Right now, "cloud computing" is the buzzword of the moment. This doesn't help create clarity when discussing exactly what it is. So, my definition is:
- an API to dynamically start, stop & manage instances
- per-CPU-hour and per-GB billing
But nobody has what Amazon has. Want 500 servers for an hour? There's no place else to go but Amazon. So, despite all the hype about cloud computing, right now there's only one real market player that has a developed, mature product, and that is Amazon. Nobody else even comes close, and that includes Google.
(And no, I don't own shares.)
I was reading an article about how MS are basically building their new datacenters around shipping containers full of server kit that were constructed directly by manufacturers in China or thereabouts. I can almost guess they've built a standard umbilical cable & docking mechanism for the containers for power, bandwidth & airco. Roboticise the docking/undocking, then all you'd have to do is have a small control center and a foreman to operate the gantry.
To get all hand-wavey, sci-fi and "thereof I cannot speak with clue" for a minute, assuming the containers are airtight, and given that they'll never be open to humans until it's time to scrap/recycle them, why not look at using CO2 as a coolant instead of standard air conditioning? Automatic fire suppression comes free. And given that CO2 is still a gas at -70°C, why not overclock your CPUs to increase your ROI (of course, the energy you spend on cooling and the reduced lifespan of your CPUs due to overclocking is an opposite factor).
If you scrub the CO2 from the atmosphere, and dispose of it safely, you may even make your datacenter carbon neutral and reap tax credits as an additional benefit... (coming soon to a cognizant country near you.)
Fna fna fna.