About the Natick project from the workshop Microsoftu have been talking for several months. This is an unconventional way of storing data, in a huge underwater data center. The dimensional tank can hold up to 27,6 petabytes, which translates to an incredible 27,6 million GB and is powered by clean energy from renewable sources. The latest images show the location and operation of this data center, which is located off the coast of Scotland.
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The data center was successful. Microsoftu to dive in the designated place in June/June 2018. The latest gadget even has a pair of cameras, thanks to which we can connect to a live stream and watch the underwater surroundings of the data warehouse. Microsoft do not hide their efforts for underwater data storage, and have been experimenting and conducting various tests in this field for years. The Natick project is currently in testing phase 2. The company tries to promote its efforts with the slogan: "Half of the global population lives on the coast. Why can't they use our data too??” The recording from a pair of cameras that are used to monitor and control the surrounding environment can be found at this link.
What does an underwater dump look like give from Microsoftu?
Microsoft is, among other things, trying to point out the advantages of storing data in the sea with this initiative. In the near future, the project could move to the third phase, but it is still only in the preparation stage. We will see if we will see more fraudulent repositories in the near future, whether under the company's name Microsoft or other tech mogul. In the following video, you can watch a short documentary about the preparation and subsequent launch of the Natick project.
Uh…. why? What advantages does it have?
Probably cooling
Is it not possible to heat the building? Or at least a pool? :-D
someone has to watch over the building, the heating has to have a pump and an exchanger, etc., etc. You "throw" this into the sea at the end of the cable and you have peace of mind :-)
Look, if it's really for cooling, it's a million times more expensive solution than the heat exchanger and the entire technical solution for any building. Just going to sea with a boat like this costs like a barrack.
I doubt it's because of the cooling, even if the walls were 10°C (which is not the case in the golf stream) the computer would quickly heat up there. Well, try turning off the fan and putting the laptop in the fridge :-D
Millions of gigabytes are petabytes. 😉
It somehow eludes me how they hold and secure it... according to some other photos, it looks as if it just "lies" there :-D and also, what if some part inside the tube comes off, i.e. in that data "box" then they take out the whole tube to fix it? Or maybe I thought about how long the outer part will have (of course, it will have some extra material resistant to salt water, but I think that sea water destroys everything over time + marine organisms will definitely "stick" to it, etc.)... I'm not technician, but I'll let myself be taught :-D
Good point, for example, servicing offshore wind turbines is much more expensive than on land and you can't always do it. I read that Microsoft They're trying to build those storage facilities as close to people as possible to reduce some of the downtime. But I see it more as a show off that they're not an outdated company.
Microsoft It states (in the link from the article) that the "lifespan" is up to 5 years without the need for maintenance, but it doesn't say what they plan to do with it... I was wondering if the disks with the data could be damaged in some way during the extraction (something like decompression). The website states that inside is
1 atmospheric pressure and compressed nitrogen... so I'm probably seeing it very black :-D I just can't imagine it technically.