Microsoft‘s ‘Project Natick’ installed a cylindrical shape data center off Scottish Orkney to research about sub-sea data unit’s deployment.
Nearly two days ago, Microsoft’s team Natick placed a white cylindrical vessel data center off Orkney islands coast in Scotland. The vessel is 40-foot long and has a storage of about 27.6 petabytes. It has 12 racks of computers of high bit processing capacity and besides this, it is equipped with 864 servers that enable end to end data transmission speedily. The data center will exchange data and receive its power through an undersea cable connected to EUROPEAN MARINE ENERGY CENTRE (EMEC) in Orkney.
The data center placed to sit on the sea floor, such that it can store and access data up to five years without maintenance. As we know, data center consume a lot of power and exhaust a lot of heat, Now Company has a unique opportunity to cut down the cost of cooling computers by placing them underwater.
Microsoft was helped by a French shipbuilding company, Naval, which designed and developed the data center.
The company aims to provide more efficient internet services to people, who live near coasts. Near about 50 % of whole earth’s population lives within 120 miles from the sea. “Almost half of the world’s population lives near large bodies of water,” Cindy Rose, Microsoft’s U.K. chief executive, said.
Having data centers closer to billions of people using the internet will ensure faster and smoother web browsing, video streaming and gaming, while businesses can enjoy AI (artificial intelligence)-driven technologies ” said Rose.
The Orkney islands were chosen as it is known for its Renewable energy research.
If the beta testing of this project became successful, Microsoft agrees to manufacture and deploy such vessels in 90 days, which for lands take a year. However, the repair of the system is not easy but the company says, there will be no such requirements as there will be no human beings inside vessel so we can take out all oxygen from vessel to stop corrosion.