Datacenters dip a toe back into waterborne computing despite obvious challenges

Siting datacenters either on the water or underwater is an idea that just won't sink, and there is increasing interest in it, despite the obvious fact that water and IT equipment are a potentially disastrous combination.

The attraction of having a data facility in or on the water is that it offers virtually limitless natural cooling, which is an increasingly vital consideration for operators deploying hot-running systems filled with GPUs for AI processing.

But set against that are potential issues with access for maintenance, in the case of underwater facilities, and gaining access to enough power to keep all that IT infrastructure chugging along.

The most recent announcement is that an underwater facility off the coast of China has now commenced operations, powered by a nearby offshore wind farm.

First disclosed last October, this project by Beijing-based Highlander Digital Technology has a capacity of 24 megawatts, about half...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to theregister.com. To see the full text click HERE