DCD Zero Downtime: The Bi-Weekly Data Center Show

Data centers need to be more sustainable, but finding consistent and powerful energy resources can be a challenge.

Increasingly, we are seeing nuclear entering the conversation, in the form of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). But these aren't without their own controversies.

In this episode, we talk with Compass Datacenters' Tony Grayson to discuss the future of SMRs, the challenges and opportunities, and the role we can expect them to play in the world of data centers.

Artificial intelligence could grow from almost nothing to using half a percent of the world's electrical power within five years, according to Alex de Vries of Digiconomist.

That's a crazy rate of growth, but it's not unprecedented. Bitcoin followed almost exactly the same trajectory, expanding from nothing to a sector whose energy use is comparable with that of regular data centers. But the similarities end there, says de Vries, who provided the reliable tracking data for the growth of Bitcoin, and is ready to do the same for AI.

A year ago, he talked us through his methodology for analyzing Bitcoin energy usage. Now he's back, explaining how we can estimate the consumption of AI systems, This time round, it's all about tracking how many GPUs Nvidia can make, and seeing where they are likely to end up. 

The actual figure depends on a lot of things, and could be higher if more GPUs emerge, or if they are deployed differently. There are questions around the depreciation of the hardware, and how and where AI inference is delivered.

Listen in to find out how AI's thirst for power is going to affect the world.

We talk to Bill Kleyman, now at machine learning company Neu.ro, about his lengthy data center career. How did he get into the sector, what did he learn at Switch, and how does he balance life and travel? Tune in to find out.

Data centers have outgrown their anonymity. They are large enough consumers of energy and space, that they have to enter the political landscape and justify their existence. But how do we know if a data really brings benefits to its location?

In some places (like London), it appears that they soak up grid connection capacity and block housing projects. In others (like Denmark and Ireland) they use renewable energy and jeopardize local decarbonization targets. 

It's not easy to know the net benefits brought by a data center, because much of what it does is in the virtual world, and is delivered to people far away. 

Max Schulze has some thoughts on how to start working out the real benefits of a data center - and we hope for more input from DCD readers and listeners.  

Ever wondered about the practical challenges of connecting our continents?

In this podcast episode, we talk with Exa Infrastructure's Elena Badiola about the process of getting subsea cables underwater: from environmental surveys to climate change, to funding challenges.

Elena also shares her experience of living on a cable ship for five weeks after an earthquake caused an outage - and how a military coup almost stopped her from getting back home.

In 2022, Mark Monroe's podcast about hydrogen was one of our most popular podcasts ever.

At Microsoft, Mark had just made a prototype hydrogen fuel cell UPS system that could potentially replace diesel generators to provide low-carbon backup power at data centers. One year on, he's back for some more detail.

A hydrogen economy will need a distribution system - but will that look like a power network, a gas grid, or a system of trucks? 

Data centers won't be the first big users of hydrogen: Mark tells us where it will take off. 

This year, we've heard stories of natural hydrogen mined from underground. Mark assesses that prospect, along with the other sources of hydrogen, and suggests that the new energy source could rewrite the world's map of energy providers.

Listen to our talk with Mark to find out where and when you will start using hydrogen. 

If you want to make infrastructure sustainable, you need to be very careful what words you use.

That's what Hunter Vaughan and Nicole Starosielski found, through their involvement in a project to make subsea cables sustainable. Words like "sustainability" and "climate neutral" can mean different things, depending on who is talking. And if what you say is vague, then your efforts to be sustainable can get misdirected, or diverted into greenwash, or simply end up (like the words) meaningless. 

Hunter Vaughan of the University of Cambridge and Nicole Starosielski of the University of California, Berkeley are part of the Sustainable Subsea Network. They are also co-authors of a paper called ICT Environmentalism and the Sustainability Game, which looks at how players like Greenpeace used language to build pressure for green infrastructure.

They spoke to DCD about both: how we communicate about sustainability, and how sustainable our communications systems are.

If you think transitioning the tech sector to net zero is all about renewable energy and heat reuse, think again. Small changes in software could make entire data centers redundant - for a much bigger saving for the planet. 

Green Software is not just about more efficient code, says Anne Currie. Rewriting everything in C might cut energy use - but it would destroy your company.  

As a leader in the Green Software Foundation, and a seasoned green developer and entrepreneur, Anne has much better ideas. She is working with Sarah Hsu and Sara Bergman, on Building Green Software, an O'Reilly book about what green software really means, and how we can achieve it. 

Find out more in this podcast.

How does the Internet keep running? A close-knit community of engineers has been developing and supporting the protocols that support it for more than forty years.

During that time, new Internet services have emerged and scaled beyond recognition, and new features have been added, all without breaking the whole system. 

Mirjam Kuhne has been closely involved with this for 20 years, and in 2020 became chair of the European forum for Internet development -  RIPE (Réseaux IP Européens, French for "European IP Networks"). 

Since then, Internet services have become crucial to the continued operation of society during the pandemic, and European Internet services have faced unprecedented technical and political challenges during the war in Ukraine. 

Mirjam says the protocols take care of themselves. What you need is a community of motivated engineers to maintain them. RIPE is open to new members, and when you hear how it all works, why wouldn't you get involved?

The global interests of the mobile industry are represented by the GSM Association (GSMA). 

This governing body was established in 1995 to support mobile operators using the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard for cellular networks. 

It has become synonymous with the mobile industry and has driven it forward through industry programs, working groups, and initiatives. 

The GSMA’s legacy has even inspired something similar but for broadband instead, with Martin Creaner, director general of the Worldwide Broadband Association (WBBA) seeking to use this model. 

Can the GSMA’s model be replicated for broadband as well? Creaner explains why the need for a governing body representing broadband interests is important. 

“It’s all about creating a member-led organization that creates a platform to drive broadband cooperation and partnership across the whole industry to accelerate broadband adoption everywhere in the world,” said Creaner. 
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