Data center administrators covet density (in all its forms) above most other considerations because it is one of the key factors to reducing OPEX. Packing more compute into a smaller space either shrinks the overall footprint or provides more processing power within the same amount of space. The problem with incredibly dense architectures is the sheer amount of power piped into each rack. Servers emit power as heat, and dense designs present tremendous cooling challenges.
We have all heard of the cutting-edge open-air hyperscale deployments that provide staggering PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) metrics, but in the real world, there are very few operators with the scale, engineering talent, and custom architectures to deploy an open-air facility.
