17 Aug In the new data center, it’s roofs off and taxes down
Data centers can be such touchy things.
Google and Microsoft continue to spar over both their data center designs and how much information they reveal about the inner workings of their vast computing centers.
In one corner, you have the do-it-yourself Google that builds its own servers and even switches. The homemade approach fits Google’s cultural belief that hand-crafting products to meet its unique needs makes more sense than buying general purpose computing systems.
No one really knows how effective Google’s strategy is. The secretive company releases precious little information about its internal operations. Maybe it saves vast amounts of money by fine-tuning a super-efficient data center. Or maybe the “must-be-invented here” method adds a lot of cost and complexity to Google’s infrastructure.
Microsoft doesn’t seem terribly worried about Google’s eccentric methods. It continues to buy systems from companies like Dell, SGI and Cisco Systems, as it builds out some of the biggest data centers on the planet.
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