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November 2, 2009 at 10:48 AM

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Inside Microsoft's huge new Chicago datacenter

CNET's Ina Fried has the deep dish on Microsoft's new Chicago datacenter, which may be the world's largest.

Key features include a modular design with servers clustered in shipping containers:

"Each of the shipping containers in the Chicago data center houses anywhere from 1,800 to 2,500 servers, each of which can be serving up e-mail, managing instant messages, or running applications for Microsoft's soon-to-be-launched cloud-based operating system--Windows Azure.

Upstairs, Microsoft has four traditional raised floor server rooms, each roughly 12,000 square feet and consuming, on average, 3 megawatts of power. It's all part of a data center that will eventually occupy 700,000 square feet, making it one of the world's largest."

Here's her video:

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Inside Microsoft's huge new Chicago datacenter

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