Data centres cooled by seawater could be cheaper in the long-run and provide faster internet access to big cities.
The Microsoft team pictured with a prototype data centre Pic: Microsoft
Microsoft wants to create data centres that can operate hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean.
It may sound like something from a James Bond film, but it
could be a solution to one of the industry's most expensive problems -
air-conditioning bills.Data centres require intense cooling systems to stop hardware from overheating.
This costs a lot of money, and Microsoft sees ocean water naturally cooling its servers as a potential solution.
The interior of a typical data centre setup
A tidal energy system could also see jelly bean-shaped containers suspended beneath the surface to harness ocean currents to generate the energy to the power the centres.
Microsoft engineer Ben Cutler told the New York Times: "When I first heard about this I thought: 'Water ... electricity, why would you do that?'
Data centres are often in relatively remote places away from cities
Another byproduct of the system is speed. Many cities are located close to oceans but far away from data centres in sparsely populated areas with lots of room.
By moving data centres closer to urban centres, internet speeds would increase.
However, a number of hurdles need to be overcome first - there are likely to be environmental issues and technical problems to be dealt with.
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