{"id":110747,"date":"2024-01-18T09:57:03","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T17:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=110747"},"modified":"2024-08-15T10:22:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T17:22:42","slug":"data-storage-beyond-the-hardware-4-surprising-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/data-storage-beyond-the-hardware-4-surprising-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Storage Beyond the Hardware: 4 Surprising Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We\u2019ve gathered you together here today to address some of weirdest questions (and answers) about everyone\u2019s favorite topic: data storage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the outside looking in, it\u2019s easy to think it\u2019s a subject that is as dry as Ben Stein in \u201cFerris Beuller\u2019s Day Off\u201d<\/a>. But, given that everyday functions are increasingly moving to the internet, data storage is, in some ways, the secret backbone of modern society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today it\u2019s estimated that there are over 8,000 data centers<\/a> (DCs) in the world, built on a variety of storage media, connected to various networks, consuming vast amounts of power, and taking up valuable real estate. Plus, the drive technology itself brings together engineering foci affected by (driving?) everything from clean room technology to DNA research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fertile ground for strange, surprising questions, certainly. So, without further ado, here are some of our favorite questions about data storage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Does a Hard Drive Weigh More When It\u2019s Full?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Short answer: for all practical purposes, no. Long answer: technically yes, but it\u2019s such a miniscule amount that you wouldn\u2019t be able to measure it. Shout out to David Zaslavsky<\/a> for doing all the math, and here\u2019s the summary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Einstein famously hypothesized, e = mc2<\/sup>. If it\u2019s been a while since you took physics, that formula defined is that energy<\/strong> is equal to mass<\/strong> multiplied by the speed of light squared<\/strong>. Since energy is defined by mass, then, we can infer that energy has a weight, even if it\u2019s negligible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, hard drives record data by magnetizing a thin film of ferromagnetic material. Basically, you\u2019re forcing the atoms in a magnetic field to align in a different direction. And, since magnetic fields have differing amounts of energy depending on whether they\u2019re aligned or antialigned, technically the weight does <\/em>change. According to David\u2019s math, it\u2019d be approximately 10-14<\/sup> g for a 1TB hard drive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. How Loud Is the Cloud?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the past, we\u2019ve talked about how heavy the Backblaze Storage Cloud is<\/a>, and we\u2019ve spent some ink on how loud a Backblaze DC is.<\/a> All that noise comes from a combination of factors, largely cooling systems. Back in 2017, we measured our DCs at approximately 78dB, but other sources report that DCs can reach up to 96dB<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re talking about building your own storage, my favorite research data point was one Reddit user\u2019s opinion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But, it\u2019s still worth investing in ways to reduce the noise\u2014if not for worker safety, then to reduce the environmental impact of DCs<\/a>, including noise pollution<\/a>. There are a wealth of studies out there connecting noise pollution to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, high stress levels, sleep disturbance, and good ol\u2019 hearing loss in humans. In our animal friends, noise pollution can disrupt predator\/prey detection and avoidance, echolocation, and interfere with reproduction and navigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that there are technologies to keep data centers (relatively) quiet when they become disruptive to communities.<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. How Long Does Data Stay Where You Stored It?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As much as we love old-school media here at Backblaze<\/a>, we\u2019re keeping this conversation to digital storage\u2014so let\u2019s chat about how long your data storage will retain your media, unplugged, in ideal environmental conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We like the way Enterprise Storage Forum<\/a> put it: \u201cStorage experts know that there are two kinds of drive in this world\u2014those that have already failed, and those that will fail<\/a> sooner or later.\u201d Their article encompasses a pretty solid table of how long (traditional) storage media lasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, with new technologies\u2014and their consumer applications\u2014emerging<\/a>, we might see a challenge to the data storage throne. The Institute of Physics reports that data written to a glass memory crystal could remain intact for a million years, a product they\u2019ve dubbed the \u201cSuperman crystal.\u201d<\/a> So, look out for lasers altering the optical properties of quartz at the nanoscale. (That was just too cool not to say.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. What\u2019s the Most Expensive Data Center Site?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And why? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing we know from the Network Engineering team at Backblaze<\/a> is that optimizing your connectivity (getting your data from point A to point B) to the strongest networks is no simple feat. Take this back to the real world: when you\u2019re talking about what the internet truly is, you\u2019re just connecting one computer to every other computer, and there are, in fact, cables involved<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hardware infrastructure combines with population dispersion in murky ways. We\u2019ll go ahead and admit that\u2019s out of scope for this article. But, working backwards from the below image, let\u2019s just say that where there are more data centers, it\u2019s likely there are more network exchanges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From an operational standpoint, you\u2019d likely assume it\u2019s a bad choice to have your data center in the middle of the most expensive real estate and power infrastructures in the world, but there are tangible benefits to joining up all those networks at a central hub and to putting them in or near population centers. We call those spaces carrier hotels<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the best definition we found: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no industry standard definition of a carrier hotel versus merely a data center with a meet-me room (MMR). But, generally, the term is reserved for the facilities where metro fiber carriers meet long-haul carriers\u2014and the number of network providers numbers in the dozens.
\u2014Data Center Dynamics<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some sources<\/a> go so far as to say that carrier hotels have to be in cities by definition. Either way, the result is that carrier hotels sit on some of the most expensive real estate in the world. Citing DGTL Infra from April 2023<\/a>, here are the top 25 U.S. carrier hotels: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Let\u2019s take #12 on this list, the NYC listing. According to PropertyShark, it\u2019s worth $1.15 billion. With a b. That\u2019s before you even get<\/em> to the tech inside the building. <\/p>\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re so inclined, flex those internet research skills and look up some of the other property values on the list. Some of them are a bit hard to find, and there are other interesting tidbits along the way. (And tell us what you find in the comments, of course.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonus Question: Is It Over Already?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Look, do I want it to be over? No, never. But, the amount of weird and wonderful data storage questions that I could include in this article is infinite. Here\u2019s a shortlist that other folks from Backblaze suggested: <\/p>\n\n\n\n