Ukraine's Drone Strikes Spur Hasty Russian Plans For Underground Data Centers (arstechnica.com) 41
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: [S]tate-owned telecommunications company Rostelcom has raised the possibility of moving some Russian data centers underground in talks with the nickel and palladium mining company Norilsk, according to Russian newspaper Vedomosti. The industry publication Data Center Dynamics also pointed to a recent proposal by a Russian regional governor to build data centers within open-pit coal mines while planting green public parks above as camouflage.
On November 2, Putin also signed a decree ordering Russian data center operators to set aside 10 percent of available space and capacity in case the Russian government requires it, according to independent Russian news publication Meduza. That may indicate growing Kremlin concerns about the vulnerability of Russian cloud computing infrastructure during its war with Ukraine. Putin's decree also allows a special Russian government commission to authorize use of foreign data centers in consultation with Russia's Federal Security Service. That marks a notable policy change because Putin and the Russian parliament previously enacted Russia's "Sovereign Internet Law," which has blocked Russian companies from using cloud computing infrastructure outside Russia's borders.
Russia's push for a sovereign and increasingly closed Internet has resulted in a highly centralized system under a few Russian tech companies like Yandex. That hyper-centralized system has now proven vulnerable during wartime, as Ukrainian drone strikes on key Russian data centers created widespread disruptions for popular payment and digital banking apps, e-commerce platforms, video streaming services, and ride-hailing and food delivery apps, among others. Yandex has also been forced to relocate all three of its main supercomputers after Ukrainian drone strikes targeted the AI data centers where they were originally housed, Meduza reported.
On November 2, Putin also signed a decree ordering Russian data center operators to set aside 10 percent of available space and capacity in case the Russian government requires it, according to independent Russian news publication Meduza. That may indicate growing Kremlin concerns about the vulnerability of Russian cloud computing infrastructure during its war with Ukraine. Putin's decree also allows a special Russian government commission to authorize use of foreign data centers in consultation with Russia's Federal Security Service. That marks a notable policy change because Putin and the Russian parliament previously enacted Russia's "Sovereign Internet Law," which has blocked Russian companies from using cloud computing infrastructure outside Russia's borders.
Russia's push for a sovereign and increasingly closed Internet has resulted in a highly centralized system under a few Russian tech companies like Yandex. That hyper-centralized system has now proven vulnerable during wartime, as Ukrainian drone strikes on key Russian data centers created widespread disruptions for popular payment and digital banking apps, e-commerce platforms, video streaming services, and ride-hailing and food delivery apps, among others. Yandex has also been forced to relocate all three of its main supercomputers after Ukrainian drone strikes targeted the AI data centers where they were originally housed, Meduza reported.
Ukraine builds new weapon (Score:1)
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Hey (Score:5, Insightful)
Russia started it. Now they reap what they sow. Impossible to feel sorry for Putin.
Russian problem solving (Score:5, Insightful)
Putin is way behind the curve on this one: Ukraine has reverted to destroying distillation towers, pumping stations and oil depots. So the data centers are probably safe for the time being. The real issue they'll have is surviving in many kilometers long fuel lines during the Russian winter.
Jay in Kyiv says it best: These are the sort of problems you face when you invade a peaceful and much smarter neighboring country.
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Jay in Kyiv says it best: These are the sort of problems you face when you invade a peaceful and much smarter neighboring country.
The Russian system doesn't allow for success. Russians know only corruption in a system structurally incapable of correction. They don't value their own lives routinely treating each other other like cattle. Leadership is constantly pushing lies about their progress up the chain that get their own people killed. The Russian system fundamentally reinforces everyone acting for themselves for personal advantage rather than for the effort.
Meanwhile Ukraine is gaining ground due to successful attrition in dep
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The next US federal budget will have 10's of billions in weapons for Ukraine. And during the shutdown that will inevitably happen, Congress will override Trump's veto and Ukraine will get the weapons and money they need.
Just so you know how next year looks for Russia and Putin.
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Meanwhile, there is no corruption in Ukraine,
Nobody is saying this. By all accounts Ukraine still has huge corruption issues. The difference between Ukraine and Russia is Ukraine is actively improving their governance actively fighting corruption while Russia remains systemically incapable of doing so.
the Ukrainian military conscription office is not treating Ukrainian citizens as cattle
This has for years been an area of intense scrutiny and massive changes have been made to address all manner of conscription issues.
, and Zelensky isn't making fake statements about "future" victories and an imminent collapse of Russia.
What happened with the Flamingo cruise missile?
Zelensky isn't being fed loads of bullshit he wants to hear from his commanders and his statements about recent victorie
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I'll stipulate every one of your Russian talking points.
Now, I'll explain why they aren't operative: Ukraine isn't trying to conquer pieces of Europe. Ukraine can be as corrupt as it wants, draft whomever they wish, predict whatever fantastic victories they please, and fail at weapons development as much as they like. As long as they don't go kinetic and start European land wars, its all good.
Re: Russian problem solving (Score:2)
Suddenly, there is a legit reason to buy a Chinese electric car.
Re:Russian problem solving (Score:4, Insightful)
It still makes sense for Ukraine to bomb russian data centers - the far right is on the rise thanks to putinbots and these arseholes want to stop support of Ukraine.
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> Putin also signed a decree ordering Russian data center operators to set aside 10 percent of available space and capacity in case the Russian government requires it ...making all datacenters potential military targets. Really, Putin's lost his edge.
Cut the cord (Score:2)
How to they plan on getting fat connection pipes to bumfuck Siberia?
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At least cooling will be easier in Siberia.
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Not everywhere [wikipedia.org]...
Data centers, data centers! (Score:2)
Where can't you put datacenters??
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Under water is possible too.
Old mines is a good one though. Iran just dug fresh tunnels for their defences I think. And it has worked really well for them. As long as they've still got the machinery to dig out and repair the openings after each round of bombing, they're ready for more.
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That would be insane. But yeah, I'd fully expect Trump to continue being the biggest idiot this planet has ever seen.
Re: Data centers, data centers! (Score:3)
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Depends on what was mined. A few sparks in an abandoned coal mine could result in a Centralia-style mine fire.
In other words, this is a great idea and Putin should search for abandoned coal mines near Moscow, preferably under valuable land, to house the new data centers.
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Welllllll (Score:2)
I've been computin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Computin' in a coal mine
WHOOPS here comes a drone now
The 1D10T planners are at fault (Score:2)
"Russia's push for a sovereign and increasingly closed Internet has resulted in a highly centralized system under a few Russian tech companies like Yandex"
If a country with 11 timezones ends up with virtually all of their datacenters concentrated around two very close cities, the problem lies with the 1D10T planners of the companies involved, not with the sovereign internet concept
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the problem lies with the 1D10T planners of the companies involved, not with the sovereign internet concept
If they had planned with proper redundancy and safety, their competitors would have got ahead of them and they would have lot the market. Their companies would likely not exist. As it is, now, they control the Russian market and their downtime is more a problem for their customers than themselves. This was the correct engineering decision.
This is the reason that such services cannot be left to private industry alone and you need some regulation.
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Exactly. Private industry doesn't plan for war unless they're regulated to do so.
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Except the planning is idiotic precisely because russia is so unbelievably centralised.
Re:The 1D10T planners are at fault (Score:4, Insightful)
Before Ukraine proved the effectiveness of drone swarms, concentrating your critical infrastructure into a small number of highly defended locations made some kind of sense against conventional attacks.
I happen to believe the drone swarms were a highly predictable evolution of warfare, but most people weren't thinking about it until relatively recently.
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Ah yes those underground DCs (Score:3)
Now they are making hasty plans for underground data centres. If building DCs overground takes years it shows the level of desperation to try and build them underground quickly.
Putin's delusional if grandeur have ruined Russia. His apologists have run out of excuses a while back, his supporters are beginning to realise they're fucked for a decade+ and his haters are looking for realistic means of opposition and to leave Russia.
Trump's support for Ukraine might flip depending on how much dirt Putin's people have on him but Europe's is resolute.
Russia is fighting a combined effort in Ukraine with 10 times Russia's GDP - there is no victory on any level for Russia only different degrees of defeat. How badly that defeat looks like depends on what idiot, Putin.
Spacex busy creating new business (Score:1)
Just put them in space! (Score:2)
I know, I know!!!! (Score:2)
Going underground was actually pitched to Putin by Musk. He needs a big contract for The Boring Company
Seriously (Score:2)
Soon there will be no difference from housing above the ground.
Coal mines burn well (Score:2)
Coal mines burn well. In the US, we have some underground coal fires that have been burning for generations. Once a seam of coal ignites there is no way to put it out.
So, yeah, absolutely build a datacenter in one. It will make a great target.