Can someone tell me what is these data centres

cavan_man2021 · 29-09-2021 7:33pm #1

What the heck is these data centres sucking the energy out of the country. What do they do ?

L1011 · 29-09-2021 7:37pm

This website is hosted in a data centre. All the pictures/videos you see on Instagram/Tiktok/whatever are hosted in a data centre.

Anything and everything you do online requires servers and switches in data centres.

They are cheaper to run here than many other countries as the country is quite cold and it significantly reduces the need for air conditioning - which is one of the main costs. It also makes them more environmentally efficient here than elsewhere - unless we end up burning coal to produce their power!

Borzoi · 29-09-2021 7:39pm

The big ones enable the likes of Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Google provide the services that they do. Other ones enable Spotify, YouTube etc etc.

Most DCs in this country are owned and operated by the big tech companies, which also not surprisingly have major offices here

cavan_man2021 · 29-09-2021 7:42pm

Then they want us all to drive electric cars, what a joke this country is turning into. We are going down plughole!

L1011 · 29-09-2021 7:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117955806#Comment_117955806

Eirgrids consumption predictions include the electric car switchover; and electrification of trains etc.

Melodeon · 29-09-2021 7:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117955776#Comment_117955776

Ireland is also socially, politically, geologically, and climactically very stable, as well as being the landing point for several trans-Atlantic data cables, all of which add up to being an attractive place for this sort of thing.

Creamy Goodness · 29-09-2021 7:51pm

Old - Cavan - man yells at cloud.

29-09-2021 7:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117955776#Comment_117955776

Exactly, our climate and geographical environment is absolutely perfect for Data Centres.

KeithTS · 29-09-2021 7:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117955806#Comment_117955806

Do you like posting on boards.ie, or other forums?

When was the last time you logged onto facebook, or watched a YouTube video, or bought something on Amazon or some other website?

These sorts of activities require infrastructure like data centers. It's very easy to complain about the high energy consumption but are you willing to change the way you live in order to reduce our dependence on them? Or are you OK with them existing, but just not in your back yard?

29-09-2021 8:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117955806#Comment_117955806

Amazing. Nine minutes between not knowing what a data centre is, and being an expert on national energy policy. Education is truly a wondrous thing

29-09-2021 8:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117955946#Comment_117955946

He must have done some searching in that big search engine in the sky - which is actually hosted in a data centre in Dublin.

The J Stands for Jay · 29-09-2021 8:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117955806#Comment_117955806

You don't seem to like electric cars

The J Stands for Jay · 29-09-2021 8:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117956050#Comment_117956050

Wait till someone tells him Google searches have a carbon footprint.

Clareman · 29-09-2021 8:58pm

Few things about data centers is that static electricity is their enemy, a static charge can wipe a lot of systems, with this in mind they all have to be fairly "clean air", not clean room level but fully air-conned, because it doesn't have to have the temperature changed it's a lot cheaper here than other countries but still a factor. They also need clean power, this means that the power has to be at a standard level, slight changes can wipe out a lot of tech, doesn't make a difference to a lot of systems but IT systems don't like browning, with this in mind power to these plants always go through UPS systems to keep them standard, think of filling a water tank with a hose before starting the tap, by having the tank inbetween the hose and tap means that the water flow will always be constant, bigger the tank the bigger the drop in water that can be allowed for.

Data centers are usually just big warehouses filled with server racks, the management/maintenance of the actual content of the servers could be done anywhere in the world so often the only jobs in the actual data centers are janitors or maybe people to swop out failed hardware, mightn't seem like much but considering these are 24/7 operations with 1,000s of systems this can take a lot of people to maintain.

salmocab · 29-09-2021 9:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117956256#Comment_117956256

Janitors is a bit of a push, they generally have electricians or mechanical guys on site 24/7 along with security. They’d all pretty much have techs on site mon-Friday too performing other works.

Clareman · 29-09-2021 10:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117956762#Comment_117956762

True, true, I should have said maintenance workers rather than janitors. For a lot of data centers which are outsourced the onsite owners won't be allowed access to the actual servers just the hardware.

cavan_man2021 · 30-09-2021 7:46am

Ok I have read all the comments, what's in it for the government to have these here. There is always an end game. It's not like these DC are major employers in server filled warehouses.

Why don't they use them wind turbines? Near the coastline, them things nearly take off.

I personally hate electric cars. Many people share this feeling. They have taken the lead out of petrol and I don't feel that petrol cars are adding a great deal to the pollution of the world.

Getting back to DC , our government don't like charging for tax to these big techs, or Apple and their 13 billion tax bill.

I find it very baffling indeed. I could live without Amazon and Facebook, maybe keep Google, but I don't think our youngsters could survive with their smartie phones.

Beechwoodspark · 30-09-2021 7:49am

All these date centres should be told either

pay a significant new green levy charge based on their size and energy footprint

or

pull the plug and close them down

they add nothing of value to ireland yet are sucking and draining our little country’s electricity resources

cavan_man2021 · 30-09-2021 7:53am

Yes I agree with them draining the country. What gets my goatie up watching that news on telly is Eamonn Ryan coming to work on his bike. He probably parked the big car around the corner and took the bike out of the boot to look good.

Jim_Hodge · 30-09-2021 7:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117957542#Comment_117957542

So much there. I don't know where to begin to counter the wind up sufficiently.

salmocab · 30-09-2021 7:55am

I too would like to complain about data centres whilst using the internet

Beechwoodspark · 30-09-2021 7:56am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117957557#Comment_117957557

I know Eamon through mutual friends and I have to say sorry now that is an unfair comment.

he is a committed green and a very deep thinker on green politics

Jim_Hodge · 30-09-2021 7:59am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117957568#Comment_117957568

Just a pity he doesn't live in the real world - some of his comments are beyond belief.

cavan_man2021 · 30-09-2021 8:12am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117957568#Comment_117957568

He is a yuppie that does care about the working people that can't afford a electric and all this carbon tax.

30-09-2021 8:21am

I find it quite bizarre how some cant conceive of the internet being an actual physical thing requiring bricks and mortar and energy.

Use Google - data centre, Amazon - data centre, boards - data centre, on line banking - data centre, any other thing you do online - data centre, phone network - data centre, Netflix - data centre. No matter what you can think of the data to support it is stored in a data centre, bar maybe a few small operations working off local servers.

Now you can argue that these centres should not be here, be they are needed somewhere, and they are more energy efficient here than in most other places in the world. And its not as if they get their energy for free.

cavan_man2021 · 30-09-2021 8:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117957619#Comment_117957619

I personally don't mind the data centres but why can't the use wind turbines

whisky_galore · 30-09-2021 8:29am

They are for storing our strategic reserve of cat videos.

Lefty2Guns · 30-09-2021 8:30am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117957551#Comment_117957551

They employ a lot of people in the construction industry. Without the constant demand for data centres I don't believe the construction industry would be booming the way it is.