THE FRONT PORCH: What is a data center, anyway?
By Dakota Baker, RealWV
Welcome to our front porch, where we talk about what’s going on across the state. These days, data centers seem to be at or near the top of many conversations.
The last discussion we had on data centers revolved around the disruptive nature of those facilities and the potential harm to rural communities.
One reader who wrote to us since our last discussion raised a basic question that others probably have as well: “What is a data center, anyway?”
A data center is a physical facility used to house an organization’s information technology infrastructure. Typically, data centers are massive in size, as we discussed in our last front porch on this topic. They are central tech hubs which house data and all the corresponding equipment needed to process it such as AI (artificial intelligence) software, computers, servers, and more. The facilities not only store data, but they also process, manage, and share it.
In daily operations, they use large amounts of water. Why, you ask?
The servers, networking equipment, and storage systems within a data center convert electrical energy into heat. If the heat is not removed it can lead to higher failure rates, shortened hardware lifespan, reduced equipment performance, service disruptions, and higher energy consumption rates.
Liquid cooling is one of many ways to cool the equipment utilized in data centers, and the most advanced as liquid is more effective than air at transmitting heat due to its increased heat conductivity.
While it is said liquid cooling is more energy efficient, it is not water-efficient.
Do they also use large amounts of electricity? Yes, they do.
In order to process so much data so often (they run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week), particularly AI computing equipment, and operate the necessary cooling equipment, it’s not unusual for a data center to use as much electricity as a small city on a daily basis.
Everything from online banking to email to social media to shopping is impacted by the digital backbone that is a data center. Therefore, as the world becomes increasingly connected and reliant upon this IT infrastructure, the demand for available data center space is skyrocketing. This has led companies to rapidly expand construction of new facilities, including here in West Virginia.
For more information on the repercussions of data centers, check out our previous article: Will AI cause us to sacrifice ‘wild & wonderful’?
Other Helpful Links:
