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New Data Center Modeled After a Space Station
1sockchuck writes "Jon Karlung believes that data centers shouldn't just be cool – they should look cool, too. His latest approach to futuristic IT is a modular data center designed to look like a space station. Karlung, the CEO of Sweden's Bahnhof, previously built a stylish data center in a former nuclear bunker beneath Stockholm featuring a waterfall, which has been compared to the lair of a James Bond villain. Karlung's new design features IT modules built from bullet-proof steel that attach to an inflatable dome for staff. 'Containers are ugly,' Karlung says. 'I think design is too often neglected in our field of business.'"
I expect you to... REBOOT!
Great selling point!
Why not just produce photoshop images of what you say it looks like? No one is going to see the real thing anyway (apart from your own staff).
Except for a handful of people, who's going to see it? If there are more than a couple people in a datacenter you're doing it wrong. Rack the equipment (preconfigured), plug in the cables and switch it on. From that point on no one should touch it until it breaks and needs to be RMA'd or scrapped.
How much money are you going to invest in beautifying a space that very few people will see?
New customers.
Ceterus parabus, many corporate senior management being toured around a volcano-lair-datacentre will pay a bit over the odds for co-lo when the alternative is some random industrial park warehouse.
It's called marketing & presentation.
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Why not consider a datacenter that looks like Times Square? Empty Times Square Building Generates $23 Million a Year From Digital Ads
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There were a bunch of comments on that article about using up the empty building as a data-center.:
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animats
anonymous coward: why not a datacenter?
I understand that sometimes cities have an art budget that they need to use up with each new construction project, and it's cute to have new structures blend in or stand out aesthetically, but it seems un-necessary and over-kill to go too far out of your way to do this. But hey, if you're building it, (and you get the appropriate permits by approval or bribery) do whatever floats your boats and roxen your boxen!
Aesthetically pleasing design isn't a priority: Very few people will ever see the data center(s) they use, let alone care what they look like. This is like saying "My neighborhood has the best looking sewers!" Well, that's cool... but nobody is going to crawl down a manhole to check them out. So props for being all creative and stuff, but why don't you work on something the general public might actually see?
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Just don't make the pod bay doors voice-activated.
Yay! I'll finally have something to go with my 50's concept car designed to look like a spaceship!
(obligatory)
Speaking from experience here, data centers and water features are just bad combinations.
So the guards are protected by an inflatable micro-thick skin. Hmm...
If we're going with modified movie quotes, I would've thought the obvious one was: "That's no data center!"
The space station looks like this.
This looks more like two trailers parked next to an inflatable igloo from a campy spy flick about Not-So-Secret Eskimo Intelligence agents.
Bonus points if you can find the part of the video where the caption describes the person on screen as the "Designer of the Doom" (misspelling Dome).
In the video there looks like a rack of pointy sticks. Now, whats the chances of a bored person finding a blowup domb to fling one at? As for security, looks about as secure as a Microsoft OS.
I worked in an Australian Data Centre back in 2006. One of my daily task was to walk the floor looking for red lights and general physical security patrol.
Mostly I would spend my time studying the various case designs from server hardware vendors; sun hardware and racks was unmistakably the coolest looking gear. Something like alien cyberpunk is how I would describe their purple mesh design. HP has always lacked aesthetic flair to their chassis externals. Grey plate with lights. Boring! Dell had a more industrial look with riveting metal grills but Apple took awards for simple clear design. Their use of white LEDs for status indicators added something like a holy glow.
Apple should get back into this space with ARM servers and sexy looking server case design. That data centre technician out there appreciates the time the vendors put into making their boxes look cool.
FTA
The design features a spacious double-wide module built with bullet-proof steel that will house servers, which attaches to “The Dome,” an inflatable central vestibule that houses security staff.
So the servers get bullet-proof steel, while the human security staff are protected by 'inflatable' walls?
Don't think I would fancy my chances in a physical attack...
making "PSSST, PSSST" sounds to explain they're pneumatic like on star trek.
The inflatable building crap again? These things are a major Fail.
Use shipping containers. works better, you can do more with them and easily modular. Oh and they are cheaper to transport to the site and set up.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
At current data size volume todays data center will fit in your laptop.
Philips HQ used to have this cool building... The Evoluon. A science museum, afterwards turned into conference center. I cannot express to you how impressive it is to visit as a young boy interested in science.
This reeks of those home security commercials. "Hello, this is Wolf Home Security, is everything all right?" with a background of dimmed red lights in a war room. Anyone whose ever worked in a secure environment or a war room will tell you that all the commercial theatrics deployed around their work area made/will make them crazy. It might look cool, but its not functionally sound.