Underwater
data centers for edge computing and cloud are a hot cake among tech companies
investing in cloud computing after Microsoft found underwater data centers
reliable, practical, and energy sustainable. This project named “Natick” has
drawn the attention of various research communities and tech companies. Through
this underwater data center project, the main objectives of edge computing can
be obtained as it gives quicker response time and decreases data latency.
Because the undersea data centers will be geographically distributed and closer
to users. Server failure and security are also the main concerns in this field.
Which can be obtained through an undersea data center.
Edge computing is a distributed computing model in which computation and data storage are brought closer to the data sources. This model increases response times and conserves bandwidth. Rather than a single technology, it is architecture. It's a type of distributed computing that's sensitive to topology and location. For implementing this model smaller data centers located closer to users are important. So, instead of a large warehouse data center, a smaller underwater data center can be a reliable solution for edge computing as well as for the cloud. About 50% of the world's population lives within 200 km distance of the coastal area [1]. As it can be deployed very quickly in coastal areas throughout the whole world.
Figure 1: Project Natick Northern Isles Data Center
The underwater data center is a revolutionary model for placing servers under the sea instead of placing them in the land-based data center. A research team of Microsoft practically implemented this model successfully. Researchers found this model more efficient, economic, eco-friendly, and zero carbon-emitting technology. So, it would be best suited to economical technology for performing edge computing.The idea for an underwater data center first appeared in 2014 at Microsoft at ThinkWeek, a gathering of staff members to explore novel concepts. The idea was viewed as a potential means of saving energy while offering coastal people lightning-fast cloud services. Microsoft took a project named Natick, to implement this idea aiming to be a carbon-negative technology company before 2030. The Natick Phase 1 vessel was stationed off the coast of California from August through November of 2015 [2]. To withstand pressure and fight against attacks from nature, the team created a small, self-sufficient circular container. In order to monitor the container from their offices, researchers additionally placed sensors and cameras. They were able to capture information on the temperature, humidity, power consumption, and speed of the system. The team was able to effectively demonstrate that data centers can be set up and run in an underwater environment during this phase. In phase II Microsoft submerged a shipping container-sized data center for two years in the UK in June 2018 [3]. During this time, Project Natick team members tested and kept track of the servers' dependability and performance. Marine experts retrieved it from the seafloor off Scotland’s Orkney Islands in July 2020. A multi-year project that demonstrated the feasibility of underwater data centers from a logistical, environmental, and economic standpoint entered its final step with the retrieval. This data center was covered with algae, barnacles, and sea anemones containing servers, storage, and computer underwater.
Power
efficient datacenter architectures are possible due to the constantly cool
undersea. For instance, they can make use of the heat-exchange plumbing used in
submarines. The group hypothesized that information about techniques to boost
datacenter dependability could be found in a sealed container on the ocean
floor. On land, factors that might cause equipment failure include temperature
changes, corrosion from oxygen and humidity, jostling and bumps from workers
replacing broken parts.
In 2015, more than half a mile from the shore, starfish, octopus, crabs, and other Pacific Ocean animals discovered a temporary addition to the seafloor: a 38,000-pound container. However, 10 feet by 7 feet is fairly little in the ocean [4]. The datacenter inside the container, which used the compute equivalent of 300 desktop PCs, was quieter than the shrimp investigating the ocean floor.
Table-1: Comparison between two Phases of Project Natick
|
|
Phase
I |
Phase
II |
|
Container
size |
10*7
feet |
40*7
feet |
|
Servers |
300 |
864 |
|
Deployed
in |
105
days |
90
days |
|
Submerged
for |
5
months |
24
months |
Phase 2 of Project Natick's undersea data center included 12 racks, 864 servers, and 27.5PB of disk storage in 40 feet long container. It was also connected to the 250Kw power supply and networking system of the neighboring Orkney island [5]. Off the northern coast of Scotland are the Orkney Islands, which have a tidal, solar, and wind power grid that is entirely renewable. Orkney was able to power the data center, the islands, and the Scottish power system all while operating the prototype data center. Project Natick is an out-of-the-box design to serve the exponential increase in the need for cloud computing infrastructure close to population centers.
The data center located 35 meters (117 feet) below the surface of the ocean. It resembled a submarine in certain ways. Microsoft claims that the data center was contracted for, built, and set up in less than 90 days. The data center was designed to be smaller than a typical ISO shipping container. From the location where it was erected to the Orkney Island, including ferry crossings, the data center was transported on top of an 18-wheeler. It was supported by a triangular structure, dragged out to sea, and dumped there.
Early
studies indicate that the servers in the underwater data center experienced
1/8th as many failures as those in a control data center on land. It will be
challenging, though not impossible, to submerge a personnel to reach the
facility for component repair when something fails. According to the team's
economic model, they will at least be at parity with land if they lose this
many servers per unit of time. This is vastly superior to that [6].
Microsoft credits the use of 100% Nitrogen (at 1 atmosphere pressure) as opposed to regular air and the absence of people to jiggle the machinery or affect the environment for the improved server stability. Additionally, it's likely that a typical data center on the surface of the globe experienced less temperature variation than a data center submerged in the ocean. If this were the case, it might also assist to explain why it is more reliable.
Table 2: Land based datacenter vs Under water
datacenter
|
|
Land Based Datacenter |
Under Water Datacenter |
|
Atmosphere |
Normal air atmosphere |
100% Nitrogen |
|
Power use efficiency |
1.8 |
1.07 |
|
Deployment duration |
minimum 365 days |
90 days |
|
Corrosiveness |
High |
Low |
|
Floor Space required |
Comparatively large |
Comparatively small |
|
Server Failure rate |
5% - 11% frequency (based on age) |
0.6% - 1.37% frequency (based on age) |
|
Power supply |
Not renewable |
100% renewable |
Modern
servers must be kept cool (and storage). The majority of data centers run at
1.8 PUE (power use efficiency), or 180 percent of the power needed for the
servers, disk, and networking devices, according to NREL (USA National
Renewable Energy Lab). The remaining 80% is primarily utilized for cooling
electronics, but it also covers lighting, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air
Conditioning), and other critical human services. Highly efficient data centers
can reach a PUE of 1.2 (real implementation is not possible), according to NREL.
While the Project Natick Phase 2 data center's PUE was 1.07. The only
additional electricity most likely required would be for cooling. Seawater was
pushed through the backs of server racks to cool the Project Natick Phase 2
data center. Electricity supplied to this datacenter fully powered by renewable
energy.
These
data centers would need to be constructed to last for years without
maintenance, which doesn't seem practical at the moment, especially if a leak
develops. If it is placed 35 meters under sea level, it might be in danger from
the threat of extremist environmentalist organizations or terrorist attacks. By
placing datacenters undersea close to coastal communities, data would pass a
short way, enabling quick and seamless online browsing, video streaming, and
game playing. By improving the effectiveness and sustainability of its cloud
infrastructure, Microsoft is on a mission to become carbon-negative by 2030. By
2025, the corporation promises to run all of its data centers entirely on
renewable energy. Cooling systems and renewable electricity from on-shore wind,
solar and also from off-shore tides and waves [7].
The
Microsoft team in Azure is eager to serve customers who need to deploy and
operate tactical and important datacenters anywhere in the world, and
discussions with them have been sparked by the proven dependability of
underwater datacenters. By locating underwater data centers close to coastal
communities, the corporation hopes to completely eliminate any data latency.
Furthermore, data security, which Microsoft claims is a key objective of Azure,
might be improved with an undersea data center (as it includes tests of
post-quantum encryption technology).
In order to power the full range of Microsoft Azure cloud services, underwater datacenters will need to be scaled up. To do this, connecting a dozen or more vessels the size of the Northern Isles may be necessary. One image of "Azure Natick Gen 3.12" surfaced that indicates a significant increase in capacity. A 300-meter-long steel frame containing 12 data center cylinders, identical to those from Phase 2, is depicted in the design.
The whole structure's capacity has been estimated at 5 MW, which is in accordance with the 144 racks it might accommodate and a fairly low power density. If that's not a bold goal. Microsoft has indicated that in order to construct underwater Azure availability zones, several 5MW modules might be combined [8].
China's
Hainan Province declared to build the world's first undersea commercial data
center, expected to be completed in five years. The project hopes to set up 100
data centers in three phases during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period
[9]. An initial survey of a region off the coast of Hainan has been conducted,
and the center's general design has been completed.
China’s
declaration for implementing a commercial undersea data center and Microsoft’s
plan to Azure Natick Gen 3.12 proves that an undersea data center is a
realistic, commercial and feasible solution for today’s edge computing and
cloud. Also, it’s a green technology as it uses 100% renewable electric energy.
It can be placed on any sea shore anywhere to serve 50% of the world population
with lightning-fast computing speed.
For
security purposes, the undersea data center should be placed much deeper so
that it becomes safe from the threat of attack by any extremist group.
Furthermore, research is required to observe whether it affects the sea
environment or not for a long duration. A larger data center will emit a very
large amount of heat, which can harm the sea environment. So necessary steps
should be taken for managing this problem.
References
[1]
John
Roach (5 June, 2018). Under the sea, Microsoft tests a datacenter that’s
quick to deploy, could provide internet connectivity for years. Retrieved
from https://news.microsoft.com/features/under-the-sea-microsoft-tests-a-datacenter-thats-quick-to-deploy-could-provide-internet-connectivity-for-years/?utm_source=innovation-huib&utm_medium=feature
[2]
Athima Chansanchai (1 February, 2016). Microsoft research project puts cloud
in ocean for the first time. Retrieved from https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-research-project-puts-cloud-in-ocean-for-the-first-time/
[3] John Roach (Sep 14, 2020). Microsoft finds
underwater datacenters are reliable, practical and use energy sustainably.
Retrieved from https://news.microsoft.com/innovation-stories/project-natick-underwater-datacenter/
[4]
Athima Chansanchai (1 February, 2016). Microsoft research project puts cloud
in ocean for the first time. Retrieved from https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-research-project-puts-cloud-in-ocean-for-the-first-time/
[5]
Ray (September 16,2020). Undersea datacenter in our future? Retrieved
from https://silvertonconsulting.com/blog/2020/09/16/undersea-datacenter-in-our-future/
[6]
Rich Miller (September 14,2020). Microsoft: Servers in Our Underwater Data
Center Are Super-Reliable. Retrieved from https://datacenterfrontier.com/microsoft-servers-in-our-underwater-data-center-are-super-reliable/
[7]
Mark Haranas (September 22,2020). Microsoft’s Underwater
Data Center A Success; Azure Ahead. Retrieved from https://www.crn.com/news/data-center/microsoft-s-underwater-data-center-a-success-azure-ahead
[8]
Peter Judge (March 15,2022). Projects in the US and China have shown that
data centers underwater could be more efficient than those on land. But how do
you build them? Retrieved from https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/analysis/building-underwater/
[9]News
Correspondent (26 May 2021). China starts building world's first commercial
undersea data center. Retrieved from https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-05-26/China-starts-building-world-s-first-commercial-undersea-data-center--10zOmgcZp6g/index.html
