Russian company RUVDS has announced an ambitious project — building a data center on a drifting ice floe. As part of ongoing research into server equipment operation in extreme conditions, additional computing resources will be made available at the Barneo Ice Camp. The data center's task is to maintain constant communication with the company's satellite and transmit real-time telemetry data. This has proven to be an ambitious challenge (and massive pain in the neck) for RUVDS engineers and scientists.

Barneo Camp is situated in the high latitudes of the Arctic, close to the North Pole. The expedition is organized annually by the Russian Geographical Society, which constructs a full-fledged polar town on a drifting ice floe. The mandatory structures include an ice aerodrome, 12 heated living modules, 2 common rooms, and several technical facilities. The ice floe is meticulously searched for between 88.5 and 89.5 degrees north latitude and from 90 to 140 degrees east longitude, based on reconnaissance and satellite monitoring data. Construction begins in April when it's polar day, but the sun hasn't started melting the ice yet, there's no strong wind, and the temperature in some parts of the water area rarely drops below -30°C. The camp is staffed by specialists from the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Arctic and Antarctic Institute of the Federal Agency for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, who have been conducting comprehensive research since 2006. Extreme sports enthusiasts are also present.

For the company's engineers, creating an Arctic data center will require a significant amount of work and creativity. Even a standard data center in a "classic" Central Russian climate is a complex system that requires constant infrastructure monitoring and device maintenance. Data centers require a continuous supply of electricity, complete with redundant capacity and backup power sources. It's not just that the very purpose of data centers is uninterrupted operation, but also the specific requirements of equipment operation. The sensitive high-performance servers inside the data center cannot tolerate voltage fluctuations, overheating, shaking, or other disturbances. Some experts say that you can't even verbally reprimand them — they'll take offense and stop working. Organizing such a project on a drifting ice floe with limited access to consumables, resources, and redundant systems is a formidable task.

Nevertheless, RUVDS approaches the task with optimism. During the data center's operation, a separate website will be launched where anyone can evaluate the project's performance. The company's satellite will pass over the Barneo camp every 1.5 hours, suggesting an approximate data update frequency. RUVDS notes that working under extreme conditions will not only allow them to test their own technological solutions but also accurately identify development paths for improving existing technologies.

This is a crucial stage for the project, which will help shape its future strategy. Today, RUVDS ranks among the top 20 Russian IAAAS-service providers and has also made its mark on the international stage. The company started with a small data center in Korolev near Moscow and a partnership with Huawei in 2016. Today, it owns 15 data centers not only in Russia from Moscow to Vladivostok but also in Switzerland, the UK, Kazakhstan, and other countries. In 2023, the company received the Hoster of the Year award in Russia. The Arctic could potentially become a promising area for the company's operations. With the development of the Northern Sea Route and the Northern Import System, the demand for local computing power is likely to increase exponentially. Incidentally, there is a strong hope that this demand can be met. For instance, a solution for a stable supply of electricity to the Arctic is already being planned by the energy infrastructure. These are small nuclear power plants that Rosatom plans to construct in commercial quantities across the entire AZRF in the coming years.