Hosting provider RUVDS has announced plans to deliver server equipment to Antarctica for testing and to explore the possibility of establishing a high-speed communication channel. The experiment is scheduled for 2025.
The server will be based on equipment resistant to harsh weather conditions and capable of withstanding extreme loads. Ensuring an uninterrupted and high-speed communication channel, as well as having backup power sources, will allow RUVDS to provide access to the server to anyone.
We already have successful experience in test-launching a server at the North Pole. This was the first step towards such tests. Antarctica, with more complex logistics and conditions, allows us to continue research at a new level. As part of the mission, we will explore the possibility of installing satellite communications, including high-speed channels, and possibly conduct a beta test of commercial server use.
The company is considering several options for delivering the equipment: from air-dropping it from an airplane to transporting it by sea. If the latter scenario is implemented, the server will start operating directly on board the ship.
In 2024, RUVDS successfully tested server equipment at the North Pole, dropping a Data Processing Center (DPC) from an Il-76 onto a drifting ice floe in April. The provider's specialists established a direct connection with their own satellite and transmitted data packets, despite significant delays in the mission schedule. In addition, the world's first jump from a height of over 10,000 meters to the North Pole was carried out from the same aircraft.
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