Consolidated Income Statements (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Operating Revenues:
Rental	$ 820,711	$ 682,026	$ 507,545
Tenant reimbursements	211,811	178,081	125,136
Construction management	29,286	4,923	3,399
Other	902	371	1,062
Total operating revenues	1,062,710	865,401	637,142
Operating Expenses:
Rental property operating and maintenance	307,922	250,225	174,038
Property taxes	49,946	44,432	36,004
Insurance	8,024	8,133	6,111
Construction management	22,715	1,542	2,200
Depreciation and amortization	310,425	263,903	198,052
General and administrative	53,624	47,196	39,988
Transactions	5,654	7,438	2,177
Other	90	226	783
Total operating expenses	758,400	623,095	459,353
Operating income	304,310	242,306	177,789
Other Income (Expenses):
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures	4,952	5,254	2,172
Interest and other income	3,260	616	753
Interest expense	(149,350)	(137,384)	(88,442)
Tax expense	42	(1,851)	(1,038)
Loss from early extinguishment of debt	(1,088)	(3,529)
Net income	162,126	105,412	91,234
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(5,861)	(3,118)	(3,572)
Net income attributable to Digital Realty Trust, Inc./Digital Realty Trust, L.P	156,265	102,294	87,662
Preferred stock dividends/Preferred units distributions	(25,397)	(37,004)	(40,404)
Costs on redemption of preferred stock/units		(6,951)
Net income available to common stockholders/unitholders	130,868	58,339	47,258
Net income per share available to common stockholders/unitholders
Basic	$ 1.33	$ 0.69	$ 0.62
Diluted	$ 1.32	$ 0.68	$ 0.61
Weighted average common shares/units outstanding:
Basic	98,405,375	84,275,498	75,950,370
Diluted	99,169,749	86,013,471	77,020,890
Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Operating Revenues:
Rental	820,711	682,026	507,545
Tenant reimbursements	211,811	178,081	125,136
Construction management	29,286	4,923	3,399
Other	902	371	1,062
Total operating revenues	1,062,710	865,401	637,142
Operating Expenses:
Rental property operating and maintenance	307,922	250,225	174,038
Property taxes	49,946	44,432	36,004
Insurance	8,024	8,133	6,111
Construction management	22,715	1,542	2,200
Depreciation and amortization	310,425	263,903	198,052
General and administrative	53,624	47,196	39,988
Transactions	5,654	7,438	2,177
Other	90	226	783
Total operating expenses	758,400	623,095	459,353
Operating income	304,310	242,306	177,789
Other Income (Expenses):
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated joint ventures	4,952	5,254	2,172
Interest and other income	3,260	616	753
Interest expense	(149,350)	(137,384)	(88,442)
Tax expense	42	(1,851)	(1,038)
Loss from early extinguishment of debt	(1,088)	(3,529)
Net income	162,126	105,412	91,234
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests in consolidated joint ventures	324	288	(140)
Net income attributable to Digital Realty Trust, Inc./Digital Realty Trust, L.P	162,450	105,700	91,094
Preferred stock dividends/Preferred units distributions	(25,397)	(37,004)	(40,404)
Costs on redemption of preferred stock/units		(6,951)
Net income available to common stockholders/unitholders	$ 137,053	$ 61,745	$ 50,690
Net income per share available to common stockholders/unitholders
Basic	$ 1.33	$ 0.69	$ 0.62
Diluted	$ 1.32	$ 0.68	$ 0.61
Weighted average common shares/units outstanding:
Basic	103,053,004	89,261,172	81,715,226
Diluted	103,817,378	90,999,145	82,785,746