The Top 10 Data Center Stories of March 2021

BY RICH MILLER - APRIL 1, 2021

It was another record month for audience growth at Data Center Frontier, a sign of growing interest in digital infrastructure. The fire and related outages at OVH were the top story, while there was also strong interest in DCF’s industry-leading coverage of new edge data center design at Equinix, and Microsoft’s embrace of immersion cooling technology. Not to mention space lasers, a “logistics meets data” partnership, and a startup planning “data center cities.”

Here the 10 most popular stories on Data Center Frontier in March 2021, in order of article views:

• OVH Data Center in France Destroyed by Fire, All Staff Safe: Hosting company OVH says its staff are safe after a fire destroyed one data center and damaged another at the company’s campus in Strasbourg, France.
• Equinix Introduces Factory-Built Data Center Design for Edge Computing: Equinix has introduced a new data center design for edge computing, which uses factory-built modules to add capacity in smaller increments. The new design is being deployed for the first time in a new facility in Bordeaux, France.
• Microsoft Tests Immersion Cooling Tech from Bitcoin Mining for its Cloud Servers:Microsoft is test-driving immersion cooling technology used in bitcoin mining for adoption in its cloud. As powerful new AI hardware presents cooling challenges, Microsoft sees dunking its servers in coolant as a promising technology for future data centers.
• Space Lasers, Smart Antennas Are Key Enablers for Satellite Broadband: Lasers beaming data between satellites in space will be a key enabler of broadband networks using low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, along with smart antennas that can track satellites in the sky. Here’s a closer look at these two technologies.
• OVH to Shutter Second Strasbourg Data Center After Smoke Incident: Ten days after a fire destroyed its SBG2 data center in Strasbourg, French hosting company OVH says it will abandon efforts to restart the adjacent SBG1 data center.
• Logistics Meets Data: Skybox Teams With Prologis on Data Center Projects: Skybox Datacenters will partner with Prologis Inc. to develop data centers in Chicago and other major U.S. markets. The initiative highlights the growing intersection of logistics and digital infrastructure, which are both more important than ever.
• Digital Realty: Data Gravity Will Reshape the Interconnection Landscape: Digital Realty has outlined its vision for a more distributed interconnection landscape, with network connections moving closer to giant storehouses of data, rather than being concentrated in network hubs in city centers.
• Startup Quantum Loophole Plans Gigawatt-Scale ‘Data Center Cities’: Data center startup Quantum Loophole plans to develop gigawatt scale “data center cities.” CEO Josh Snowhorn leads an experienced team, and says the growth of hyperscale computing calls for new types of real estate solutions.
• DataBank Deal Expands Funding Options for Colocation, Edge Computing: A recent financing by DataBank breaks new ground in financing data center growth, and may help colocation and edge computing specialists raise capital using strategies previously limited to hyperscale deals.
• LiquidStack Seeks to Bring Immersion Cooling to Cloud Data Centers: Server immersion cooling technology from bitcoin specialist Bitfury is coming to the data center. LiquidStack launches today as a stand-alone company looking to address growing cooling challenges in cloud, HPC and edge computing.

Education is part of our mission at Data Center Frontier. In our Voices of the Industry feature, we share the experience of data center executives on the front lines of innovation. Here’s a look at the most popular Voices columns for DCF readers last month:

• Maximize Your Data Center Budget with High Speed Point-to-Point Cables (The Siemon Company): Ryan Harris, Sales and Market Manager for High Speed Interconnects with The Siemon Company, explores the ins and outs of a variety of different data center cabling options to suit a variety of different data center budgets, as well as when reaching out to a cabling specialist might be the best approach.
• Managing Energy Efficiency New Focus for 5G (Vertiv): Scott Armul, Global Vice President of DC Power at Vertiv explains the many challenges and opportunities that the transition to 5G represents for data center operators.
• Making Your Data Center Water Positive (Chemstar WATER): Cem Candir, CEO of Chemstar WATER, provides insights on new innovations in data center water treatment and gives details on how some hyperscalers are making their data centers water positive.