Why Electricity Infrastructure Matters A data centre may look like a building, but its ability to operate depends on infrastructure extending far beyond its physical boundaries. Among all the resources required by a modern data centre, electricity is one of the most fundamental. Servers, storage systems, networking equipment, cooling systems, security systems and other critical…
Introduction Almost everyone has experienced this phenomenon. Standing beside a waterfall can feel surprisingly peaceful despite the considerable amount of sound it produces. Yet a faint mechanical hum from an air-conditioning unit, an electrical transformer or a distant cooling tower may become difficult to ignore, particularly during a quiet night. Similarly, two sounds measured at…
Understanding the Engineering Behind One of Modern Data Centres’ Most Discussed Environmental Issues Introduction This article forms part of the Malaysia Data Centre Observatory (MDCO) Explain Series and extends →E02 How Data Centres Interact with the World, which introduced how modern data centres exchange electricity, water, heat, telecommunications and other forms of interaction with their…
An in-depth guide to how data centre cooling systems work, covering chillers, CRAH and CRAC units, cooling towers, liquid cooling, energy efficiency, water consumption, noise and the engineering trade-offs that keep modern digital infrastructure operating reliably.
The Common Misconception: “One Approval Means It Is Approved” When a data centre project is announced in Malaysia, public attention often focuses on a single assumption: “It has been approved by the government.” In practice, there is no single “approval” that authorises a data centre to proceed from concept to operation. Instead, approval is distributed…
The Common Misconception: “Once It Is Approved, Everything Has Been Considered” When a new data centre is proposed, one question often dominates public discussion: “Has the authority approved it?” If the answer is yes, many assume that every important issue has already been fully examined. If the answer is no, many assume the project cannot…
Looking Beyond the Developer This article builds on previous articles →MDCO Explain E02 and →MDCO Explain E03 by focusing on the stakeholders who shape those systems and flows. When a new data centre is announced, public attention usually focuses on a single organisation—the developer or operator. Its name appears in media reports, its executives attend…
More Than a Building Full of Computers In the previous articles of the MDCO Explain Series (→MDCO Explain E01, →E02), we explored what a data centre is and how it exchanges electricity, water, connectivity and other resources with the outside world to deliver the digital services that underpin modern society. The next logical question is…
The Digital World Has Physical Neighbours For most people, the digital world feels almost weightless. A video streams instantly. A bank transfer completes in seconds. Artificial intelligence answers complex questions within moments. Behind the screen, everything appears to happen effortlessly, as though digital services exist somewhere beyond the physical world. Yet nothing could be further…
The Invisible Infrastructure Behind Everyday Digital Life Every day, billions of people send messages, watch videos, make digital payments, store photographs, attend online meetings and increasingly interact with artificial intelligence. These activities feel almost effortless. A video begins playing within seconds. A bank transfer completes instantly. An AI assistant responds in natural language. From the…
