Talk:Tag:telecom=data center

Datacenter capacity (power)

Some datacenters are open about how much power they have available for customer usage. Is it worth capturing that data? --Dónal (talk) 22:25, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

Yes, totally worth it tagging this. But which key could fit? Maybe data_center:power? --Tuxayo (talk) 23:25, 7 August 2024 (UTC)

It's more suitable to define/use input:electricity=* Fanfouer (talk) 13:53, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

I've noticed that some data centers are already using the “data_center:power” tag. But “data_center:input:electricity” could be an great idea, to align with other tagging models (generator:input:electricity, storage:input:electricity, etc.)

Should we make a proposal on this? Whether for “power” or for “:input:electricity”? LunaLune (talk) 07:22, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

Even more recent proposals tried to simplify currently too specific tagging like generator:output:*=* with simpler output:*"=*. I definitely advocate for input:*=* and output:*=* for everything. A more focused proposal can be written on that. Fanfouer (talk) 09:35, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

I agree that something along the lines of input:electricity would make sense, but there is a bit of complexity when it comes to datacenters. They are usually rated by "IT Power", which is the maximum power capable of being delivered to IT equipment, not the total power that the facility consumes. (IT Power excludes cooling and auxiliary systems.) So any tag used should be capable of representing this distinction.

I have recently been working on an approach to representing this in Wikidata (example), where it's easier to make this distinction clear. Russss (talk) 10:28, 20 April 2026 (UTC)

Cooling technology

Datacenters use a mix of different cooling technologies (airconditioning, water cooling, forced air, etc). Is it worthy of mapping? --Dónal (talk) 22:27, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

Yes, I think that would be helpful. For example, it would help  analyze the impact on water or other natural resources LunaLune (talk) 13:16, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

A given datacenter can be cooled with several technologies and it may be complex to make the information fit on the facility itself. Should we document individual cooling devices instead? Fanfouer (talk) 13:52, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

There's already a tag cooling:method with some documented(air_cooling, dry_cooling,mechanical_draft,...) but it's not really related to datacenters LunaLune (talk) 14:32, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Details about center and not centre

As correct term in British English is data centre instead of data center, why has this page been created with data center @Russss:? Fanfouer (talk) 18:15, 19 June 2021 (UTC)

This tag was relatively widespread with the "data_center" spelling before I created this page - I think it was popularised by New Cloud Atlas. I didn't invent this tag, I merely documented it.

In my experience, the American spelling is about as common as the British spelling in the UK internet business, and I would normally spell it "data center". I expect (and Google Trends seems to confirm) that the "data center" spelling is significantly more prevalent among English speakers worldwide, so I don't see any reason to consider switching.

-- Russss (talk) 18:48, 19 June 2021 (UTC)

Thank you for inputs. I update the Telecoms page accordingly Fanfouer (talk) 20:53, 19 June 2021 (UTC)

The part about data centre/center usage in UK business is relevant. Google trends which doens't seem UK specific is not. Otherwise we should write admin_center, color, etc... --Nospam2005 (talk) 19:11, 16 July 2021 (UTC)

move discussion to Telecom

I propose that we delete this talk page and move the discussion over to Talk:Telecoms to defragment the interactions. -Bkil (talk) 21:01, 18 May 2022 (UTC)

most data centres are nothing to do with telecoms

Why is this page talking about generic data centres under a "telecom" tag? What history and discussions led to that? SomeoneElse (talk) 09:35, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

This value is old and hasn't been refined yet. You may find what we gathered on the matter on the Telecom project page. Fanfouer (talk) 19:12, 16 November 2025 (UTC)

As mentioned above, I created this wiki page for the tag which was already in relatively widespread use. I don't really see the issue with it living under the "telecom" key, though. The internet is a telecommunication network, and I don't think there's an existing top-level tag where it would fit better. Russss (talk) 13:36, 18 November 2025 (UTC)

Datacenter area size

There are an increasing number of data center construction projects. But few people are asking about the true societal and environmental consequences of these projects. Would tracking the amount of land occupied by data centers(data_center:size or data_center:area_size) be useful ? Maybe for future studies? LunaLune (talk) 13:40, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

The amount of land occupied by the datacenter can be calculated directly from the OpenStreetMap object (assuming that it's mapped as an area), so there's no need to tag this separately. Russss (talk) 14:03, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

What if the building has many levels(building:levels)? Is that also possible, or is there another method? LunaLune (talk) 07:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC)

Instead of the amount of land occupied, what about tagging the IT rooms floor area?

Because datacenters don't only have server rooms. They can have a specific room for cooling equipment or network LunaLune (talk) 07:33, 23 April 2026 (UTC)

Datacenter type

There are different types of data centers (colocation, hyperscale, etc.). Is it worth storing this data? LunaLune (talk) 13:41, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

I'm not aware of a standard or a norm to define those categories. We could create our own but it would lead to difficulties to assess on ground. Is there an official classification somewhere? Fanfouer (talk) 13:51, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

These are mostly marketing terms, and the main differentiators here are size (which is best captured by the amount of power used), and whether it's a single-tenant or multi-tenant facility. Russss (talk) 14:15, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

I haven't yet found an official classification for colocation, hyperscale, and other types... But there is another classification that seems to be fairly widely recognized: the “Data Center Tier Classification” by Uptime Institute LunaLune (talk) 14:22, 10 April 2026 (UTC)