Mor g a n C l ay p o ol Pu bl i she rs
&
w w w . m o r g a n c l a y p o o l . c o m
Series Editor: Mark D. Hill, University of Wisconsin
C
M
&
Mor g a n C l a y p o ol P u bl i she rs
&
ABOUT SYNTHESIS
This volume is a printed version of a work that appears in the Synthesis
Digital Library of Engineering and Computer Science. Synthesis Lectures
provide concise, original presentations of important research and development
topics, published quickly, in digital and print formats. For more information
visit www.morganclaypool.com
SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON
COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
Mark D. Hill, Series Editor
Series ISSN: 1935-3235
ISBN: 978-1-62705-009-8
9 781627 050098
90000
SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON
COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
BARROSO • CLIDARAS • HÖLZLE
THE DATACENTER AS A COMPUTER, SECOND EDITION
MOR G A N & C L A Y PO OL
The Datacenter as a Computer
An Introduction to the Design of Warehouse-Scale Machines, Second Edition
Luiz André Barroso, Jimmy Clidaras, and Urs Hölzle, Google, Inc.
As computation continues to move into the cloud, the computing platform of interest no longer resembles a
pizza box or a refrigerator, but a warehouse full of computers. These new large datacenters are quite different
from traditional hosting facilities of earlier times and cannot be viewed simply as a collection of co-located
servers. Large portions of the hardware and software resources in these facilities must work in concert to
efficiently deliver good levels of Internet service performance, something that can only be achieved by a holistic
approach to their design and deployment. In other words, we must treat the datacenter itself as one massive
warehouse-scale computer (WSC). We describe the architecture of WSCs, the main factors influencing their
design, operation, and cost structure, and the characteristics of their software base. We hope it will be useful
to architects and programmers of today’s WSCs, as well as those of future many-core platforms which may
one day implement the equivalent of today’s WSCs on a single board.
NOTES FOR THE SECOND EDITION
After nearly four years of substantial academic and industrial developments in warehouse-scale computing,
we are delighted to present our first major update to this lecture. The increased popularity of public clouds
has made WSC software techniques relevant to a larger pool of programmers since our first edition. Therefore,
we expanded Chapter 2 to reflect our better understanding of WSC software systems and the toolbox of
software techniques for WSC programming. In Chapter 3, we added to our coverage of the evolving landscape
of wimpy vs. brawny server trade-offs, and we now present an overview of WSC interconnects and storage
systems that was promised but lacking in the original edition. Thanks largely to the help of our new co-author,
Google Distinguished Engineer Jimmy Clidaras, the material on facility mechanical and power distribution
design has been updated and greatly extended (see Chapters 4 and 5). Chapters 6 and 7 have also been
revamped significantly. We hope this revised edition continues to meet the needs of educators and professionals
in this area.
The Datacenter
as a Computer
An Introduction to the Design
of Warehouse-Scale Machines
Second Edition
Luiz André Barroso
Jimmy Clidaras
Urs Hölzle
Mor g a n C l ay p o ol Pu bl i she rs
&
w w w . m o r g a n c l a y p o o l . c o m
Series Editor: Mark D. Hill, University of Wisconsin
C
M
&
Mor g a n C l a y p o ol P u bl i she rs
&
ABOUT SYNTHESIS
This volume is a printed version of a work that appears in the Synthesis
Digital Library of Engineering and Computer Science. Synthesis Lectures
provide concise, original presentations of important research and development
topics, published quickly, in digital and print formats. For more information
visit www.morganclaypool.com
SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON
COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
Mark D. Hill, Series Editor
Series ISSN: 1935-3235
ISBN: 978-1-62705-009-8
9 781627 050098
90000
SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON
COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
BARROSO • CLIDARAS • HÖLZLE
THE DATACENTER AS A COMPUTER, SECOND EDITION
MOR G A N & C L A Y PO OL
The Datacenter as a Computer
An Introduction to the Design of Warehouse-Scale Machines, Second Edition
Luiz André Barroso, Jimmy Clidaras, and Urs Hölzle, Google, Inc.
As computation continues to move into the cloud, the computing platform of interest no longer resembles a
pizza box or a refrigerator, but a warehouse full of computers. These new large datacenters are quite different
from traditional hosting facilities of earlier times and cannot be viewed simply as a collection of co-located
servers. Large portions of the hardware and software resources in these facilities must work in concert to
efficiently deliver good levels of Internet service performance, something that can only be achieved by a holistic
approach to their design and deployment. In other words, we must treat the datacenter itself as one massive
warehouse-scale computer (WSC). We describe the architecture of WSCs, the main factors influencing their
design, operation, and cost structure, and the characteristics of their software base. We hope it will be useful
to architects and programmers of today’s WSCs, as well as those of future many-core platforms which may
one day implement the equivalent of today’s WSCs on a single board.
NOTES FOR THE SECOND EDITION
After nearly four years of substantial academic and industrial developments in warehouse-scale computing,
we are delighted to present our first major update to this lecture. The increased popularity of public clouds
has made WSC software techniques relevant to a larger pool of programmers since our first edition. Therefore,
we expanded Chapter 2 to reflect our better understanding of WSC software systems and the toolbox of
software techniques for WSC programming. In Chapter 3, we added to our coverage of the evolving landscape
of wimpy vs. brawny server trade-offs, and we now present an overview of WSC interconnects and storage
systems that was promised but lacking in the original edition. Thanks largely to the help of our new co-author,
Google Distinguished Engineer Jimmy Clidaras, the material on facility mechanical and power distribution
design has been updated and greatly extended (see Chapters 4 and 5). Chapters 6 and 7 have also been
revamped significantly. We hope this revised edition continues to meet the needs of educators and professionals
in this area.
The Datacenter
as a Computer
An Introduction to the Design
of Warehouse-Scale Machines
Second Edition
Luiz André Barroso
Jimmy Clidaras
Urs Hölzle
Mor g a n C l ay p o ol Pu bl i she rs
&
w w w . m o r g a n c l a y p o o l . c o m
Series Editor: Mark D. Hill, University of Wisconsin
C
M
&
Mor g a n C l a y p o ol P u bl i she rs
&
ABOUT SYNTHESIS
This volume is a printed version of a work that appears in the Synthesis
Digital Library of Engineering and Computer Science. Synthesis Lectures
provide concise, original presentations of important research and development
topics, published quickly, in digital and print formats. For more information
visit www.morganclaypool.com
SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON
COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
Mark D. Hill, Series Editor
Series ISSN: 1935-3235
ISBN: 978-1-62705-009-8
9 781627 050098
90000
SYNTHESIS LECTURES ON
COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
BARROSO • CLIDARAS • HÖLZLE
THE DATACENTER AS A COMPUTER, SECOND EDITION
MOR G A N & C L A Y PO OL
The Datacenter as a Computer
An Introduction to the Design of Warehouse-Scale Machines, Second Edition
Luiz André Barroso, Jimmy Clidaras, and Urs Hölzle, Google, Inc.
As computation continues to move into the cloud, the computing platform of interest no longer resembles a
pizza box or a refrigerator, but a warehouse full of computers. These new large datacenters are quite different
from traditional hosting facilities of earlier times and cannot be viewed simply as a collection of co-located
servers. Large portions of the hardware and software resources in these facilities must work in concert to
efficiently deliver good levels of Internet service performance, something that can only be achieved by a holistic
approach to their design and deployment. In other words, we must treat the datacenter itself as one massive
warehouse-scale computer (WSC). We describe the architecture of WSCs, the main factors influencing their
design, operation, and cost structure, and the characteristics of their software base. We hope it will be useful
to architects and programmers of today’s WSCs, as well as those of future many-core platforms which may
one day implement the equivalent of today’s WSCs on a single board.
NOTES FOR THE SECOND EDITION
After nearly four years of substantial academic and industrial developments in warehouse-scale computing,
we are delighted to present our first major update to this lecture. The increased popularity of public clouds
has made WSC software techniques relevant to a larger pool of programmers since our first edition. Therefore,
we expanded Chapter 2 to reflect our better understanding of WSC software systems and the toolbox of
software techniques for WSC programming. In Chapter 3, we added to our coverage of the evolving landscape
of wimpy vs. brawny server trade-offs, and we now present an overview of WSC interconnects and storage
systems that was promised but lacking in the original edition. Thanks largely to the help of our new co-author,
Google Distinguished Engineer Jimmy Clidaras, the material on facility mechanical and power distribution
design has been updated and greatly extended (see Chapters 4 and 5). Chapters 6 and 7 have also been
revamped significantly. We hope this revised edition continues to meet the needs of educators and professionals
in this area.
The Datacenter
as a Computer
An Introduction to the Design
of Warehouse-Scale Machines
Second Edition
Luiz André Barroso
Jimmy Clidaras
Urs Hölzle
