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The Data Center Rundown

Jun 5, 2026

 
Data center water sustainability challenges

Google announced a $17 million investment in water sustainability efforts across seven US states, aiming to replenish more water than consumed at its data center sites by 2030.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

This opinion piece questions whether token efficiency will become the sole critical metric for data centers, potentially overshadowing established metrics like power usage effectiveness and water usage effectiveness in the age of artificial intelligence.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

SpaceX's updated IPO filing highlights water access as a critical risk factor for its AI data center expansion, indicating a significant physical constraint on its growth strategy.

Read at TechRepublic→

 

Is water access a critical enough risk to halt SpaceX's AI data center expansion?

 
Advancements in data center cooling

As escalating AI workloads increase rack densities, data center operators are compelled to reassess their cooling strategies due to colliding concerns over power consumption, water usage, and existing infrastructure limitations.

Read at Data Center Knowledge→

 

Can traditional cooling methods adequately support escalating AI demands in data centers?

ZutaCore has secured $100 million in funding to advance its two-phase cooling technology, indicating a significant investment trend towards liquid cooling solutions.

Read at Data Center Richness→

 
Innovative power sourcing for hyperscalers

Google and Intersect Power have initiated construction on a colocated data center and over 1GW energy project in Gray and Roberts Counties, Texas.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

Natural gas reciprocating engines and turbines are increasingly replacing diesel generators in AI-scale data centers for both backup and primary power, offering benefits such as reduced emissions, quicker deployment, and enhanced grid support capabilities.

Read at Data Center Knowledge→

Google and Voltus are piloting a 100 MW capacity deal in PJM to explore whether hyperscalers can secure power more efficiently without relying on the lengthy processes for new generation or transmission infrastructure.

Read at Data Center Knowledge→

 
ESG practices in data centers

Google alum Joe Kava shares insights from his pioneering experience in building data centers responsibly at a gigawatt scale, offering lessons learned in sustainable facility development.

Read at Data Center Richness→

Data center developers are integrating biodiversity metrics into their site selection and planning processes as AI campuses face increased scrutiny regarding land use and environmental impact.

Read at Data Center Knowledge→

 

Should data center developers actively integrate biodiversity metrics into site selection?

Pure DC has launched a carbon removal platform, A Healthier Earth, which it claims is the first of its kind in the data center market.

Read at Data Center Dynamics→

 
Optimizing hyperscale data center construction

The article proposes a strategy for predictive schedule governance to effectively manage the delivery of hyperscale artificial intelligence data centers.

Read at Data Center POST→

The successful buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure hinges on training the 340,000-worker workforce required for these projects.

Read at Data Center POST→

McCarthy Building Companies is integrating Palantir's software to enhance operational efficiency and streamline processes on its job sites.

Read at Bisnow→

 
Enterprise adoption of agentic AI

Cisco is promoting new agentic AI security solutions to enterprises, but faces challenges in overcoming customer mistrust regarding AI adoption.

Read at TechTarget IT Infrastructure→

Self-healing IT systems leverage AI, automation, and observability to enhance operational resilience, security, and scalability by minimizing downtime and proactively addressing issues.

Read at TechTarget IT Infrastructure→

 
Chatter
The view from Reddit
“Best cloud vulnerability management hacks in 2026”

A team struggles to prioritize cloud vulnerabilities amidst an overwhelming volume of findings from multiple scanners, facing challenges with stale artifacts, unclear ownership, and the difficulty of correlating scanner noise with actual runtime exposure in distributed, ephemeral environments.

Read at r/sysadmin→

“The “slow ETL” issue was not the database”

A data professional shares a troubleshooting experience where random ETL job stalls, initially suspected to be database issues, were ultimately traced to storage path failovers caused by misconfigured multipathing.

Read at r/datacenter→

“Left a job where I was undervalued, navigated three competing offers, now my manager is making my exit difficult. How do I make the right call?”

A security/network engineer, feeling undervalued after absorbing extra duties without a raise, accepted a new role but is now facing resistance from their current manager regarding their exit date, complicating their transition to a new university position.

Read at r/sysadmin→

 

Is your current manager making your exit difficult when you've found a new job?

 
Industry summits and infrastructure trends

ITW 2026 will focus on the growth of artificial intelligence, infrastructure strategy, and the evolving landscape of the connectivity ecosystem.

Read at Data Center POST→

Data Centre LIVE: The London Summit 2026 will explore artificial intelligence, scale, and the future trajectory of digital infrastructure.

Read at Data Center POST→

 

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