As user demands increase, the network of networks must adapt by incorporating more infrastructure. Data centers are critical pieces, and their installation is extremely complex for several reasons. One of them is cooling. Large companies consume a huge amount of energy just to keep their servers at an adequate temperature, but through the so-called Project Natick, Microsoft studies the possibility of using the world’s largest heat sink: the sea.
Google’s Seawater Cooling
One of our most popular articles shows the work Google carried out in the Finnish municipality of Hamina, a place chosen to install one of its data centers. The most notable thing about this center is that Google managed to recycle an old paper mill and transform part of its infrastructure into a liquid cooling system based on seawater. The strategy of making the most of local features with the mission of optimizing the efficiency of a data center is very valuable among the big names that keep the Internet standing, although there is always room to evolve. Microsoft people have recognized the huge potential of the sea as a coolant, but instead of working near the coast, they propose something different: Install servers underwater.
Project Natick: Underwater Servers
The official name of the project is Natick, and during a period that extended from August to November last year, the Redmond giant kept a 'small' data center submerged, one kilometer off the Pacific coast. The hardware used is the same as we can find in a conventional server room, with the inevitable series of modifications to adapt it to these unusual conditions. The final result was a kind of container, named Leona Philpot (a name from the Halo universe), equipped with all the necessary heat exchange systems.
Cooling is just one of the many benefits highlighted by the Project Natick team. Nearly half of the world’s population lives within 200 kilometers or less of the ocean, so placing data centers underwater could lead to faster connections with lower latency. Another fundamental aspect to consider is installation itself. Preparing one of these units requires less than 90 days, while the construction of a traditional data center can take up to 24 months. It goes without saying, reducing maintenance is one of the keys in this project, aiming for intervals of five years between replacements. There are also future doubts about environmental impact, but we must remember that data centers are currently throwing their excess heat into the atmosphere today, and they consume a gigantic amount of energy. If Natick proves to be more efficient, welcome it.
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