Slashdot Mirror


Town Expands To Boost Cooling For NSA Data Center

1sockchuck writes "A substantial water supply is critical for most large data centers. A case in point: Officials in Bluffdale, Utah have agreed to annex land housing a new $1.2 billion data center for the National Security Agency. The move makes the NSA a higher priority customer for Bluffdale's water utility, which prevents its water supply from a potential cutoff in the event of a water shortage — which would be a problem, since water will be used extensively in the data center's cooling system. Many large data centers have been working to reduce their water use to make them more sustainable and reliable."

8 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Re:That's a great theory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    They are afraid the water might be able to be reassembled in such a way as to show the data that the computers were processing when it cooled them.

    For God's sake don't tell them I

  2. Re:Utah water supply by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One does wonder why the NSA chose that particular climate to build a big, water-hungry datacenter...(and what inducements the town leadership accepted for the... good fortune... of having its water allocated to the NSA first and its citizens second.)

  3. Re:Utah water supply by Isaac-1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Can we say PORK

  4. Re:Utah water supply by h4rr4r · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why do you have lawns then?
    Having lawns in places that would need a lawn to be watered is a braindead idea.

  5. Re:Utah water supply by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's ok. I the worst case, the data center is only one backhoe away from not needing water.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  6. Do I smell Orrin Hatch? by MarkvW · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why would you locate something that demands cooling resources in the MIDDLE OF A DESERT?
    Because an influential Senator wants the facility there, perhaps?

  7. Re:Make a hotspring resort out of it by fleebait · · Score: 5, Funny

    If they do the plumbing right, all they need to do is channel the hot water into a facility for rest and relaxation. For that matter, it could also be used in other ways. There has got to be a better way than this to make use of this hot water.

    Better -- stop the NSA domestic spying.

    A significant problem with making a hotspring resort fed by an NSA datacenter is the extreme danger imposed by an inadvertant WikiLeak, and it's effect on the local infrastructure. Liquid NSA data running all over Utah might have unknown effects on the local environment.

  8. Re:Utah water supply by swanzilla · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why do you have lawns then? Having lawns in places that would need a lawn to be watered is a braindead idea.

    Now get off my lawn.