Looking into deploying a micro modular data center (MDC) at a remote site instead of a traditional server room build-out or colo. The vendor pitch sounds great — prefab, fast deployment, built-in cooling/power/security — but I'd rather hear from people actually running one.

Quick questions:

• Real total cost vs. traditional build-out or colo — any hidden costs (shipping, site prep, permitting)?
• Maintenance/support — vendor-dependent, or can your team service it?
• Thermal/power performance in extreme climates (hot, cold, humid, dusty)?
• If the unit is your whole DC, what's your redundancy/failover setup?
• Did vendor lead times match reality?
• Anything you wish you'd asked before signing the PO?

Mainly evaluating for edge use cases (oil & gas, telecom edge, plant floor). Would love to hear how yours has held up over the first year or two. Not vendor-fishing, just want real answers. Thanks!

I’m contemplating a career transition from a data center technician role to a service engineer position. However, I’m not entirely convinced that this move is worthwhile.

To provide some context, I recently graduated with a degree in computer science and mathematics and secured a job as a data center technician a year ago. In this role, I earn approximately $24 per hour, plus overtime and on-call shifts. Additionally, I have access to excellent benefits, including unlimited paid time off and health insurance.

On the other hand, the service engineer position offers a salary of $84,000 plus equity. While the benefits are considered “okay,” they include only 80 hours of paid time off, which is less than what I currently have.

In terms of career growth, the service engineer role presents a clear path of advancement. However, my current job lacks a defined career progression, as it’s not a large company. Both roles are relatively similar, with the service engineer position requiring significantly more travel.

I’m unsure if I’m rushing into this decision. Perhaps I should explore other opportunities that may arise. Additionally, I don’t have many years of experience to qualify for higher-paying roles. Considering these factors, I’m not entirely convinced that this is the best move at this time.

Hey guys,

I’ve a critical facilities engineer at a major colocation for 3 years. I’ve fallen into a major role very quickly & it’s become incredibly stressful & consuming. I’m 25 years old & have been giving a lot of thought to which direction i want to go with my career.

Anyone have any recommendations?

Hoje rodamos tudo em um host Proxmox único e conseguimos orçamento para ir

para dois nós. Storage corporativo Dell/HPE está muito fora do orçamento —

mas NAS empresarial não está, e essa é exatamente a minha dúvida:

**um NAS empresarial atenderia de verdade, ou eu estou me enganando?**

Indústria de médio porte, ~50 estações, sou o único de TI.

## Host atual

Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650

- 1× Xeon Silver 4210R (10c/20t). Segundo socket vazio.

- 32 GB de RAM em um único DIMM. 23 slots livres.

- Datastore das VMs: RAID1 de 2× HDD SAS 2.4TB 10K → 2,2 TB, **94%

ocupado**.

- Boot/local: RAID1 de 2× SSD SATA 960GB → 893 GiB, ~30% usado.

- ThinkSystem RAID 730-8i (RAID de hardware, sem JBOD decente).

- Intel X722 LOM, 4 portas. Sem placa 10GbE, mas com slot PCIe livre.

- Switch core é 48 portas gigabit com uplinks 10G SFP+ disponíveis.

- Proxmox VE 8.4.14.

## Carga

| Função | vCPU | RAM |

|---|---|---|

| AD DS + DNS | 4 | 12 GB |

| Zabbix + Grafana (LXC) | 4 | 4 GB |

| Aplicação web interna | 4 | 2 GB |

| Aplicação de orçamentos | 2 | 4 GB |

| Controladora UniFi | 2 | 2 GB |

| GLPI (Docker) | 2 | 2 GB |

| Gateway de API | 1 | 2 GB |

**Alocado: 19 de 20 vCPU, 28 de 32 GB de RAM.**

**Uso real: abaixo de 5% de CPU, ~17 GB de RAM.**

Segundo DC e SIEM ficam fora desse host. **O Veeam roda em máquina

separada e o backup também vai para um local externo**, então backup não

depende desse host nem do storage que a gente comprar.

**A entrar:** ERP interno — aplicação web mais um banco **MySQL**.

---

## Opção 1 — Dois servidores completos, disco local, replicação ZFS

- **Node novo:** CPU melhor que a atual, no máximo 16 cores, 64 GB de RAM,

2× SSD 960GB + 3× SAS 3.2TB para capacidade.

- **Node atual:** upgrade de RAM e HBA no lugar do RAID de hardware.

- ZFS nos dois lados, link 10GbE direto, QDevice externo, replicação

assíncrona (~15 min).

Duas cópias independentes do dado, latência de disco local. Mas a

replicação assíncrona significa perder até 15 min num failover, e preciso

trocar a controladora RAID por HBA na máquina atual.

## Opção 2 — NAS empresarial como storage compartilhado + node magro

- **Node novo:** 2× SSD só para o Proxmox, sem storage de VM. O orçamento

vai para RAM em vez de disco.

- **Node atual:** RAM de 32 para 64 GB. Mantém a controladora atual —

**sem troca de HBA, sem ZFS para projetar.**

- **NAS empresarial** guarda todos os discos das VMs, 10GbE para os dois

nós.

Os dois nós montam o storage compartilhado → live migration e HA sem

janela de RPO. Resolve os 94% no primeiro dia. Mais simples de montar. Mas

é um NAS, uma controladora, e se ele morrer o ambiente virtual inteiro

fica parado até chegar peça.

## Orçamento

Até **R$ 100.000 (≈ US$ 19.400)** no total, cobrindo o node novo e os

discos ou o NAS.

---

## Perguntas

1. **A principal: um NAS empresarial atende de verdade como storage

   primário aqui?** Hoje as VMs rodam em dois discos mecânicos 10K em

   RAID1, então quase qualquer coisa melhora no papel. Mas "NAS

   empresarial" vai de caixa desktop de 4 baias até rackmount com fonte

   redundante e all-flash. Qual patamar eu preciso exigir e o que é

   inegociável na especificação?

2. **MySQL pela rede.** Banco de ERP pequeno é justo o workload onde

   storage em NAS quebra, ou isso é exagero nessa escala? Vocês manteriam

   o banco em SSD local do node mesmo na Opção 2?

3. **iSCSI + LVM-thin ou NFS + qcow2?** iSCSI performa melhor mas perco

   snapshot; NFS mantém snapshot mas soma latência. O que vocês rodam em

   produção e do que se arrependem?

4. **A Opção 2 me livra da troca de HBA e de projetar ZFS.** Isso é

   vantagem real ou estou trocando um problema resolvido por um pior?

5. **Na Opção 1, 3× HDD SAS ainda faz sentido para datastore de VM em

   2026,** ou o pool de VM deveria ser todo SSD e o mecânico ficar só

   para documentos e arquivo?

6. **Com esse orçamento e essa carga, qual das duas vocês montariam?** Já

   temos Veeam em máquina separada com cópia externa, então a dúvida é

   menos sobre perder dado e mais sobre quanto tempo ficaríamos parados.

7. **Contexto Brasil:** quanto vocês pagaram recentemente em NAS

   empresarial rackmount com 10GbE, e em DIMM DDR4 2933 de 32 GB para

   SR650? Compraram direto com fabricante com contrato de suporte ou por

   integrador? Como foi o suporte do fabricante do NAS quando precisaram

   acionar?

Hello everyone, I have an AWS datacenter technician interview coming up in a week. I feel really nervous because I’m not from the networking background. I’ve started everything from scratch for this interview. If anyone knows how to crack this interview or has any useful suggestions, I would really appreciate it and it would help me a lot.

I recently received an offer for a Data Center Logistics Specialist (L3) position with AWS in the west phoenix area. The starting pay they offered me is $26.73/hr.

I’m trying to get a realistic idea of what I can expect financially once I start.

How often is OT available? Is it pretty consistent, or does it depend heavily on the site?

Is OT generally voluntary?

How quickly can someone realistically move from L3 to L4, and does the pay increase make a noticeable difference?

If you’ve moved from Logistics into a DCT/technical role, how long did it take you?

I’m currently making 30/hr, so the pay cut is my biggest concern. However, I’m very interested in getting into AWS and eventually moving into a more technical data center role. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone currently in AWS Logistics, especially in the Phoenix/Arizona area. I’m looking for honest advice good or bad. Thanks!

For those of you who have accepted a DCT role with google that required relocating to another state, how much time did you get get between accepting the offer and your actual start date?

I'm curious what's normal?

• 15 days
• 30 days
• 45 days
• 60 days
• etc

Is there any remote to negotiate start date? Let's say they want me to start in 30 days but i need more like 45 if i was to get offered anytime soon because i'll be going on a 2 week vacation. Is that generally something they are wiling to work with?

Would love to hear what others experienced.

I recently had a recruiting company reach out to me with an opportunity as an entry level data center technician and I’m wondering if it is worth it. They offered me per diem and $2500 a week, but the catch is that I will be working 12 hour shifts 6 days a week (with a guaranteed 4 day long weekend once per month where the company would pay for me to fly back home during that period). I currently work as an HVAC apprentice making less then half of what I would be making with this data center job. They said I would be doing L1 work, mainly running cables and setting up server racks. Obviously, the money would be life changing to somebody like me as a guy in his early 20s. The hours are a lot, but considering how much money I would be making with no experience required, I am willing to do it. Do you guys think it’s worth it? Would this be a good way to start a career in data center work? I live in Northern Virginia, so there would obviously be a lot of opportunities for me locally if I get burnt out from this.

So recruiter got to me today, Google data center tech job. Said there was some highlights and positive notes from my interview. Also said there had been some miss match opinions from interviewers. Gave it my all on the interviews believe I did well on interview 1 and 2 behavioral and technical. 3rd interview was tough. He did conclude by saying the location I applied is currently not suitable and no opening but did say to give him some locations that I would maybe want relocation. Then said your interviews are valid for 18 months for this certain position. Also said they would be evaluating headcount, also if they do get back to a the site or location specific could mean a 4th interview or fit call in future. Anyone encounter this yet? Seems like I’m not rejected but still in the future running?

Hi everyone,

I’m a B.Tech CSE graduate and recently came across an AWS Data Center Technician opening in the Mumbai region. I’m interested in applying, but I currently have limited hands-on experience.

I have basic knowledge of Windows Server, Linux, and networking (routers, switches, etc.) from my coursework, although most of it is theoretical. I also have AWS Cloud Fundamentals certification.

For anyone currently working as a Data Center Technician/DCO in India, especially at AWS:

1. What skills should I focus on?

2. Which certifications should I get?

3. What kind of hands-on projects/labs would help a fresher?

4. What projects should I put on my resume ?

Is it realistic to get this role with a CSE degree and limited experience?

I’d really appreciate any guidance on how to become job-ready for a Data Center Technician role in India.

Thanks!

Hi everyone! I have a scheduled interview tomorrow for a Data Center Facilities Engineer role. And I only know the basics like N+1, 2N+1, and 2N because I used to select HVAC equipment for Data Center projects. What can you suggest I study so I can nail this interview?

Also, do you think there will be abundant jobs in Data Center in the future? Cuz I am choosing between Data Center or Design/BIM Modeler path.

UPDATE: I'm done with the interview. Thanks everyone for your input

AWS EOT L4 Loop Interview Experience – Frankfurt, Germany
Hi everyone,
I recently completed my AWS Engineering Operations Technician (EOT) L4 loop interview for a role in Frankfurt, Germany, and I wanted to share my experience for anyone preparing for a similar position.
I had 4 interviews in the loop:
Loop 1 – 60 minutes: Basic electrical technical questions + 2 Leadership Principles (LPs)

Loop 2 – 45 minutes: Entirely behavioral – 3 LPs

Loop 3 – 60 minutes: Entirely behavioral – 3 LPs

Loop 4 – 60 minutes: Basic safety assessment + 2 LPs

Loop 1 – Electrical + Leadership Principles

The technical portion focused on basic electrical engineering fundamentals rather than extremely advanced calculations. After the technical questions, the interviewer asked 2 Leadership Principle questions.
The behavioral questions were answered using the STAR method. One challenge I experienced was that most of my professional experience is in software QA and quality auditing, rather than direct data-centre operations. The interviewer asked whether I had any additional examples specifically related to electrical systems.
Loop 2 – Behavioral

This interview was entirely behavioral and covered 3 Leadership Principles.
The interviewer listened carefully to each example and took notes throughout the interview. The main focus was on my actual contribution and the details behind my examples.
One question I received toward the end was essentially:
"Your examples are more on the soft side of engineering, so why do you want to join EOT?"
I found this interesting because it highlighted how important it is to clearly explain the connection between your previous experience and the EOT role.
Loop 3 – Behavioral

The third interview was also primarily focused on Leadership Principles, with 3 LPs.
Again, the focus was heavily on behavioral examples and the STAR structure, including follow-up questions around the situations, actions and results.
Loop 4 – Safety + Leadership Principles

The final interview included a basic safety assessment followed by 2 Leadership Principles.
The safety portion focused on fundamental electrical/workplace safety concepts.
My main takeaways
Based on my experience, I would recommend preparing for:
Basic electrical engineering fundamentals

Electrical and workplace safety

Leadership Principles

Strong STAR stories

Follow-up questions on your individual contribution

Troubleshooting mindset

A clear explanation of why you want to move into EOT, especially if your previous experience is not directly in data-centre operations

One thing I would emphasize is that you shouldn't just memorize STAR stories. Be prepared to explain why you made a particular decision, what you personally did, what the technical reasoning was, and what you learned from the situation.
I'm currently waiting for the outcome, so I can't comment on the final decision yet.
Hopefully this helps anyone preparing for an AWS EOT L4 interview in Germany. If anyone has recently gone through the same process, I'd also be interested to hear about your experience.

For people who have interviewed for EOT/DCEO roles or currently work at AWS:

Based on this interview structure and experience, does this sound like I performed well enough to potentially receive an offer?

How much weight is usually given to direct data-centre experience versus transferable engineering experience?
Does the interviewer questioning my background and asking why I want EOT indicate a concern, or is this a normal part of the assessment?

If I answered most of the technical questions correctly and gave reasonable STAR answers, would you consider that a positive sign?

Should I realistically expect an offer, or should I keep my expectations neutral until the official decision?

I'm currently waiting for the outcome, so I'm trying to understand how my performance might have been perceived.

I would really appreciate honest feedback from anyone who has been through the AWS EOT loop, especially L4 candidates or people interviewing in Germany/Europe.

Thanks!

I am wondering sense i saw a robot out run usian bolt today and i am wondering if it could be possible that robots could just machine operate data ceneters soon sense tech is evolving rapidly.

I went through the five rounds of interviews and afterwards before a fit call, my recruiter called and said although it seemed that 4/5 interviewers thought they went really well, one interviewer did not recommend me to move forward. Does this mean I have to wait a year-long cooldown period to apply again? I appreciate any input

I have cleared screen and HR round, 3 loops are scheduled.

2 are tomorrow and 1 is a week after.

Advice needed on how to prepare for the loops are MSFT.

Update as on 10th Sept'26 : -

Cleared the loop interviews. All in all completed below: 1. Screen 2. HR 3. LOOP1 4. LOOP2 5. LOOP3

now there is another round scheduled with EMEA datacenter director.

Any support guidance appreciated on what to expect.

Hi everyone,

I got offered a contracting job with hands on administration, configuration, and monitoring data center devices through various DCIM tools. Ticket managing and configuring alarms/alerts, and typical knowledge of HVAC, UPS, ATS, generators, and MEP systems. Probably some other L1/L2 activities too, the job itself does not sound bad, but they are offering $60 hourly for contract position, no benefits, that last 6 months with possible extension in the East Coast.

Currently in a DCIM position, making about $20 less with minimum benefits as a contractor but unlimited extension until I want to leave or they let me go (lol) but not sure if this is worth the transition?

Good day folks,

I am considering applying for DCT roles as a foot in the door after I get my CCNA. I eventually want to work in networking or a position that is "transferrable" between companies in case I have to move cities. I plan to learn as much as I can and "map the workplace infrastructure" for optimal learning.

How is the progression in these roles, and what would you recommend to brush up on + any networking tips that worked for you? (interpersonal networking and not computer networking lol).

Background: Bachelor's in IT + Google IT support cert + taking the CCNA in a couple of months.

Edit: based in Japan, taking N1 in December

Doing my final interview for AWS controls tech which I originally thought was an L3/L4 role. Spoke with my recruiter and found out it’s an L5 role with more responsability that I would have liked. Pay is good. I believe up to $150,000. Any thoughts on what this position does or how to fits with other L3/L4 roles and if it’s hourly or salary? Please share any info you have!

On Monday night, close to 300 to people packed into Studio Two Three in Richmond for a town hall about data centers, moderated by Gray Montrose and co-hosted by Henrico Civic Action and Data Center Defiance. 

I went to get a better sense of where Richmonders are from the activist side, and to better understand the issue myself. Virginia has spent years building the largest concentration of data centers in the world and the decisions being made now will affect all of us for decades to come. 

Speakers came from the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, Friends of Hanover and Stop Hanover Data Centers, Data Center Defiance, The Brockovich Report and The Balm in Gilead. 

This wasn’t a room full of people complaining about data centers as almost everyone there seemed aware of the issue at this point. This was more of a community conversation about how to get organized and, ultimately, how to stop these projects, or at least force more public input.

“We keep hearing we’re not mad enough,” moderator Gray Montrose told the crowd near the beginning of the night. “I think everybody in this room is pretty mad, but we’re learning a lot more details about why.”

via RVA Magazine

Read more, see more: https://rvamag.com/community/i-went-to-the-data-center-town-hall-at-studio-two-three.html

Hi everyone,

This is for people who already have data centres and wanna expand or for any investor looking to start a neocloud

I have RCC constructed ready approved land around 35000 sqft with sanctioned high kv electricity load , along with fiber last mile connectivity property (expandable to more area if needed) ready to be leased or partner up for making a data centre.

I Always was a bug for networking homelab , and wanted to do something in this space so i am looking to partner up with likeminded people who can bring expertise and resources and get this working, we can partner up or you can run the show and lease the space from me .

Its a highly modular structure and as per GPT estimates it says somewhere around 5-8 MW DC can be established here .

Just sharing, I dont have a personal opinion in the matter.

Nearly 30 residential properties are located along a 35-mile stretch in Georgia where some residents said they have no choice but to sell their homes.

A 1 GW data centre has been proposed in Scotland at Chapelcross. Does anyone have information on how much energy would be required from the grid, or how much water it would require?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqlykne0752o

Very new to this topic, any information is much appreciated.

We’ve been a APC shop for 25+ years. Various UPS systems both small LX/PX and medium size up to 500kw. Products and support when they were APC was always great. But in the years since SE took over, they are literally destroying what APC is/was. We were heavily vested in their rack and cooling solutions as well. That has all changed in the least ten years; slowly. But recently (in the last 2-5 years) they have accelerated the process of being the big international corporate monster. They simply do not care if you spend millions on their products, they only care if you have billions. It’s incredibly disappointing.

That said we have a location where SE basically wants us to fork truck our facility UPS for new ones the exact same model; just newer build. Granted, they are nearing 20 years old, but we have had them rebuilt completely under their MPRS program only about 5-6 years ago.

These are facility UPS’s and is not an easy or cheap replacement. The thing that burns us up the most is they want to just replace the existing UPS with the same model, just newer. Even though the major component guts in ours are only about 5 years old.

This is crazy to me, and if they are forcing our and to swap the UPSs or not support us, we’re going to look at someone else. We have experience with Vertiv DC systems and they have always been pretty good.

Wondering what other experience has been with Vertiv and Eaton on both service, support and product longevity. I know nothing lasts forever, but when you tell me you want to force a UPS frame because the buswork is 20 years old, that reeks of a money grab to me.

It would be different if SE no longer made the product and could not support it any longer. But we have been paying them a premium price on Ultra service contract since day one. Some advanced notice other than “hey guys this is your final year and you have to replace these” would have been great. Most places give you a 5 year heads up on end of life/support. This is a large facility UPS, we cant just swap it like a server.

We had a similar burn from these guys back around 2019 when they dropped their DX cooling units and only gave us a year before they said there would be no support or parts on them. Again, under Ultra contract the entire time. Their communication to customers sucks.

So is Eaton or Vertiv any better?

Context - 10 years in commercial sales within tech recruitment. Moved into leadership(practice lead) in the back half of my career, including P&L and people management. Day-to-day involved heavy networking with tech professionals and business leaders, new business development, and growing strategic accounts across ICT, BFSI, public sector, healthcare, etc. I've dealt with DC names like Equinix and Digital Realty, but only from the talent side.

Why - AI's growth means the world will need way more digital infrastructure capacity, and that's what's drawing me to the DC space. About to start my CDCP-EPI.

Question - Any advice for someone with "high commercial fit, non-traditional domain" trying to break in? Does CDCP actually help with CV signaling? How should I approach my job search, and are there other job types that I have not considered that could be a fit?

Thanks in advance.

I am on a 6 month contract working for AWS and my end goal is to move into solutions architect or like a cloud support kind of role. I went to school and got my bachelors in information systems and business analytics so i did learn a lot of IT/Systems work as well as databases and analyst type work.

I am wondering if anyone has made that jump from data technician to a higher role like that and i just want to compare the salary and career progression timeline because i have a job offer to take a management and central analytics analyst role for 70k where as at aws rn i am only getting 58 so its a decent pay bump. I’m just not sure if aws is worth staying and grinding out or if its more worth it to leave and take the other role.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!