Equinix Silicon Valley Data Center Profiled

The limiting factor in most data centers is keeping the equipment cool. All those computers, stuffed with microprocessors, churn out enormous amounts of heat - at SV3, the equivalent of 480 barbecues running continuously. Standing behind a bank of servers is like being in front of an open oven. If cooling systems crash, the room would heat up to the point of equipment failure within an hour. To keep the center between 66 and 74 degrees - which to a computer feels like sweater weather - SV3 uses five 500-ton chiller units, enormous machines that circulate cooled water through the building.