Data Centers Open Doors Amid Criticism with Transparency Tours

Data center complexes in Ashburn, Va., have opened their doors to clients and refined their strategy in response to backlash.

One such complex, situated near Washington, features a server sliced open like a hamburger, revealing an intricate web of processors and a copper-plated cooling system.

The data hall, part mini-laboratory, part public relations strategy, was opened by Oracle last year. It includes cabinets with blinking, whirring servers running proof-of-concept models for clients on hardware built by tech companies like Cisco and Lenovo.