What is the ‘cloud’? Take a video tour of Microsoft data centers

August 6, 2011 Off By David
Grazed from Yahoo News.  Author: PR Announcement.

Just what is this “cloud” everyone has all of a sudden started talking about? “Cloud” this, “cloud” that; “cloud computing,” “cloud services.” Companies are hosting music “in the cloud.” People can save documents “to the cloud.”…

Put simply, the “cloud” is the amorphous “place” where your Facebook photos are stored or your Hotmail emails live. In extremely general terms, “cloud” can be synonymous with “the Internet.”

Because the “cloud” actually is an enormous, complex network of computer servers located inside giant, (often) state-of-the-art, warehouse-style buildings called data centers. And they’re often located in areas where electricity is cheap – like in Quincy, Wash., which is home to many company data centers, including two of Microsoft’s, because it’s so close to Grand Coulee Dam.

Microsoft recently posted a video tour of several data centers where the company stores the data and software for services like Hotmail, Bing, Xbox Live, Windows Live SkyDrive, Exchange and Office 365. You can watch the video via the YouTube hosted video below – which by the way – is also a ‘Cloud Service’…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOxA1l1pQIw&feature=player_embedded
 

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