nexustandards.com/data · 2 taught
Data and Evidence
NRS-M22 Risk data; NRS-T13 Data and digital public infrastructure risk
2standards1discipline
Illustrative: packages on a board with routed traces carrying clocked signals, or a data hall of racks and their status lights
Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium · Technology and Digital Systems · Department of Computing, Data and Quantum Technologies
Cloud and edge systems, high-performance computing, chips and the energy of compute
Data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors
Data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors covers the computing capacity that science and public services rely on: cloud and edge systems, high-performance computing, the chips they run on, the energy and water compute uses and the pipelines that make results reproducible.
- Courses
- 1 course open
- Levels
- L2 Intermediate
- Labs
- Network lab, GeoAI lab
- Cloud and edge systems
- High-performance computing
- Chips and semiconductors
- Energy and water use of compute
- Public interest data infrastructure
- Data rights and trust
- Reproducible pipelines
- Research infrastructure access
Courses in development extend the scope to one further subject: Compute and data infrastructure dependency risk.
02Maps
Build a twin of any place
Search any place or open the world; the layers and generators follow data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors on the planet map, the globe and in 3D.
- Terrain 0 to 245 m
- 4 satellite dishes
- 74 communication masts and towers
- 12 telephone exchanges
- 7 data centres and cable landing stations
- 12 aerodromes
- 1 telecom offices
- Communication line 161 km
- 729 known exploited vulnerabilities since 2023-10-17
- Night-time lights, VIIRS day-night band: read live when the 3D twin opens
Drag to move, right drag or Shift with a drag to turn and tilt, Ctrl with the wheel to zoom. Keyboard: arrows move, Shift with arrows turn and tilt, + and – zoom, 0 resets, V steps through the views, Escape clears.
Flat plan of the same data: relief as contours from the inline grid, the mapped ground infrastructure by kind, the mapped cables and the numbers below. The 3D twin opens on devices that can draw it, once its data and code have been checked.
The boundaries, names and designations shown do not imply any judgement on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Countries: Natural Earth (public domain).
03Live map
Connected activity in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Night-time lights and population density, the footprint of electrified, connected activity, over the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 2
Connected activity
Keyboard, with the map focused
Hold Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom
Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
Loading the latest NASA imagery.
Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.
Connected activity, framed on the United Kingdom and Ireland.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.
Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONETSources and licences
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
- VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
- Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
- Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
- Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
- Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
- NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- Optional layers (3 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.
Layers and dates
- Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
- Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
- True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
04The subject
The subject, methods and measures and debates and bodies
The field and its scope
For infrastructure leads, research computing managers, energy planners and procurement officers who must size, secure and account for the data and compute that science and public services run on.
Quantities and units
Methods and their limits
Each method is listed with what it assumes and where it fails.
What the field debates
Bodies that set practice, and the data they publish
Bodies and standards are named so learners can find and apply their published work; the Academy teaches their use and links to the publisher, and no affiliation is implied.
05The method
From one service's nines to a system's downtime: how availability composes
A system that depends on k services in series is available only when all of them are, so its availability is the product of theirs; four nines on each of ten services gives under three nines on the whole, and redundancy on a dependency recovers most of the loss at a cost the architecture decision must weigh.
Sources: Dean and Barroso, The Tail at Scale (2013); Armbrust et al., A View of Cloud Computing (2010); Hennessy and Patterson, A New Golden Age for Computer Architecture (2019); Masanet, Shehabi, Lei, Smith and Koomey, Recalibrating global data centre energy-use estimates (2020).
06At a glance
At a glance, with 5 related topics
Data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors at a glance
risksacademy.comtechnology-digitaldiscipline
- Open, 1
- In preparation, 2
- Subtopics, 8
Nexus Standards it teaches and relies on
The Nexus Standards the discipline teaches toward, grouped by master standard, with the disciplines that teach each.
nexustandards.com/energy-infrastructure · 1 taught
Energy and Critical Infrastructure
NRS-H86 Telecom and data-centre failure
1standard1disciplinenexustandards.com/digital-ai · 1 taught
Digital, Cyber and AI
NRS-T2 Compute and accelerated infrastructure risk
1standard1discipline
Nexus Standards at the AcademyThe Academy proposes how each discipline teaches toward the Nexus Standards; the mapping is open for public review.
Research and tools
Research and preprints as they are published, by discipline, with the faculty's other tools.
The hub lists the newest research and preprints for Data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors, each with its source and date. Open the research hub
The methods it teaches
From the Academy's risk taxonomy: the discipline's own entries and those of its primary courses, with how many courses teach each.
Methods and practice
- AI and GeoAI1 course
- Risk data governance1 course
Hazard families
- AI and algorithmic failure2 courses
- Data breach and privacy harm2 courses
- Technology and cloud outage1 course
What is changing now
Recent developments in data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors, each with its source; sources checked on 16 October 2026.
Courses in this discipline
Courses with this as their primary discipline.
How the subject is practised in labs
| Lab | What you do in it | Courses using it |
|---|---|---|
| Network lab | Build dependency graphs, find critical nodes, trace cascades | 2 |
| GeoAI lab | Apply Earth observation and machine learning to open imagery | 1 |
07Console
How Data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors is taught, as a process you can run
Press Play to run this process from this page's own data.
08Learning
Learning, practice and connections
Achievements in this discipline
Pathways that teach it
Where the subject is practised
- The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI Canada)Data and ComputeChips and semiconductors, Cloud and edge systems, Compute energy water, Data rights and trust, High performance computing, Public interest data infrastructure, Reproducible pipelines, Research infrastructure access
- FoundryCompute and edge
- Data and compute
Field platforms of the ecosystem where the subject is studied and applied.
The two Foundry systems where it is practised
- FoundryNXS-COR systemCompute, nodes and placementFleet room, Placement room
- NXS-GRX systemData infrastructure, lineage and evidenceData room
Foundry system pages describe what each system and its rooms are designed to do; the courses teach the methods these systems apply.
Disciplines it depends on
- Faculty of Infrastructure, Energy and IndustryEnergy systems and the energy transitionThe discipline covers the reliability, security and transition of the systems that produce, store and deliver power.
- Faculty of Earth and Environmental SciencesWater security and hydrologyWater security is the capacity of people, economies and ecosystems to have reliable water of acceptable quantity.
Across the ecosystem
09Take part
Take part in Technology and Digital Systems
Start from who you are.
10References
Core references and where to begin
Start with Masanet, then International Energy Agency, then Armbrust.
11Questions
Questions, answers and key terms
Is study here free?
Yes. Every course and learning material of Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium, is free to study, self-paced or with a cohort. Ordinary participation has no fee; paid work, internships and fellowships are separate arrangements.
What does completing a course give me?
A completion record: the course, its version, the date and what was assessed, private by default and shared by you. It stacks into discipline, department and programme achievements. A record states what was studied and assessed and does not certify competence; it is not a licence, a professional title or an employment status.
Where do the data and the places come from?
Every faculty teaches on a twin of a real place built from open data; each layer carries its provider, licence and date, and every result on the Academy states its source. Maps and figures are indicators for teaching, never an assessment of a place.
How do I take part beyond the courses in data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors?
Form a competence cell of three to seven people, study a shared pathway, take a supervised assignment in the National Working Groups, or bring a cohort from your institution. For organisations.
Key terms
Term
Cloud concentration
Reliance of many users on a small number of cloud providers.
Term
High-performance computing
Aggregated computing power used for large simulations and data analysis.
Term
Power usage effectiveness
The ratio of a data centre's total energy use to the energy used by its computing equipment.
Term
Reproducible pipeline
A documented, versioned sequence of data and code steps that others can rerun.
ReportsContribute
Contribute evidence from this page.
Reports is the Consortium's quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.
Risk Academy
Related
Around Data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors
Data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors
Start with an open course
The catalogue lists each course with its outcomes, labs, hours and level.