Data Center
Return to Azure Data Center (Microsoft Data Center), AWS Data Center (Amazon Data Center), GCP Data Center (Google Data Center, Facebook Data Center, IBM Cloud Data Center (IBM Data Center).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wumluVRmxyA
- Snippet from Wikipedia: Data center
A data center is a physical room, building, or facility for the purpose of the storage, management, and dissemination of data and information, including training artificial intelligence, housing IT infrastructure, computer systems, and associated components. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 defines a data center as "any facility that primarily contains electronic equipment used to process, store, and transmit digital information." This includes "a free-standing structure" or "a facility within a larger structure, that uses environmental control equipment to maintain the proper conditions for the operation of electronic equipment." According to IBM, data centers date back to the 1940s; the U.S. military's Electrical Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was an early example.
Depending on workloads, data centers have different models. An enterprise (on-premises) model hosts IT infrastructure and data on-premises while Cloud data centers, which include hyperscale data centers, house IT infrastructure resources through an Internet connection, used by cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. They frequently contain thousands of servers and many miles of high-speed data connection equipment, being as large as 60,000 square feet. Managed service data centers have third party managers hired on behalf of a company, leasing the equipment and infrastructure instead of buying it. Colocation data centers allow companies to rent space within a data center owned by others and located off company premises, as the colocation data center hosts the infrastructure, while the company provides and manages the components. Edge data centers are smaller, decentralized facilities located closer to end users and devices. In the 2024 U.S. Data Center Energy Usage Report, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimated that hyperscale and colocation centers contained 74% of the computer servers in 2023.
Large data centers require significant energy to power their operations, leading to concerns about the large use of energy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that electricity consumption from these data centers amounts to around 415 terawatt hours (TWh), about 1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2024, at a growth rate of 12% per year over the last five years. The IEA projects this amount could double to reach around 945 TWh by 2030, growing by around 15% per year. In the U.S. alone, power consumption by data centers will be "almost half of the growth in electricity demand between now and 2030." According to Terry Nguyen and Ben Green of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, a single data center can "consume up to 2 megawatt hours (MWh)," the same as "the equivalent power consumption of a small town." This includes increased electricity costs.
According to a study in the academic journal Npj Clean Water, it was estimated that data centers consumed about 1.7 billion liters of water per day in 2021, with 57% drawn from potable supplies, noting that fewer than one-third of operators measured their water use. Concerns over environmental impacts, energy and water use, and other costs have led to opposition to new data centers during the AI boom. These movements have been seen in parts of Europe, the U.S., and South America. Data Center Watch’s first report covered a period from May 2024 to March of 2025, where it was discovered that "local opposition had blocked or delayed a total of $64 billion in data center projects (six projects were blocked entirely, while 10 were delayed)."