As the demand for data centers in Virginia has dramatically risen, so has the presence of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft, in familiar locations such as Northern Virginia, as well as emerging, but lesser-known places like the town of Boydton, Virginia. Data center demand in Virginia is being fueled by an ever expanding need to provide additional compute, storage, and database capabilities to enterprises, both in Virginia and throughout the East Coast of the United States.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) operates data centers in Virginia, in the markets of Ashburn and Sterling (Loudoun), Manassas and Haymarket (Prince William), and Chantilly (Fairfax). While Microsoft has data centers in Virginia, in Boydton (Mecklenburg) and Leesburg (Loudoun), with more under construction.
Dgtl Infra provides an in-depth overview of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft’s data centers in Virginia, including where they are located and the individual facility sizes. Additionally, we outline the ongoing and future development potential at select AWS and Microsoft sites to understand how their data center portfolios can scale further. Finally, Dgtl Infra reviews the cloud regions and availability zones of AWS and Microsoft in Virginia, which are supported by their data centers.
Table of Contents
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Data Centers in Virginia
From 2011 to 2020, AWS invested $35 billion in both capital and operating expenditures into data centers located in Northern Virginia. Also, in 2020 alone, AWS’ investment in the construction and operation of data centers contributed $1.3 billion in GDP to the economy of Virginia.
Amazon’s Presence in Virginia
How Many Amazon Web Services (AWS) Data Centers are in Virginia?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has over 100 data centers in Northern Virginia that are either operational, under construction, or in various stages of planning and zoning.
Where are Amazon Web Services (AWS) Data Centers in Virginia?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has operational data centers in several locations across Loudoun County, Prince William County, and Fairfax County, Virginia. Below we provide five examples of AWS’ data center presence in major Northern Virginia counties and their sub-markets, namely:
- Ashburn, Loudoun County, Virginia
- Sterling, Loudoun County, Virginia
- Manassas, Prince William County, Virginia
- Haymarket, Prince William County, Virginia
- Chantilly, Fairfax County, Virginia
Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Loudoun County, Virginia
In Ashburn, Loudoun County, Virginia, AWS operates three data centers at 21263, 21267, and 21271 Smith Switch Road, which together comprise 430,663 square feet. Specifically, the company refers to 21263 Smith Switch Road as IAD71, 21267 Smith Switch Road as IAD60, and 21271 Smith Switch Road as IAD50.
AWS Data Centers in Ashburn, Virginia
READ MORE: AWS Buys Two Powered Shell Data Centers in Loudoun County
In Sterling, Loudoun County, Virginia, AWS operates a 126,869 square foot data center at 45360 West Severn Way, referring to the facility as IAD10.
AWS Data Centers in Sterling, Virginia
READ MORE: Financial Details on AWS’ 45360 West Severn Way Data Center
Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Prince William County, Virginia
In Manassas, Prince William County, Virginia, AWS operates two data centers at 7510-7610 Mason King Ct, which together comprise 151,840 square feet. Particularly, the company refers to 7510 Mason King Ct as IAD11 and 7610 Mason King Ct as IAD24.
AWS Data Centers in Manassas, Virginia
READ MORE: Financial Details on AWS’ 7510-7610 Mason King Ct Data Centers
In Haymarket, Prince William County, Virginia, AWS operates a 233,768 square foot data center at 15395 John Marshall Highway (below right), referring to the facility as IAD55. Additionally, AWS owns an adjacent land parcel at 15435 John Marshall Highway (below left), where it is constructing a further three data centers – two of which appear to already be built.
AWS Data Centers in Haymarket, Virginia
Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Fairfax County, Virginia
In Chantilly, Fairfax County, Virginia, AWS operates three data centers at 4100, 4101, and 4155 Westfax Drive, which together comprise 220,800 square feet. Specifically, the company refers to 4100 Westfax Drive as IAD9, 4101 Westfax Drive as IAD1, and 4155 Westfax Drive as IAD22.
AWS Data Centers in Chantilly, Virginia
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Region and Availability Zones in Northern Virginia
Amazon Web Services (AWS) uses its scaled portfolio of data centers in Northern Virginia to support its cloud region and availability zones in Virginia.
In Northern Virginia, AWS operates its US East cloud region, known as us-east-1, which has 6 availability zones and was launched in 2006.
READ MORE: Amazon Web Services (AWS) – Regions and Availability Zones
Cloud On-Ramps
Cloud on-ramps facilitate private connections to cloud service providers, like AWS, and allow enterprises to bypass the public internet to access cloud computing services. AWS establishes its cloud on-ramps, which the company refers to as AWS Direct Connect, in colocation data centers.
READ MORE: Colocation – Definition, Meaning, Data Center, Services
In Northern Virginia, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has deployed cloud on-ramps at the following 3 third-party colocation data centers:
- Equinix DC2: 21715 Filigree Court, Ashburn, Virginia
- Equinix DC11: 21721 Filigree Court, Ashburn, Virginia
- CoreSite VA1: 12100 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Virginia
Microsoft Data Centers in South Central Virginia
Microsoft has a significant and growing data center presence in South Central Virginia, specifically, in the town of Boydton, Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
Mecklenburg County – Location Within Virginia
Microsoft’s presence in South Central Virginia is unique as Boydton resides over 170 miles southwest of the “Data Center Capital of the World” in Northern Virginia, which boasts important sub-markets like Ashburn, Loudoun County, Virginia.
READ MORE: Data Centers in Virginia – Ashburn, Loudoun, and Beyond
Microsoft in Boydton, Virginia
Since 2010, Microsoft has operated data centers at its campus in Boydton, Mecklenburg County, Virginia, having cumulatively invested over $2 billion.
Uniquely, this data center campus is situated in the South Central Virginia region and specifically located at 101 Herbert Drive in Boydton, Virginia.
Microsoft Data Centers in Boydton, Virginia
As shown above as (#1), Microsoft’s Boydton data center campus, known as the Microsoft BN Campus, is situated east of Highway 92 and west of Highway 608 (Ridge Road). The property is bounded to the north by the intersection of Highway 660 (Old Cox Road) & Highway 608 (Ridge Road), and to the south by Highway 58.
Presently, Microsoft’s Boydton, Virginia data center campus spans over 1 million square feet across 14 buildings, which have been constructed on 360 acres of land.
Moreover, Microsoft is aggressively growing its presence in Mecklenburg County, with the company recently submitting a number of permitting applications for new data centers in the county.
Microsoft in Mecklenburg County, South Central Virginia
Mecklenburg County notes that Microsoft is locating its “East Coast Hub” near Boydton. To this end, Microsoft owns at least 17 land parcels in Mecklenburg County, comprising nearly 2,400 acres, many of which are in the process of being developed. These land parcels are situated within close proximity to Microsoft’s data center campus in Boydton and include the following addresses:
- 829 and 925 Ridge Road, Boydton, Virginia: identified as (#2) in the map above; this 329-acre land parcel is located directly to the northeast of Microsoft’s existing Boydton campus
- 960 Prison Road, Boydton, Virginia: marked as (#3) in the map above; this 218-acre land parcel is located 1 mile southeast of Microsoft’s existing Boydton campus. As shown through satellite imagery, this campus appears to be under active development by Microsoft
- Highway 58, Boydton, Virginia: labeled as (#4) in the map above; this 179-acre land parcel is located directly to the east of Microsoft’s existing Boydton campus, as well as southeast of the company’s 829 and 925 Ridge Road land parcel
Additionally, the remaining 1,300+ acres that Microsoft owns in Mecklenburg County comprises land parcels primarily surrounding the town of South Hill, Virginia.
Microsoft Data Centers in Northern Virginia
Microsoft is rapidly expanding its data center presence in Northern Virginia, particularly, in the sub-markets of Leesburg (Loudoun County), Aldie (Loudoun County), Manassas (Prince William County), and Bristow (Prince William County).
Notably, Microsoft has established a self-imposed requirement for its data centers to be within 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) of existing data centers in their regional network. This means that for Microsoft to deliver Azure Cloud Services in Northern Virginia, the company needs to have data centers located within either Loudoun, Prince William, and/or Fairfax County.
Importantly, this 20-kilometer (12.5-mile) distance allows Microsoft to meet its service level agreements (SLAs) of latency, resiliency, and reliability to customers in the region.
Below we highlight Microsoft’s existing data center presence and ongoing development at its Northern Virginia sites in Leesburg, Aldie, Manassas, and Bristow.
Microsoft in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia
Microsoft Corporation owns over 323 acres of land located at 19515 and 19540 Compass Creek Parkway in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, on which it is developing a multi-phase data center campus. The Compass Creek Parkway property is situated east of the Dulles Greenway (Route 267), south of Battlefield Parkway, and west of the Leesburg Executive Airport – as outlined by the red line.
Microsoft Data Center Site in Leesburg, Virginia
Initially, Microsoft constructed two data center buildings, known as IAD01-1 and IAD01-2, which together comprise over 245,000 square feet. Microsoft’s two initial Leesburg data centers were built on the north part of the Compass Creek Parkway site.
Microsoft Data Centers in Leesburg, Virginia
Subsequently, in March 2022, Microsoft began constructing two additional data center buildings, known as IAD02 and IAD03, which will each comprise 245,000 square feet, and total 490,000 square feet, on the Compass Creek Parkway site. Also, two similarly-sized data centers, IAD04 and IAD05, can be built by Microsoft on the southern portion of the site.
Finally, in terms of power capacity, Microsoft is targeting 180 megawatts at its Leesburg data center campus. This figure is driven by the company’s forecasted growth of Microsoft Azure in the region over the next several years.
Microsoft in Aldie, Loudoun County, Virginia
Microsoft Corporation owns 67.1 acres of land located at 41840 Growth Mindset Lane (formerly 24282 Quail Ridge Lane) in Aldie, Loudoun County, Virginia, on which it is developing a data center campus in phases. Specifically, the land is situated in the Arcola vicinity, to the east of Quail Ridge Lake, to the northeast of Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway (Route 50), and to the northwest of Racefield Lane (Route 877).
Microsoft Data Center Site in Aldie, Virginia
Initially, Microsoft is constructing one single-story data center building, known as IAD11, which will comprise 244,713 square feet of gross floor area (GFA). While future buildings, to be named IAD12 and IAD13 will span 148,233 square feet and 102,022 square feet, respectively.
Overall, Microsoft’s near-term plan for the Aldie data center campus involves three buildings encompassing nearly 495,000 square feet.
Microsoft Site Plan in Aldie, Virginia
In mid-June 2022, Microsoft was issued a building permit to begin construction of IAD11 using Turner Construction Company. This building permit contemplates the construction of five colocation modules and one administrative building.
Microsoft in Manassas, Prince William County, Virginia
Microsoft Corporation owns 40.5 acres of land located at 11314 and 11318 Balls Ford Road in Manassas, Prince William County, Virginia, on which it is developing a data center campus. Particularly, the land is situated on the north line of Balls Ford Road, east of Jacksonville Avenue, and south of Interstate 66 (I-66).
Microsoft Data Center Site in Manassas, Virginia
Microsoft intends to construct two 3-story data center buildings, known as MNZ01 and MNZ02, which will comprise 623,360 square feet. Additionally, Microsoft is developing internal roads, parking, a pump station, an electric power substation, and a stormwater facility at this site.
Microsoft Site Plan in Manassas, Virginia
Finally, Microsoft has also received confirmation from NOVEC (Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative) that they will build a substation on-site to provide 96 megawatts of power for the Manassas data center campus.
Microsoft in Bristow, Prince William County, Virginia
Microsoft Corporation owns 83 acres of land located at 8008 Devlin Road in Bristow, Prince William County, Virginia, on which it is developing a multi-phase data center campus. Particularly, the land is situated south of Wellington Road, north of Route 619 (Linton Hall Road), and west of Devlin Road.
In addition, Microsoft owns a further 11.1 acres of land across the street (smaller red box) at 6651 Wellington Road and 7745 Piney Branch Lane in Bristow, Prince William County, Virginia.
Microsoft Data Center Site in Bristow, Virginia
Initially, on its main 83-acre land parcel, Microsoft intends to construct one 3-story data center building, known as MNZ03, which will comprise 250,000 square feet.
Microsoft Site Plan in Bristow, Virginia
Additionally, Microsoft is developing surface parking, driveways, retaining walls, stormwater management facilities, substation pads, and future MNZ04 and MNZ05 building subgrade pads.
Microsoft Azure Cloud Regions and Availability Zones in Virginia
Microsoft’s growing data center presence throughout South Central Virginia and Northern Virginia supports its cloud regions and availability zones in Virginia.
East US and East US 2
In Richmond, Virginia, Microsoft Azure operates its East US cloud region, known as eastus, which has 3 availability zones and was opened in 2012. Additionally, in Richmond, Virginia, Microsoft Azure operates its East US 2 cloud region, known as eastus2, which has 3 availability zones and was opened in 2014.
Azure Government
Through Microsoft’s Azure Government cloud service, the company operates, in Washington, D.C., its US Gov Virginia cloud region, known as usgovvirginia, which has 3 availability zones and was opened in 2014.
Also, in Richmond, Virginia, Microsoft Azure operates its US DoD East cloud region, known as usdodeast, which has 1 availability zone and was opened in 2017. Finally, in Richmond, Virginia, Microsoft Azure operates its US Sec East cloud region, known as usseceast, which has 1 availability zone and was opened in 2020.
READ MORE: Microsoft Azure – Regions and Availability Zones
Cloud On-Ramps
Cloud on-ramps facilitate private connections to cloud service providers, like Microsoft Azure, and allow enterprises to bypass the public internet to access cloud computing services. Microsoft Azure establishes its cloud on-ramps, which the company refers to as Azure ExpressRoute, in colocation data centers.
In Northern Virginia, Microsoft Azure has deployed cloud on-ramps at the following 3 third-party colocation data centers:
- Equinix DC2: 21715 Filigree Court, Ashburn, Virginia
- Equinix DC6: 21721 Filigree Court, Ashburn, Virginia
- CoreSite VA2: 12098 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Virginia
READ MORE: Azure ExpressRoute – Benefits, Pricing, Providers, Locations
 and Microsoft Data Centers in Virginia (2024))
