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Ask HN: Distributed data centers in our basements

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Re: Ask HN: Distributed data centers in our basements

#61

Post by 6510 »

BillTthree wrote: post #6

Why don't we all have solar panels on our roof to generate electricity for ourselves? Why don't we all have small farms on our properties, turning lawns into vegetable producing land for each household? Why don't we have small datacenters on the property of each business, so the business users and IT folks can keep track of their own servers and data and applications?

your own water, your own biogas...

You can do maintenance collectively and do it cheaply if everyone has the same system. I've somewhat explored some of these (in isolation ofc) and it's certainly fun to think about and interesting to see what has been done/tried.

Re: Ask HN: Distributed data centers in our basements

#62

Post by MarcelinoGMX3C »

Projects like Hestiia and Qarnot tried this in France years ago, using embedded computers as radiators. The idea isn't new, and it consistently runs into the same wall: security, reliability, and operational cost at scale. As others like @8jef mentioned, giving unknown individuals access to infrastructure brings unacceptable risks. Managing a fleet spread across basements means a massive, costly field ops team for servicing. Even with individual ownership, like Storj or Sia, the economic incentives rarely outweigh the risks and operational overhead for the average homeowner.

Nobody wants their home IP blocked because a neighbor's basement rack was compromised, let alone the liability for hardware or data breaches on their property. It just doesn't pencil out.

Re: Ask HN: Distributed data centers in our basements

#63

Post by jdjjfjrnfnfn »

BillTthree wrote: post #6

Why don't we all have solar panels on our roof to generate electricity for ourselves? Why don't we all have small farms on our properties, turning lawns into vegetable producing land for each household? Why don't we have small datacenters on the property of each business, so the business users and IT folks can keep track of their own servers and data and applications?

In countries with abundant sun, solar panels on the roof are definitely a thing.

Re: Ask HN: Distributed data centers in our basements

#64

Post by shortercode »

Near to me they are planning a new data centre. As part of the proposal they have included a solar power plant, and running coolant from the data centre to houses in the village for heating. This then relies on a heat pump which does top up and heat exchange. As part of it they are also intending to run fibre lines with the pipes for “high speed internet”.

District based heating is generally much more efficient than per building heating, and this side steps many of the issues that you would have installing/maintaining servers on your property.

Honestly my only concern is the impact of having a data centre nearby. They are asking for people to put a deposit down for the heating. I won’t encourage it, but I will make use of it if they put it in!

Re: Ask HN: Distributed data centers in our basements

#66

Post by GTP »

bognition wrote: post #8
GTP wrote: post #4

You would have issues with providing the reliability levels (read: SLA) that we come to expect from data centers. But, if there are enough services that we don't care about if they go down for a few hours, this could be doable. It still relies on the assumption that we got enough services to justify the effort though. It is way more realistic if you set up your own homelab and provide services to your family, under t…

It turns out, if you build it correctly, you can get BETTER reliability SLAs. There's a company https://www.storj.io/ thats been doing this for years.

Are they hosting inside private homes? A quick glance at their website isn't turning up any information about this.

Re: Ask HN: Distributed data centers in our basements

#67

Post by moomoo11 »

8jef wrote: post #38

That's a great idea. I see at least 2 difficulties emerging: first security, then servicing. No private or public entity will grant access to valuable proprietary hardware, as unacceptable risks will not only come from building owners, but also from anyone entering premises. Also, managing remote nodes evenly spreaded across all areas will be costly. Think of armies of techs on the road permanently, with access probl…

Why does it need to be SFH residential?

Why not in the city, in office buildings or residential high rises?

Those areas can be properly secured, both physically and digitally.

Not to mention, if it actually works in terms of the heat redistribution, then it affects a larger scale of people as well.

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