Rich Miller: Data Centers in Strange Places

The use of a former water storage tank is only the latest “out of the box” idea about where to build and deploy data centers. We’ve written about a number of non-traditional data center locations over the years, including data centers in the following places:

* Cargo ships: Startup International Data Security revealed plans to build a fleet of data centers on cargo ships docked at ports in the San Francisco Bay.
* A Chapel: TheMareNostrum supercomputer at the University of Barcelona (pictured above) is built in the chapel Torre Girona, providing a striking setting for powerful technology.
* Old Shopping Malls: Lifeline Data Centers purchased the former Eastgate Consumer Mall in Indianapolis and converted it into a mixed-use facility combining office space and a data center. Rackspace Hosting has also converted a former mall into its headquarters.

More of the Data Center Knowledge article from Rich Miller

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.