Drone disruptions hit AWS in the Middle East again

Reuters just reported that AWS in Bahrain was disrupted a second time in a month. Could Middle East troubles cause more data centres to move to Asia?

Disrupted, again

Around seven hours ago, Reuters ran a report that drone activity in the vicinity caused a disruption to AWS in Bahrain, confirmed by an AWS spokesperson. This is the second such incident in a month, though it wasn't clear if the data centre was hit directly by a drone, or if the disruption stemmed from nearby strikes.

Earlier this month, three AWS facilities in the Middle East were damaged by drone strikes, which caused structural damage, started a fire, and resulted in additional water damage from firefighting efforts. The pattern is becoming hard to ignore. What was initially a shocking one-off is starting to look like an ongoing operational risk.

Fighting fires in data centres

Data centres are designed very differently when it comes to fighting fires. Due to the expensive electronics inside, a major part of the strategy hinges on early detection rather than suppression alone.

Some data centres use gas suppression systems instead of water to either displace oxygen or interrupt the fire reaction. However, certain gases are hazardous to trapped employees, which explains why water is still used in many facilities.

There is also a growing complication: lithium-ion batteries are increasingly used in data centres, and they cannot be extinguished by gas suppression alone. A fire started by an external strike, combined with battery thermal runaway, presents a scenario that most data centres were simply not designed to handle.

Can data centres be protected?

While data centres were traditionally built to survive fires, floods, and power failures, no one had designed them to withstand drones that could easily fly over the highest perimeter fencing. And despite the perpetual secrecy around data centres, industry professionals know a simple truth: we know exactly where all the large ones are on the planet.

Can data centres be hardened against such attacks? Maybe. This will necessitate protecting exposed components, particularly chillers and cooling towers on rooftops, backup generators along building floors, and battery rooms on the ground floor. None of these are simple engineering challenges, and the cost implications for existing facilities could be substantial.

Here's the bigger question: will continuing Middle East instability cause more data centre operators to look to Asia? And if so, where are they likely to go?