Income Per Unit (Summary Of Basic And Diluted Earnings Per Share) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Income Per Unit [Line Items]
Net income available to common unitholders	$ 130,868	$ 58,339	$ 47,258
Weighted average units outstanding-basic	98,405,375	84,275,498	75,950,370
Weighted average units outstanding-diluted	99,169,749	86,013,471	77,020,890
Basic	$ 1.33	$ 0.69	$ 0.62
Diluted	$ 1.32	$ 0.68	$ 0.61
Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Income Per Unit [Line Items]
Net income available to common unitholders	$ 137,053	$ 61,745	$ 50,690
Weighted average units outstanding-basic	103,053,004	89,261,172	81,715,226
Stock options	187,834	201,704	138,944
Class C Units	15,050	97,761
Unvested incentive units	190,771	186,691
Excess exchange value of the 2026 Debentures	370,719	1,251,817	931,576
Weighted average units outstanding-diluted	103,817,378	90,999,145	82,785,746
Basic	$ 1.33	$ 0.69	$ 0.62
Diluted	$ 1.32	$ 0.68	$ 0.61