What is a Data Center?

Data centers have been the subject of a lot of discussion lately, especially around Northern Minnesota, after a proposal for a facility in Hermantown was made public. The idea has drawn much attention from the community, both for and against its construction. While many might be familiar with the issue, some may have questions about what the term “data center” means. IBM, which operates over 60 such facilities around the world, defines the term as follows: “A data center is a physical room, building or facility that houses IT infrastructure for building, running and delivering applications and services. It also stores and manages the data associated with those applications and services.” Put very simply, data centers are rooms full of computers handling data. But the size of that room can vary greatly. “Data centers really come in all shapes and sizes. Some can be as small as just a floor and an office building, while others can be these massive warehouse-style facilities.” said Haley Chinander, an analyst for the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, who’s researched data centers, specifically, the large ones. “Those larger scale facilities, often called hyperscale; these can span millions of square feet and they require or can have a huge amount of power capacity,” she explained. No figures on power consumption for the Hermantown proposal have been released. Data centers have been around for quite some time. The first hyperscale facility was built by Google in Oregon nearly 20 years ago, but recent technological advances have brought them into the forefront of popular conscious. Data centers do exist in Minnesota, including in Duluth, though not of the Hyperscale size. According to the Minneapolis Fed, as of October 1, no hyperscale centers are operating in Minnesota. But the region’s climate makes it attractive for operators. Power consumption of the computers generates heat, which has to be managed to prevent equipment from being damaged. Story: https://www.wdio.com/front-page/top-stories/what-is-a-data-center/