Underwater Data Center Server Reliability 8 Times Greater than in Traditional Data Center

Server failure rates are about eight times lower in an underwater data center that had no human touch for two years. Enclosed in a capsule about the size of a shipping container, the data center was submerged in seawater and contained 12 racks and 864 servers.

The Microsoft research team hypothesizes that the atmosphere of nitrogen, which is less corrosive than oxygen, and the absence of people to bump and jostle components, are the primary reasons for the difference in reliability.

In addition to possibly being able to apply the lessons to land-based data centers, the test also provides an idea of ways to support edge computing facilities.