Income per Unit (Summary Of Basic And Diluted Earnings Per Share) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Net income available to common unitholders	$ 39,125	$ 101,728
Weighted average shares/units outstanding-basic (shares)	146,565,564	135,704,525
Potentially dilutive common units:
Stock options (units)	11,286	33,839
Unvested incentive units (units)	122,601	147,874
2014 market performance-based awards (units)	733,743	242,562
Weighted average shares/units outstanding-diluted (shares)	147,433,194	136,128,800
Income per share:
Basic ($ per share/unit)	$ 0.27	$ 0.75
Diluted ($ per share/unit)	$ 0.27	$ 0.75
Digital Realty Trust, L.P.
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Net income available to common unitholders	$ 39,788	$ 103,754
Weighted average shares/units outstanding-basic (shares)	149,047,798	138,406,993
Potentially dilutive common units:
Stock options (units)	11,286	33,839
Unvested incentive units (units)	122,601	147,874
2014 market performance-based awards (units)	733,743	242,562
Weighted average shares/units outstanding-diluted (shares)	149,915,428	138,831,268
Income per share:
Basic ($ per share/unit)	$ 0.27	$ 0.75
Diluted ($ per share/unit)	$ 0.27	$ 0.75