A data center is a physical facility that organizations use to house their critical applications and data. Think of it as the brain of a company, storing, processing, and managing all of its digital information. These facilities can range in size from a small room to an entire building or even a campus of buildings.
Key Functions of a Data Center:
Data Storage and Management: The primary role of a data center is to store and manage an organization's data. This includes everything from emails and files to complex databases and applications.
Application Hosting: Data centers provide the infrastructure necessary to run a company's essential applications, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
Networking: They serve as a central hub for a company's network, connecting employees, customers, and partners to the data and applications they need.
Security: Data centers are designed with robust physical and digital security measures to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access and cyber threats. This includes features like surveillance cameras, biometric access control, and firewalls.
Backup and Disaster Recovery: To ensure business continuity, data centers implement backup and disaster recovery solutions. This means that if one system fails, there are redundant systems in place to take over, minimizing downtime.
Core Components
A data center is comprised of several key components that work together to ensure its smooth operation:
Servers: These are powerful computers that process and store data.
Storage Systems: These include hard drives and other storage media that hold the vast amounts of information a data center manages.
Networking Equipment: This includes routers, switches, and cables that connect all the different components of the data center.
Power Infrastructure: Data centers require a constant and reliable power supply. This includes backup generators and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to prevent data loss in the event of a power outage.
Cooling Systems: The vast amount of electronic equipment in a data center generates a lot of heat. Therefore, sophisticated cooling systems are necessary to maintain an optimal temperature and prevent equipment failure.
Types of Data Centers
Data centers can be categorized in several ways, but a common classification is based on who owns and operates them:
Enterprise Data Centers: These are owned and operated by a single organization for their own use.
Colocation Data Centers: In this model, a company rents space in a data center owned by a third party. The company provides its own servers and storage, while the data center provider is responsible for the building, cooling, power, and security.
Cloud Data Centers: These are owned and operated by cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. Customers can rent virtualized data center resources on a pay-as-you-go basis.
In recent years, with the rise of artificial intelligence and big data, the demand for data centers has skyrocketed. This has led to the development of massive "hyperscale" data centers that can house hundreds of thousands of servers.
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An actual proposal to build a data center in Landover, Maryland, was a significant news story in 2025 and has been temporarily halted. The plan, which involved developing a data center campus on the former Landover Mall site, generated considerable opposition from community members and local lawmakers.
Here is a breakdown of the actual proposal and the reasons for the recent pause.
The Brightseat Tech Park proposal
Location: The former Landover Mall site, an 87-acre parcel of land.
Developer: Lerner Enterprises.
Project size: A $5 billion project comprising five data centers totaling 4.1 million square feet.
Power usage: The campus was projected to use up to 820 megawatts of power.
Approval status: Lerner had secured final approvals in October 2024, with groundbreaking planned for 2026 or 2027.
Reasons for the pause in development
Community opposition: Over 20,000 people signed a Change.org petition titled "Stop Data Center at Former Landover Mall Site". Community rallies were also held to protest the project.
Environmental concerns: Residents and environmental groups raised concerns about the potential for increased noise, light, and heat pollution from the industrial facilities. There were also worries about the impact on the Chesapeake Bay watershed, loss of tree cover, and massive energy and water demands.
Task force recommendations: In April 2025, the Prince George's County Council established a Qualified Data Center Task Force to study the economic, environmental, and community impact of data centers.
Official pause: In September 2025, Prince George's County Executive Aisha Braveboy issued an executive order placing a temporary hold on new data center applications. The County Council also passed a resolution for a 180-day moratorium on permits. The pause will allow the county to review the task force's recommendations and potentially create new legislation to regulate data center development.
Lack of transparency: Critics claim that officials greenlit the project with insufficient transparency and without proper public hearings.
Arguments supporting data center development
Economic benefits: Proponents argue that the project would be a major economic boon for the county, providing significant tax revenue and high-paying jobs.
High-paying jobs: According to a 2025 Maryland Tech Council report, data center employees in the state earn salaries well above the statewide average.
Increased tax revenue: Data centers generate significant tax revenue, which could help address the county and state's budget shortfalls.
Minimal demands on services: Data centers require minimal government services, maximizing their net fiscal impact.
Arguments opposing data center development
Environmental impact: Critics highlight the substantial energy and water consumption of data centers, arguing they strain resources and negatively impact the environment.
Impact on quality of life: Concerns include noise from cooling systems, changes to the local "viewscape," and potential impacts on property values.
Alternative revenue generation: Some opponents argue that there are better ways for the county to generate revenue that do not have such negative environmental and community impacts.
https://wtop.com/maryland/2025/09/dozens-rally-against-data-center-project-at-abandoned-mall-site/
'It’s not the end of the battle' | Prince George’s County halts Landover Mall data center plans amid environmental concerns.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/tech/science/environment/prince-georges-county-landover-mall-data-center-plans-environmental-concerns/65-afaef688-f05e-4869-a609-f59f73b70435#:~:text='It's%20not%20the%20end%20of,the%20Old%20Landover%20Mall%20site.