Video Demo of Microsoft's "Containerized" Data Storage

BDPrime writes "Michael Manos, Microsoft's director of data center services, shows a 3-D rendering of the company's upcoming containerized data center, which is like a facility full of shipping containers. He also demos Scry, Microsoft's internal data center analytics tool that lets the company monitor the data center's energy use, carbon footprint and power bill. There are a few companies out there that are now touting the data center in a shipping container. Sun was one of the first with its Blackbox, now called the Sun MD, while others include Rackable Systems' ICE Cube and Verari's FOREST."

Shortly thereafter

[Ethanol-fueled (1125189)]

Microsoft's new storage solution was put to good use [treehugger.com].

Michael Manos

[Megaweapon (25185)]

So he runs around Redmond wearing a black cape with red hands on them?

Manos? The Hands of Fate?

[eno2001 (527078)]

When is Ortega gonna show up?

Re:

[LMacG (118321)]

You mean Torgo? He watches the place while the master is away.

Still asking, who's gonna use that?

[Opportunist (166417)]

If data storage is about anything, it's trust. Now, who trusts MS? A company that has shown time and again that their primary concern is their shareholders, not their customers. A company that has shown time and again that their software cannot be trusted, neither on the technical nor on the personal level. And this company should handle my important data?

Care to tell me why?

Re:

[zappepcs (820751)]

This is a very important question. With the Whitehouse blaming MS Exchange for the loss of emails (at least in part so no need for flames as that is how joe sixpack will hear the news), the NSA backdoor through security, the high number of vulnerabilities, refusal to use ODF, closed source code, and any number of questionable business practices, it is quite likely that governments as well as big business will begin to question the wisdom of choosing MS to handle their data. This is doubly true if any F/OSS

Re:

[ChatHuant (801522)]

With the Whitehouse blaming MS Exchange for the loss of emails (at least in part so no need for flames as that is how joe sixpack will hear the news),

I will note though that joe sixpack doesn't even know what a data center is, much less needs one, designs one or does comparisons of various vendor solutions. So your argument doesn't really apply. If the designer of a data center is ignorant enough to miss the technical issues with the above-mentioned White House press release, and incompetent enough to us

Re:

[ProfessionalCookie (673314)]

Shareholders?

ok ok, just kidding

Re:

[Opportunist (166417)]

No, a valid point. Shareholders do put trust in MS, for the same reason they put a lot of trust into IBM in the 60s to 80s: It is a rock solid investment. Like it or hate it, but you simply cannot escape it if you need computers.

But here's the problem in this case: Shareholders don't buy MS products, they pump money into MS because they know MS products sell. And thus they won't use that storage system, or at least if they do, they do it as customers, not shareholders.

Re:

[1sockchuck (826398)]

The containers in the Chicago data center will be used to support Office Live. Since they're buying 220 of them, they must figure Office Live is gonna get some use.

Re:

[Opportunist (166417)]

It's a matter of trust. There are companies I do trust (to some extent), and others I don't. Mostly because of former experience.

Now, what do people think of when they think of MS? Rock-solid systems? Perfect support? Reliable announcements? Neither of the three, quite far from it. We're used to MS crashing (even people who are anything but geeks can identify a BSOD, it's not just something you may sometimes get to see when you are a driver developer), support personnell that can't even tell me the differen

great

[nguy (1207026)]

hardware: $1m

Microsoft software licenses: $10m

the feeling you get living inside the container to keep rebooting machines after BSsOD: priceless

Saw These

[WED Fan (911325)]

Saw these at a recent military based symposium in Redmond. It is an incredible idea. Picture a scenario where you need a self powered IT infrastructure immediately. Bring these in and you have everything a disaster area/forward operating base/remote research facility would need for connectivity and information.

Governments, universities, militaries, NGO's could all use them.

Can be shipped by air, over the road, rail road, and sea.

You want your Marines/rescuers/construction team on-site now with a full com

Re:

[berashith (222128)]

This may qualify as an incredible idea, but it definitely does not qualify as MicroSoft's incredible idea.

More of a "we can do that too" type of thing.

Re:

[Chris Burke (6130)]

Bring these in and you have everything a disaster area/forward operating base/remote research facility would need for connectivity and information.

Yeah, except for the massive power demands of an entire data center. You can't just plug the thing into a wall socket. Requires external cooling, too.

They're cool and all if you need to rapidly increase your capacity, especially if on a temporary basis, but when starting from zero, once you've built the infrastructure necessary to power/cool one of these, you m

Don't worry about hackers...

[Thelasko (1196535)]

worry about someone with one of these. [wikimedia.org]

Yikes

[hey (83763)]

A shipping container of Microsoft stuff. That's quite a bit more than I want!

A Look Inside Microsoft's Containers

[1sockchuck (826398)]

The Virtual Earth team is an early adopter of the Microsoft containers, and has posted pictures [datacenterknowledge.com] of what they look like on the inside. Note that they're using customized Forest containers [verari.com] from Verari Systems rather than Rackable or Sun (at least at this point).

Videos of Rackable, Sun Containers

[miller60 (554835)]

There are also videos available showing tours of the Rackable ICE Cube [datacenterknowledge.com] 40-foot container and Sun's Project Blackbox [youtube.com] (now renamed to the immensely more boring Sun MD) in a 20-foot container.

Finally

[tmk (712144)]

...a hardware solution even Windows Vista can't slow down.

Re:

[Ethanol-fueled (1125189)]

But they still need the back door for the BSA and the NSA.

Re:

[sm62704 (957197)]

There are a few companies out there that are now touting the data center in a shipping container. Sun was one of the first with its Blackbox, now called the Sun MD, while others include Rackable Systems' ICE Cube and Verari's FOREST

No, they weren't the first.

Oh you meant you. Ok then. I guess you innovated that comment!

Re:

[Ephemeriis (315124)]

I believe it is supposed to be read as scry [wikipedia.org].

Re:

[berashith (222128)]

wow, and your's qualifies as all three... troll, off-topic, and flame, with the added benefit of juvenile name calling.

Bravo!

Re:

[blhack (921171)]

Data center in a shipping container is hardly an original idea. Its one of those things that everybody thinks of on their own at some point. Not to mention the fact that just about every single spy movie ever made has got some scaled down version of one lodged into the back of a van at some point.

But thanks for the well thought out comment!