As someone who has actually had to service gear inside an equinox data center I'll tell you this: mostly unstaffed yes but more secure than a bank. I had I think six layers of security to get through including badge readers, man traps, palm scanners and combination locks.
Looking at them I'm not even sure you'd need to break concrete, I'm pretty certain they're thin wall steel construction. A circular saw would make a nice doorway.
The amount of dust that would get poured into the room would almost certainly set off the fire suppression system, sucking the oxygen out of the room within 30 seconds of activation and suffocating anyone left inside.
Also the fire suppression systems usually dump gases like nitrogen, argon, CO2 etc toreduce the O2 percentage in a room. They also don't work as well with a venting hole. A mask with a small O2 container like they use for climbing is recommended.
Basically, but man traps are not usually airtight or even have a pressure differential. Usually just a room that can only be opened externally and only one exit can be opened at a time.
Must be how they use so much water, too. Makes perfect sense.
(Seriously under the hood of a bolt the only interesting thing there that isn't sealed in a metal box is three separate cooling fluids plus washer fluid. Just so much fluid.)
Absolutely should not tell people that fire is its weakness, and damaging data centers hurts insurance companies more because of equipment replacements, and rebuilding structures costs + manpower and whatnot.
No, you can load up a couple of clusters like 2 to 5 in a pickup, a cluster of 8 in a rack is about a small fridge, but worth 300-400k and easily resealable.
A commom mistake bank robbers make is that they take more gold than they can carry, stuff is heavy. I feel GPUs are similar in their value to weight ratio, RAM is much lighter and easier to take a lot of. Imagine the value of a backpack full of GPUs vs one full of RAM sticks.
You're probably right that the value density of RAM sticks is better... But NVidia B300 GPUs are still ~$45,000 each. A backpack full is still quite a lot of money.
I think the lower density of gpus vs bars of gold would help you avoid that specific mistake...(you'll run out of room in your inventory before you get overencumbered)
The staff wont stop you but if you arent familiar with how to isolate electrical equipment with more than one source of power you might get yourself killed.
Racks most people could probably manage but then you're ignoring all the goodies in the cooling and electrical distribution equipment. Think ram is expensive? Try pricing the support equipment.
Every data center I've been to uses them. Best part is if you don't know what you're looking at, you'd have no idea the foyer was constructed as a man trap.
Don't need much security when you have a man trap.
I worked inside a data center that had HIPPA servers. There are probably 6 of us in there at most. But everything is bolted to the ground and we had so many locked gates that by the time you pull enough servers off the rack to make sense, the cops would have already been there.
Honestly the data in the servers are more valuable than the metals inside.
My man, that's not the point. Nobody cares about that metal except for tweakers trying to turn it in for cash, and that would destroy the data centers doing it.
Ok... Half serious question... Gold: definitely, silver: maybe don't know exact uses but I could see it but palladium? Where in a data center would that be used? Maybe if they have a fancy backup power generator with a silencer on the exhaust.
That said value of gold vs value of copper would probably be close despite the cost per gram because of pure quantity of copper in a data center.
Whoever thought of the meme probably doesn't work in tech. A brand-new AI datacenter is not going to be left unguarded. Doubly so if there's government data being stored or processed within it.
I’ve seen it once or twice, by special permissin only, and with an escort.
Exactly this. We're in places with concrete tank traps out front and retina scanners and guards behind the glass and all that craziness -- but aside from the tank traps it's all second-hand info from one of the 4 people I know - of thousands - who can actually go onsite and get in. If he doesn't send the change request beforehand, and it's all approved and whatnot, the guards will NOT enable the door. No tools in/out, no 3rd-party media out, etc.
Like, really, man, no one's getting in. I guess that means I get downvotes; I dunno.
81 Comments
toofpic@lemmy.world · 103 pts · 114d
Also don't tell anyone about huge amounts of ram sticks that you can easily get out by hundreds.
wander1236@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 114d
Probably ECC unfortunately
redsand@infosec.pub · 41 pts · 114d
Unfortunately? The unregistered stuff works in most AMD boards. You can trade the GPUs for a car strait up. Or the whole blade for a house.
Neptr@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 7 pts · 113d
They aren't DIMMs so basically no resale value. Only usable for data center servers.
SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social · 12 pts · 113d
Then they need to be freed as a whole to become data centers of the people, run by the people.
SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 113d
There are Chinese back-alley workshops already lifting the NAND modules from them and installing them on standard DIMM modules.
Edit: meant DRAM modules.
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 113d
DRAM*
NAND is what (some) SSDs use.
SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 113d
Got them mixed, but they are doing both.
craigers@lemmy.world · 84 pts · 114d
As someone who has actually had to service gear inside an equinox data center I'll tell you this: mostly unstaffed yes but more secure than a bank. I had I think six layers of security to get through including badge readers, man traps, palm scanners and combination locks.
GraniteM@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 113d
You'd be amazed what a determined meth addict with a crowbar can do.
The_v@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 113d
The new ones for AI etc. are nowhere near a bank level security.
Pretty easy to knock a hole in a concrete slab wall and have full access to the goods if somebody wanted too.
greyscale@lemmy.grey.ooo · 7 pts · 113d
Looking at them I'm not even sure you'd need to break concrete, I'm pretty certain they're thin wall steel construction. A circular saw would make a nice doorway.
Licksrocks@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 113d
The amount of dust that would get poured into the room would almost certainly set off the fire suppression system, sucking the oxygen out of the room within 30 seconds of activation and suffocating anyone left inside.
village604@adultswim.fan · 18 pts · 113d
Can you suck oxygen out of a room with a massive hole in it?
The_v@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 113d
That's a no.
Also the fire suppression systems usually dump gases like nitrogen, argon, CO2 etc toreduce the O2 percentage in a room. They also don't work as well with a venting hole. A mask with a small O2 container like they use for climbing is recommended.
railway692@piefed.zip · 8 pts · 113d
What is a man trap?
Raiderkev@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 113d
Apparently this:
https://cyberhoot.com/cybrary/mantrap/
backalleycoyote@lemmy.today · 20 pts · 113d
Mantrap: “Fool, no man can escape me!”
Eowyn: pulls off her helmet
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 113d
So an airlock?
halcyoncmdr@piefed.social · 4 pts · 113d
Basically, but man traps are not usually airtight or even have a pressure differential. Usually just a room that can only be opened externally and only one exit can be opened at a time.
craigers@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 113d
Correct
greyscale@lemmy.grey.ooo · 2 pts · 113d
What I'm reading is "bring a bottle jack" and just pry the thing in half.
Aerosol3215@piefed.ca · 1 pts · 112d
"My voice is my passport, verify me."
_stranger_@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 113d
The thing you avoid by driving a stolen car into the outside wall.
BillyClark@piefed.social · 47 pts · 114d
I don't know how legit this is, but I heard that datacenters also where people store their catalytic converters when they change to electric vehicles.
mycodesucks@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 114d
Shhh! They're gonna find out that every server rack contains one T206 Honus Wagner card to function.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 113d
Is that where the cat distribution system stores them before giving them to cars? It's way too complicated for me to understand
CentipedeFarrier@piefed.social · 3 pts · 113d
Must be how they use so much water, too. Makes perfect sense.
(Seriously under the hood of a bolt the only interesting thing there that isn't sealed in a metal box is three separate cooling fluids plus washer fluid. Just so much fluid.)
Insekticus@aussie.zone · 44 pts · 113d
And dont forget the copper cables lining the walls, powering the systems. Absolute treasure trove in there.
altphoto@lemmy.today · 12 pts · 113d
I heard of a guy who not only sold the copper but also the palladium and gold and made a fortune. Now he drives a Mercedes.
glitch1985@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 113d
I'd do it for a Ford.
AHemlocksLie@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 113d
Shit, if they're as noisy as I hear some of the AI ones are, I'd do it for some god damn peace and quiet.
RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 113d
I'd do it for one of Crazy Vaclav's fine automobiles.
GeekyOnion@lemmy.world · 32 pts · 114d
It's a small step from "robotic guard dogs," to "armed robotic guard dogs."
https://fortune.com/2026/03/17/robot-dog-patrols-data-centers-ai-infrastructure-buildout/
Nomecks@lemmy.ca · 52 pts · 114d
You know how much gold and platinum is in a robot attack dog? Free ammo too!
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 113d
And teeth. They're full of teeth
redsand@infosec.pub · 34 pts · 114d
My money is on the crackheads with facepaint and sledge hammers
SailorFuzz@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 114d
lemon juice
brown567@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 109d
Just pay a wizard to make you invisible
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 113d
Seriously just gotta give the crackheads a slingshot, some rags and a bucket of paint and that dog is blind
far_university1990@reddthat.com · 2 pts · 113d
Why paintball suddenly so popular with anarchist movement?
slowmolaggins@thelemmy.club · 24 pts · 114d
Absolutely should not tell people that fire is its weakness, and damaging data centers hurts insurance companies more because of equipment replacements, and rebuilding structures costs + manpower and whatnot.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 113d
Don't fire them until after you've taken the ram
Uh, or not I am too high to backwards words that
nlgranger@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 113d
The fire suppression system uses inert gas, it won't damage the equipment.
Venat0r@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 114d
they're also filled with gpus...
StealthLizardDrop@piefed.social · 29 pts · 114d
screw gpus, ram, you want the ram
cm0002@libretechni.ca · 13 pts · 114d
Por que no los dos?
Einskjaldi@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 113d
No, you can load up a couple of clusters like 2 to 5 in a pickup, a cluster of 8 in a rack is about a small fridge, but worth 300-400k and easily resealable.
testaccount372920@piefed.zip · 11 pts · 113d
A commom mistake bank robbers make is that they take more gold than they can carry, stuff is heavy. I feel GPUs are similar in their value to weight ratio, RAM is much lighter and easier to take a lot of. Imagine the value of a backpack full of GPUs vs one full of RAM sticks.
FrederikNJS@piefed.zip · 3 pts · 113d
You're probably right that the value density of RAM sticks is better... But NVidia B300 GPUs are still ~$45,000 each. A backpack full is still quite a lot of money.
testaccount372920@piefed.zip · 1 pts · 112d
Wow, that's a lot of money! That brings the $/kg ratio much closer to RAM than I thought.
Venat0r@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 112d
I think the lower density of gpus vs bars of gold would help you avoid that specific mistake...(you'll run out of room in your inventory before you get overencumbered)
SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 113d
Not gaming GPUs though.
Skyrmir@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 114d
Anyone know how much ram is in one of those security dogs?
Rooster326@programming.dev · 1 pts · 114d
Enough to buy a teaser to farm more efficiently
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 113d
Enough to sell.
MorningWood@anarchist.nexus · 15 pts · 114d
The staff wont stop you but if you arent familiar with how to isolate electrical equipment with more than one source of power you might get yourself killed.
far_university1990@reddthat.com · 6 pts · 113d
Pull all cable? Redundant psu not that complicated just two psu.
MorningWood@anarchist.nexus · 2 pts · 113d
Racks most people could probably manage but then you're ignoring all the goodies in the cooling and electrical distribution equipment. Think ram is expensive? Try pricing the support equipment.
far_university1990@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 113d
I think this about steal not for resell but for use. And normal people not use high power equipment.
MorningWood@anarchist.nexus · 1 pts · 113d
Just rob a computer store theres way less security.
far_university1990@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 113d
But no damage to greedy corpo :( And i like local computer store.
MorningWood@anarchist.nexus · 2 pts · 113d
If damage is your goal just find the telecommunications manhole outside. No breaking in necessary.
h3ll3rsh4nks@ani.social · 13 pts · 114d
Sadly the one by me has a small army of armed guards...
its_kim_love@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 43 pts · 114d
Just because there's a goalie doesn't mean you can't score!
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe · 9 pts · 114d
Ever heard of a man trap?
Every data center I've been to uses them. Best part is if you don't know what you're looking at, you'd have no idea the foyer was constructed as a man trap.
Don't need much security when you have a man trap.
Zoot@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 113d
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 113d
this was such an incredible skit. one for the ages
yermaw@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 112d
Please details, it looks familiar but I cant remember and its bugging
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 112d
https://youtu.be/gmiKenqLVAU
yermaw@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 112d
You're the man eck
jaschen306@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 113d
I worked inside a data center that had HIPPA servers. There are probably 6 of us in there at most. But everything is bolted to the ground and we had so many locked gates that by the time you pull enough servers off the rack to make sense, the cops would have already been there.
Honestly the data in the servers are more valuable than the metals inside.
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 112d
My man, that's not the point. Nobody cares about that metal except for tweakers trying to turn it in for cash, and that would destroy the data centers doing it.
elevenbones@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 113d
Free RAM, LFG!!!!!!!1!
vrek@programming.dev · 1 pts · 114d
Ok... Half serious question... Gold: definitely, silver: maybe don't know exact uses but I could see it but palladium? Where in a data center would that be used? Maybe if they have a fancy backup power generator with a silencer on the exhaust.
That said value of gold vs value of copper would probably be close despite the cost per gram because of pure quantity of copper in a data center.
happysplinter@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 112d
RIP local sexpot.
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca · -2 pts · 114d
The DCs where my stuff is stored? You're not getting in. It's just not happening.
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe · 7 pts · 114d
Right?
I'm responsible for a bunch of systems in there - inclusibg specialized hardware - and I'm not allowed anywhere near it.
I've seen it once or twice, by special permissin only, and with an escort.
pivot_root@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 114d
Whoever thought of the meme probably doesn't work in tech. A brand-new AI datacenter is not going to be left unguarded. Doubly so if there's government data being stored or processed within it.
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 113d
Exactly this. We're in places with concrete tank traps out front and retina scanners and guards behind the glass and all that craziness -- but aside from the tank traps it's all second-hand info from one of the 4 people I know - of thousands - who can actually go onsite and get in. If he doesn't send the change request beforehand, and it's all approved and whatnot, the guards will NOT enable the door. No tools in/out, no 3rd-party media out, etc.
Like, really, man, no one's getting in. I guess that means I get downvotes; I dunno.
quarkquasar@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 113d
Isn't that kind of assuming that people trying to get in would be following all security protocols?
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 113d
That's a real DC, not a cheap AI powerhouse.