Will Cryptomining Facilities Change Into AI Data Centers? (yahoo.com) 5
To capitalize on the AI boom, many crypto miners "have begun to repurpose parts of their operations into data centers," reports Reuters, "given they already have most of the infrastructure" (including landing and "significant" power resources...)
Toronto-based bitcoin miner Bitfarms has enlisted two consultants to explore how it can transform some of its facilities to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence data centers, it said on Friday... Earlier this month, Riot Platforms launched a review of the potential AI and computing uses for parts of its facility in Navarro County, Texas.
Slightly less useless (Score:4, Informative)
If headline asks a question then the answer is... (Score:1)
If headline asks a question then the answer is usually no. I see this as one of the exceptions. I believe the answer is yes, bitcoin mining facilities can convert to data centers.
The fine article states that converting bitcoin mining to a data center would likely fail because a data center is more "sophisticated". What is that supposed to mean?
What is the usual time that computers last in a corporate environment before being upgraded with new gear? 2 years? 4 years? Maybe 10 years for servers, routers
Re: (Score:2)
Network gear (route/switch/firewall) is on a 5 year EOL cycle.
You can get a bit more out of hardware load balancers (F5/A10) but not allot 6-7 at most before back-plane advances makes them obsolete.
Servers at best are 3-4 years depending on storage interfaces.
That's a mid to large DC, your standard tiny company hardware lifespan is 3 years and done.
Re: (Score:2)
If headline asks a question then the answer is usually no. I see this as one of the exceptions. I believe the answer is yes, bitcoin mining facilities can convert to data centers.
It might not be that easy. I don't think all bitcoin mining facilities needed or have the architectural redundancy components required for a data center from the start so there might even be some situation where it might not possible. For example, think of a situation where there wouldn't be any room or location to install an emergency generator or where the cost of establishing redundant Internet connectivity or sufficient bandwidth would be prohibitive or even maybe impossible to do.
The hardware, unlikely, the space, most likely... (Score:3)
The hardware, if it is an ASIC dedicated to breaking hashes will have little use for doing stuff with AI. However, if it is FPGA based, then that can be repurposed for matrix math, and thus be used for AI, although probably not as good as a dedicated hardware in silicon. So, when the shine comes off of BTC, the ASIC miners will have to go, but the data centers will still be quite usable.
Overall, the data centers are always going to be useful. Worst case, it can be a coloc, or can be turned into an availability zone, so that DC space is always needed for something, especially with a push for decentralization.