The Physical Cloud
Outside in. Layer by layer.
A free video series that walks through a data center from the fence to the rack: how each layer works, and the people who build and run it.
- 1Perimeter
- 2Entrance
- 3Operations
- 4Power
- 5Cooling
- 6Fire and life safety
- 7Connections
- 8Data halls
TPC, the fictional campus this series explores.
The episodes
One layer at a time, from the outside in. Every episode ends with the people who work there.
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Episode 0
Welcome to TPC
Where the series starts: the fictional campus we'll explore, the order we'll explore it in, and the rules this channel follows.
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Episode 1, layer 1: Perimeter
The perimeter
Before you get anywhere near a server, you meet a fence. This episode covers what each part of a perimeter does, and who builds and runs it.
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Episode 2, layer 2: Entrance
The entrance
Past the fence, the front door is where a site decides who gets in, and why that's harder than it looks.
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Episode 3, layer 3: Operations
Operations
Nobody stands next to every machine. This episode shows how a site is watched, run and looked after, every hour of every day.
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Episode 4, layer 4: Power
Power
The grid supply has gone, but the building is still lit. This episode follows the power from the grid to the computers, and shows what keeps it running.
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Episode 5, layer 5: Cooling, coming Sunday 1 November 2026
Cooling
Almost every watt that goes into a server comes out as heat. This episode follows that heat from the servers, into the air, into the water and finally outside.
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Layer 6
Fire and life safety
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Layer 7
Connections
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Layer 8
Data halls
How this series is made
TPC is a fictional campus, modeled and rendered in Unreal Engine 5 for this series. It lets us show every room, every system and every failure without revealing anything about a real site.
Your guide is Rick, who has spent twenty years inside data centers. Two rules hold for every episode:
- No number without its source. Every figure on screen shows where it comes from.
- No made-up senses. A sound, a smell or a vibration is only described if Rick has experienced it himself.
The narration uses an AI clone of Rick's own voice. Some 3D assets are made with the help of AI tools. No real site, employer or customer appears.
Every layer has people behind it
Security officers, electricians, shift technicians, planners and many more. These careers have many ways in: from trades like electrician or mechanic, from technical training, from IT, and from completely different jobs.
The Careers Guide lists every job the series shows, what the work involves, and how people get into it.