Sometimes, the datacenter surprises you. Normally, it's just a platform the servers run in. Sometimes, it's more. Yesterday I just soaked in the sensations for a little bit. It reminded me why I love my job.

The deep blue of the permanent lighting highlights the aisles, leaving the cages' perimeters murky. Stacks of servers are defined by power indicators and the flicking lights of hard drives on one side and network connections flashing bits of green and amber light on color-coded cabling on the other. Your ears get a full spectrum sound test by the low thrumming of the coolers, the steady hum of the switch fans and the high-pitched whine of the servers while your skin gets blasted by cold air on one side of a rack and hot exhaust on the other.

It's almost the exact opposite of a sensory deprivation tank. I wish I could take pictures in there.