Rich Miller of Data Center Knowledge has put together a nice pictorial article documenting the "dramatic changes in web-scale data center design [that] can be seen in the evolution of the Internet infrastructure at Microsoft, which has been the leading proponent of deploying servers on pre-fabricated modules, rather than [in] traditional data halls."

See also: Options key to modular data center design

The photos in the article glimpse Microsoft’s process as it has gradually morphed in data center design from schemes employing traditional cabinets, to shipping containers, to custom modules that can live outdoors -- as seen in the company's newest data center campus in Virginia.

Full article:The Evolution of Microsoft’s Data Center Design (datacenterknowledge.com)

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