Data & methods

Licensing & how to cite

You may reuse maps, figures, texts and the sample, as long as you credit Datacenter Atlas. Every layer of the atlas is under a licence that requires attribution.

Layer	Licence	You must
Data: the sample and any extract we distribute	ODbL 1.0	Credit the source on any public use; keep derived databases under ODbL (share-alike).
Content: texts, methodology, indices, rankings, charts, maps	CC BY 4.0	Credit Datacenter Atlas, link the licence, indicate changes.
Code	Apache-2.0	Keep the copyright notice and NOTICE file.

Can I use it commercially?

Content (texts, charts, maps, indices): yes. CC BY 4.0 allows commercial use, with credit.
Data (the sample): ODbL 1.0 allows commercial use, with credit, and a database you derive from it stays under ODbL. Two upstream sources add their own limits: values whose source is PeeringDB stay under its Acceptable Use Policy (below), and the country assignment relies on GADM, which is free for non-commercial use (commercial use needs GADM's permission).
Code: yes, under Apache-2.0.
The full inventory is not distributed, for any use, and no wider access is granted on request.

This summarises the licences; it is not legal advice. Read the licence texts and the upstream terms before a commercial use.

Short credit (charts, maps, slides, articles)

Source: Datacenter Atlas, https://www.datacenter-atlas.com (data version 26.08-c2, accessed <date>), ODbL / © OpenStreetMap contributors

Which credit goes where: rows of the sample, or anything built from them, carry the ODbL line above. A chart, map or figure of an index (water stress, social friction) is content: it carries the CC BY 4.0 line printed at the foot of the index page, which names the index and its version.

Academic citation

Datacenter Atlas (2026), data version 26.08-c2. https://www.datacenter-atlas.com (accessed <date>)

BibTeX

@misc{datacenteratlas2026,
  author = {{Datacenter Atlas}},
  title  = {Datacenter Atlas: a provenance-tracked global inventory of data centers},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Release 26.08-c2},
  url    = {https://www.datacenter-atlas.com}
}

Upstream sources keep their own terms and must be credited too: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · PeeringDB (AUP) · Wikidata (CC0) · GADM · Natural Earth · Esri imagery · WRI Aqueduct (CC BY 4.0) · JRC GHSL (CC BY 4.0) · WorldClim · Ember (CC BY 4.0). The full dataset is not distributed; only the free sample is. Regulation content is not legal advice.

Photographs in “What is a data center?” are not ours and keep their own terms: Data center cooling tower by Rsparks3 (Wikimedia Commons, CC0) and server fans by Winston Chen (Unsplash License, which is not a Creative Commons licence: the site's CC BY 4.0 does not extend to it). Both are cropped and resized.

PeeringDB: its Acceptable Use Policy restricts bulk redistribution of PeeringDB data and limits use to Internet operational purposes (such as network troubleshooting and Internet research) unless PeeringDB approves otherwise. Values whose source is PeeringDB (see each src_* column) remain subject to that policy.