Microsoft waves goodbye to underwater data centers
Microsoft has concluded its underwater data center experiment under Project Natick, showing lower failure rates than land-based centers. Despite discontinuing in 2024, Microsoft plans to apply findings to enhance data center reliability and sustainability amid increasing global data center demand driven by AI, cloud computing, and smart devices.
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Microsoft has ended its experiment with underwater data centers as part of Project Natick. The project aimed to test the feasibility of placing data centers underwater, resulting in one-eighth of the failure rate compared to on-land counterparts. Despite promising results, Microsoft no longer operates any underwater data centers in 2024. The company plans to leverage the knowledge gained from Project Natick for other applications, such as exploring liquid immersion cooling. While the specific reasons for discontinuing the underwater data centers remain undisclosed, Microsoft intends to continue using Project Natick as a research platform to enhance data center reliability and sustainability. The demand for data centers continues to rise globally due to technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and smart devices, emphasizing the importance of optimizing data center operations for energy efficiency and performance.
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