Thread

1. s1artibartfast · 1790561332 · focus · HN ↗

   I dont understand why data center development is so location specific.

   Is it proximity to the city power grids and fiber backbones?

   Seems that would be solvable then land is trivial if they go somewhere without objetors

   1. Barrin92 · 1790565289 · focus · HN ↗

      basically. You'd need to build out electricity and network infrastructure and that's not like plugging a cable into a pole. With the amount of power you need voltage substations, transmissions lines, upgrades to the existing grid, land assessments etc.

      And obviously with it tons of skilled labor and people that would have to live somewhere.

   2. protocolture · 1790576458 · focus · HN ↗

      More power than anything* the fibre usually comes later.

      One going up near me is being built on the site of an old coal fired power plant. Lots of juice and an old dam for water. Theres not exactly 2000 cores of fiber out that way, but I am sure it will come eventually.

      Theres some going into old paper mills and logging camps too, same sort of thing, near water, lots of juice, out of the way.

      *Sometimes theres a simultaneous fibre buildout, or they are built where theres a lot passing through but its less of a concern afaik.

      1. yellowapple · 1790581096 · focus · HN ↗

         > More power than anything* the fibre usually comes later.

         This depends a lot on the datacenter. Some are sited specifically around proximity to existing fiber, or more especially proximity to places where multiple fiber backbones intersect (e.g. carrier hotels / meet-me-rooms). There's a datacenter going up here in Reno to that exact effect, with a lot of the public complaints being “but why do we need a datacenter in the middle of town?” even though:

         1) that's where multiple fiber backbones intersect

         2) it's being built in a mixed commercial/industrial zone with other datacenters already there

         3) the company building it has another datacenter dead smack in the middle of Downtown doing similar carrier hotel stuff, and the new one is an extension of that

   3. downrightmike · 1790609961 · focus · HN ↗

      Gotta have a local population large enough to absorb all the power grid upgrades. If the population is too small datacenters might have to pay it.

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