Microsoft Mulling Portable Data Centers

1sockchuck writes "An architect of the Windows Live team has published a presentation advocating portable container-based data centers as the future of data center infrastructure. James Hamilton, who previously was GM of Microsoft Exchange Hosted Services, contends that a distributed network of unmanned modular units 'transforms data centers from static and costly behemoths into inexpensive and portable lightweights. ... Multiple smaller data centers, regionally located, could prove to be a competitive advantage.' Both Sun and Rackable have rolled out prototypes of container-based 'data center in a box' products, and Hamilton notes that large generators are also available in trailers."

Re:i seen a photo of Sun's

[MichaelSmith]

Sun had a shipping container that was painted black, i work for a construction company that has dozens of those shipping containers and they get hot as hell inside during the summer, who ever implements these things in a shipping container (especially black ones) better get a badass air-conditioner to keep those things cool...

The first job I had was building a portable data centre for the Australian air force. When operating in a remote area they needed a way to analyse all the engineering data from their aircraft.

Now for me, that made sense. The shipping container is a bad environment to work in but the military know how to cope with problems like that, and they have a genuine need for mobility.

These days for civilian applications it should almost always be easier to get a fast line to your site and use a fixed data centre somewhere, or a combination of systems.

The Sun (Microsystems) is rising...

[CoreTech]

With Project Blackbox [sun.com], it's obvious that Sun is paying attention to their customers. Need to expand the datacenter, but don't have the space? Use their portable container setup. It's sheer genius, esp. for emergency contigencies/disaster situations. If I were a CIO/CTO, I would be taking a SERIOUS look at Sun's product as part of my data/computing landscape.

(And no jokes about hijacking the container with a forklift or breaking into it... That's why you hire 24/7 security if the data is important to you.)

Microsoft seems hellbent on adding their marketing spin to the product arena. This is one instance where they need to SIMPLIFY their verbage. I'm sorry, M$ - I'm far more comfortable putting my IT folks on a laptop, managing a remote UNIX (Solaris) or Linux solution than a Windows-based setup. Not unless I want to keep sending my user to the container's locale every few days for one issue or another.

Microsoft needs to rethink their strategy here. I think Sun ($un?) got it right.

Re:What about maintenance and fixes?

[tomhudson]

It will certainly make it easier to hijack someone's "web browsing experience" - just hook a semi up to the trailer and drive away with it.

Adds a whole new take to "never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of backup tapes."