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Microsoft Responds to Container Skepticism

Mike Manos has responded to last week's ComputerWorld article critiquing Microsoft's approach to data center containers.

Microsoft data center executive Mike Manos has responded to last week's ComputerWorld article outlining the reasons Microsoft's approach to installing data center equipment in shipping containers won't work. Manos has published a post on his Random Thoughts blog (link via Dave Ohara) addressing the challenges outlined in Eric Lai's story "6 reasons why Microsoft's container-based approach to data centers won't work." Here's an excerpt:

My first response was "only six"? You only found six reasons why it won't work? Internally we thought of a whole lot more than that when the concept first appeared on our drawing boards. ... Ultimately, containers are but the first step in a journey which we intend to shake the industry up with. If the thought process around containers scares you then, the innovations, technology advances and challenges currently in various states of thought, pilot and implementation will be downright terrifying. I guess in short, you should prepare for a vigorous stirring of the anthill.

That's a summary of a long, detailed post that addresses each of the issues raised by ComputerWorld and provides Microsoft's views and solutions. If you're interested in data center containers, it's a worthwhile read.