Amazon spends $102 million in Ohio for data center land. Are server farms, data centers the same?

Believe it or not, there is a difference between a data center and a server farm. And with Amazon planning more data centers in central Ohio, we take a look at the largest such facilities here.

Did you know Ohio is a data hub for major companies like Google and Meta? Within the next two years, it will also become home to more data centers for companies like Microsoft and Amazon. 

What is a data center? Is it the same as a server farm? Let’s look at the difference. 

Amazon will have a major data center campus in Jeffersonville, Ohio 

According to a story by The Dispatch, Amazon is to build a 590-acre data center campus in Jeffersonville, Ohio, after the company bought two parcels of land there for $102 million. The land for Amazon’s data centers is in Fayette County, next to Honda and LG’s battery plant.

By 2030, properties bought by Amazon will represent the first site of Amazon Web Services’ planned $10 billion investment in data centers across Ohio.

Amazon will continue to expand its data center infrastructure across Ohio. Amazon already has data center locations in New Albany, Hilliard and Dublin, The Dispatch reports. 

What’s the difference between a data center and a server farm?

The terms “data center” and “server farm” are often used interchangeably, but they’re actually quite different from each other.

According to Gigabyte, a server farm refers to a collection of servers, sometimes up to a thousand, that are grouped together to provide better functionality and accessibility.

A data center is a dedicated facility designed to store these collections. It includes systems for cooling, ventilation, and fire suppression to ensure continuous availability.

Other notable data centers in Ohio

These are the biggest data centers by square footage in Ohio, according to The Dispatch:

1. Meta (Facebook), 1 Community Circle, New Albany: 970,000 square feet
2. Amazon, 2570 Beech Rd., New Albany: 459,000
3. Amazon, 5109 Hayden Run Road., Hilliard: 318,464
4. Amazon, Crosby Business Park, Dublin: 318,448
5. Google, 1101 Beech Run SW, New Albany: 275,000
6. Citi, 306 Greif Parkway, Delaware: 271,562
7. Spirit Realty Capital, 4499 Fisher Road, Columbus: 205,339
8. Amazon, Crosby Business Park, Dublin: 159,244
9. Amazon, Crosby Business Park, Dublin: 159,244
10. Cologix, 555 & 575 Scherers Ct., Columbus: 155,000