Google: The Datacenter as a Computer
The data centers that power cloud computing services should be managed more as a simple computing entity and less as a group of discrete servers in order to support the increased use of online information storage and access, according to a recently-released Google white paper. With cloud computing functionality, the physical platform resembles a computing warehouse more than the traditional pizza box or refrigerator form factor. This is significantly different from older hosting facilities, and a modern large datacenter cannot simply be understood simply as a set of co-located servers.
In order to efficiently maintain high levels of Internet performance, a substantial subset of the hardware and software in a hosting facility must work together. This can only be accomplished through a holistic approach to the data center design and deployment. In fact, a Google white paper suggested regarding the data center as a single, massive warehouse-scale computer (WSC), where the Internet service is a program which may consist of multiple specialized programs that interact to provide complex end-user services such as email, search engines, or maps. Each of these specialized programs could be implemented and supported by a different engineering team, which need not be limited by organizational, geographic, or corporate boundaries.