Debt Of The Operating Partnership (Global Revolving Credit Facility) (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013 item		Aug. 15, 2013	Aug. 14, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility borrowing capacity			$ 2,000,000,000	$ 1,800,000,000
Revolving credit facility maturity date	Nov. 03, 2017
Number of extension options	2
Revolving credit facility commitments extension (years)	6 months
Revolving credit facility basis spread on variable rate	1.10%
Basis rate for unused portion of the credit facility	0.20%
Line of credit facility interest rate description	As of September 30, 2013, borrowings under the global revolving credit facility bore interest at a blended rate of 1.66% comprised of 1.36% (U.S. dollars), 1.60% (British pound sterling), 1.23% (Euros), 3.66% (Australian dollars), 1.31% (Hong Kong dollars), 1.22% (Japanese yen) and 2.32% (Canadian dollars). The interest rates are based on 1-month LIBOR, 1-month GBP LIBOR, 1-month EURIBOR, 1-month BBR, 1-month HIBOR, 1-month JPY LIBOR and 1-month CAD LIBOR, respectively, plus a margin of 1.10%.
Weighted-average interest rate	1.66%				2.05%
Capitalized financing costs related to global revolving facilities	17,600,000
Principal outstanding	498,082,000	[1]			723,729,000	[1]
Letter of credit security amount	20,300,000
Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member] | Prime Rate [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Interest rate basis spread	1.10%
Accordian Feature [Member] | Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility borrowing capacity	2,550,000,000
USD [Member] | Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.36%				2.05%
Variable rate basis description	1-month LIBOR
Principal outstanding	277,000,000				49,000,000
GBP [Member] | Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.60%				1.75%
Variable rate basis description	1-month GBP LIBOR
Principal outstanding	32,372,000	[2]			433,195,000	[3]
EUR [Member] | Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.23%				1.36%
Variable rate basis description	1-month EURIBOR
Principal outstanding	63,577,000	[2]			87,074,000	[3]
SGD [Member] | Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate					1.56%
Principal outstanding					26,191,000	[3]
AUD [Member] | Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	3.66%				4.42%
Variable rate basis description	1-month BBR
Principal outstanding	62,866,000	[2]			93,754,000	[3]
HKD [Member] | Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.31%				1.53%
Variable rate basis description	1-month HIBOR
Principal outstanding	40,034,000	[2]			34,515,000	[3]
JPY [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.22%
Principal outstanding	12,048,000	[2]
JPY [Member] | Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.22%
Variable rate basis description	1-month JPY LIBOR
CAD [Member] | Global Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Digital Realty Trust, L.P. [Member]
Debt of the Operating Partnership [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	2.32%
Variable rate basis description	1-month CAD LIBOR
Principal outstanding	$ 10,185,000	[2]

[1] Balances as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012 are as follows (balances, in thousands): Denomination of Draw Balance as of September 30, 2013 Weighted-average interest rate Balance as of December 31, 2012 Weighted-average interest rate U.S. dollar ($) $ 277,000 1.36% $ 49,000 2.05% British pound sterling (£) 32,372 1.60% 433,195 (b) 1.75% Euro (€) 63,577 (a) 1.23% 87,074 (b) 1.36% Singapore dollar (SGD) - - 26,191 (b) 1.56% Australian dollar (AUD) 62,866 (a) 3.66% 93,754 (b) 4.42% Hong Kong dollar (HKD) 40,034 (a) 1.31% 34,515 (b) 1.53% Japanese yen (JPY) 12,048 (a) 1.22% - - Canadian dollar (CAD) 10,185 (a) 2.32% - - Total $ 498,082 1.66% $ 723,729 2.05% (a) Based on exchange rates of $1.62 to €1.00, $1.35 to €1.00, $0.93 to 1.00 AUD, $0.13 to 1.00 HKD, $0.01 to 1.00 JPY and $0.97 to 1.00 CAD as of September 30, 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 $1.62 to £1.00, $1.35 to €1.00, $0.93 to 1.00 AUD, $0.13 to 1.00 HKD, $0.01 to 1.00 JPY and $0.97 to 1.00 CAD as of September 30, 2013.

[3] 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.