BELOW GROUND MEANS NEW PERSPECTIVES
Due to the globally increasing urbanization, and the
advent of the Internet of Things, and the general pressure on surface space use,
urban underground data centers (UDC) will gain in importance in the future of
our urban environment. One aspect is proximity: they will be built closer to the
users than remotely located UDC. As a result, latency can be reduced which is of great importance for instance in the case of fully automated vehicles and generally to avoid a huge traffic increase on the internet as a whole. However, advantages and
disadvantages of UDCs to conventional above ground greenfield solutions depend
on various parameters, either related to specific location factors or to
individual user requirements.
Most of the existing UDCs are placed in former
underground structures such as bunkers, mines etc. which were modified to the
UDC specific requirements (brownfield solutions). In the end they are the result
of a compromise and certainly not of an optimized combination of underground
space development and data center requirements.
The process for finding suitable locations for new
large greenfield data center takes years, not so much for construction but for
land procurement, administrative and legal issues etc. Additionally, the land
consumption is disproportionally high in relation to the work places created.
Such data centers have an enormous energy demand and produce large quantities of
heat as waste product, which traditionally is just dispersed into nature but
could potentially be re-used. And finally, large greenfield surface data centers
are not close to the users which makes data transmission key for an
un-interrupted usage (latency and dependability).
Underground data centers can be an alternative which
mitigate a lot of the negative side effects if they are located and designed
accordingly. Small to medium-sized underground data centers offer an even higher
potential in these regards. Additionally, they can be built up in a modular way
which offers additional flexibility in their usage.
SCAUT has initiated a concept study and demo data
center together with its industry partners Dätwyler and Amberg
Engineering.
The joint venture is currently installing an
UNDERGROUND EDGE DATA CENTER in a real underground cavern environment in the
Hagerbach Test Gallery in Switzerland. In addition, a concept study ‘Small to medium-sized Underground Data Centers’ is elaborated
that will deliver well founded
decision making tools for developers, users and operators for the comparison
between above and underground solutions for small to medium sized data centers.
Invitation
to the opening of our Underground Edge Data Center on 18.09.2019
SCAUT,
Dätwyler and Amberg Engineering cordially invite you to the opening of the
Underground Edge Data Center. The specific placement of data centers in the
underground means that no above-ground space is consumed and the stable
climatic conditions optimize energy efficiency. Let yourself be inspired by
this innovative concept.
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The program
includes a presentation and a tour as well as the opportunity for personal
exchange and networking.
The
Underground Edge Data Center is a joint initiative of SCAUT, Dätwyler Cabling
Solutions and Amberg Engineering.
Register
today and secure your participation with our registration form. The
registration deadline is September 10, 2019. We will send you a detailed
program before the event.
Kind Regards
SCAUT - Swiss Center of Applied Underground
Technologies | |