Debt Of The Operating Partnership (Global Revolving Credit Facility) (Narrative) (Details) (Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member], Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member], USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Aug. 10, 2012	Nov. 03, 2011
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility borrowing capacity	$ 1,800,000,000				$ 1,500,000,000	$ 850,000,000
Revolving credit facility maturity date	November 3, 2015
Revolving credit facility commitments extension (years)	1 year
Revolving credit facility basis spread on variable rate	1.25%
Basis rate for unused portion of the credit facility	0.25%
Line of credit facility interest rate description	As of March 31, 2013, borrowings under the global revolving credit facility bore interest at a blended rate of 2.00% comprised of 1.46% (U.S. dollars), 1.37% (Euros), 1.56% (Singapore dollars), 4.32% (Australian dollars), 1.46% (Hong Kong dollars) and 2.30% (Canadian dollars), which are based on 1-month LIBOR, 1-month EURIBOR,1-month SIBOR, 1-month BBR, 1-month HIBOR and 1-month CAD LIBOR, respectively, plus a margin of 1.25%.
Blended interest rate	2.00%
Capitalized financing costs related to global revolving facilities	11,200,000
Principal outstanding	546,649,000	[1]	723,729,000	[1]
Letter of credit security amount	31,900,000
Accordian Feature [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility borrowing capacity	2,250,000,000
Prime Rate [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Interest rate basis spread	1.25%
USD [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Blended interest rate	1.46%
Variable rate basis description	1-month LIBOR
Principal outstanding	283,000,000		49,000,000
GBP [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Principal outstanding			433,195,000	[2]
EUR [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Blended interest rate	1.37%
Variable rate basis description	1-month EURIBOR
Principal outstanding	84,606,000	[3]	87,074,000	[2]
SGD [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Blended interest rate	1.56%
Variable rate basis description	1-month SIBOR
Principal outstanding	29,025,000	[3]	26,191,000	[2]
AUD [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Blended interest rate	4.32%
Variable rate basis description	1-month BBR
Principal outstanding	102,184,000	[3]	93,754,000	[2]
HKD [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Blended interest rate	1.46%
Variable rate basis description	1-month HIBOR
Principal outstanding	39,479,000	[3]	34,515,000	[2]
CAD [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Blended interest rate	2.30%
Variable rate basis description	1-month CAD LIBOR
Principal outstanding	$ 8,355,000	[3]

[1] Balances as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 are as follows (balances, in thousands): Denomination of Draw Balance as of March 31, 2013 Weighted-average interest rate Balance as of December 31, 2012 Weighted-average interest rate U.S. dollar ($) $ 283,000 1.46% $ 49,000 2.05% British pound sterling (£) - - 433,195 (b) 1.75% Euro (€) 84,606 (a) 1.37% 87,074 (b) 1.36% Singapore dollar (SGD) 29,025 (a) 1.56% 26,191 (b) 1.56% Australian dollar (AUD) 102,184 (a) 4.32% 93,754 (b) 4.42% Hong Kong dollar (HKD) 39,479 (a) 1.46% 34,515 (b) 1.53% Canadian dollar (CAD) 8,355 (a) 2.30% - - Total $ 546,649 2.00% $ 723,729 2.05% (a) Based on exchange rates of $1.28 to €1.00, $0.81 to 1.00 SGD, $1.04 to 1.00 AUD, $0.13 to 1.00 HKD and $0.98 to 1.00 CAD as of March 31, 2013. (b) Based on exchange rates of $1.63 to £1.00, $1.32 to €1.00, $0.82 to 1.00 SGD, $1.04 to 1.00 AUD and $0.13 to 1.00 HKD as of December 31, 2012.

[2] Based on exchange rates of $1.63 to £1.00, $1.32 to €1.00, $0.82 to 1.00 SGD, $1.04 to 1.00 AUD and $0.13 to 1.00 HKD as of December 31, 2012.

[3] Based on exchange rates of $1.28 to €1.00, $0.81 to 1.00 SGD, $1.04 to 1.00 AUD, $0.13 to 1.00 HKD and $0.98 to 1.00 CAD as of March 31, 2013.