Video Tour: CapGemini's Merlin Data Center

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The interior of the Cap Gemini Merlin data center in Swindon, England, which uses modulars data center deployed inside a main hall.

The CapGemini data center in Swindon, England is among the new generation of data center facilities using modular designs that feature a lightweight structure filled with pre-fabricated containers and modules that are assembled on-site. We featured CapGemini's Merlin data center prior to its opening in September. But the company has just released a brief new video providing a closer look at the facility, which combines many of the latest trends and best practices in modular data center design and cooling.

The modular units at the Merlin data center reflect the ongoing effort to move beyond ISO standard shipping containers and develop flexible building blocks that can be assembled into facilities that resemble a traditional data center but offer many of the advantages of modular deployment. These include the ability to deploy capacity in phases with a just-in-time delivery and assembly of factory-built components. CapGemini is touting Merlin as "the world's most sustainable data center" and reporting a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rating below 1.1.  This video runs about 1 minute:

If you're interested in reading more about the evolution of modular designs and their impact on data center facilities, take a look at these stories:

For additional coverage, see our Containers and Data Center Design channels.