments

Re:Well

[bsDaemon]

Thus increasing the ease of seizing their property under the guise of a Coast Guard inspection/quaranteen, firing on them at sea, sinking them and blaming it on pirates/terrorists, etc? Sounds like a good plan to me.

Heat sink

[snookerhog]

I assume one of the primary reasons for doing so is to take advantage of liquid cooling using the Bay.

how long do you think it will be before the thermal pollution watchdogs start cracking down?

Re:A Patent?

[ImNotAtWork]

One word: Cooling

Re:It says they're nearly impervious to disaster

[MozeeToby]

Tsunami's don't work that way. Generally, the wave out at sea (or even in the harbor) is quite small, it is only when it pushes up against a shelf of land that it rises 30 or more feet above the surface of the sea. Besides, cargo ships are big, huge in fact. Even a 100 ft rouge wave (which would be completely unheard of in a harbor) would have trouble significantly damaging one of them. When was the last time that you heard about a cargo ship sinking while docked at harbor?.