Greenland--the ultimate destination for cool servers?

Keeping server equipment cool is one of the biggest dilemmas facing modern computing.

Internet search engines in particular rely on huge server farms which chuck out a lot of heat, so their cooling systems represent a technical challenge and the opportunity for considerable savings.

Logically, Greenland, one of the coldest countries on Earth (7°C / 44°F is the year-round average), is getting involved.

The government have just announced a new terabit cable linking it to North America and Iceland.

For a nation of just 57 000 people, that makes 18 Mbps for every man, woman and child ...

The cable, which Alcatel promise to have installed before the end of the year, will offer an alternative to the congested trans-Atlantic data routes (essentially between the US and the UK/France), but also a link between Greenland and the US, where the majority of the world's data centers are housed.

Tele Greenland, who dominate the local communications market are now considering the possibility of installing server farms on the island.

As well as the economic argument that the colder ambient temperatures bring by reducing cooling temperatures, Greenlanders are also hoping that the ecological agument will hold sway: much of the island's power is generated from renewable sources.