Data centre
Topic: Tertiary, Quaternary and Quinary Activities · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A data centre is a building full of servers. Servers are powerful computers that store and process digital data for websites, apps and cloud services. Data centres need a lot of electricity, and they need cooling because the machines get hot. So good sites have cheap and reliable power, water or a cool climate for cooling, nearby landing points of submarine cables (internet cables laid on the sea floor), and low risk of disasters. Concerns include the heavy power and water use of AI, and rules on data under India's DPDP Act 2023.
Example
Mumbai-Navi Mumbai, on India's west coast in Maharashtra, is India's largest data-centre cluster. Chennai in Tamil Nadu is the second. Both are cities where submarine cables come ashore. In the world, northern Virginia in the USA, Ireland and the Nordic countries are major hubs.