Amazon Bares Its Computers

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/amazon-bares-its-computers/

By QUENTIN HARDY
The New York Times
NOVEMBER 15, 2013

LAS VEGAS -- However big and ambitious you think Amazon’s plan to run the 
world’s computing may be, you should probably think bigger.

In a startling talk Thursday evening, a vice president who oversees the 
internal engineering of Amazon’s global computing system described how 
Amazon is building its own specialized computers, data storage systems, 
networking systems, even power substations and optical transmissions 
systems. In every case, he said, Amazon Web Services had developed ways to 
make its computers run cheaper and more efficiently than standard 
commercial products.

“We’re changing everything everywhere,” said James Hamilton, vice 
president and distinguished engineer at Amazon Web Services. “All of our 
engineers are focused” on reducing the costs of computing. He was speaking 
at Amazon’s second annual gathering of A.W.S. customers, partner companies 
and analysts, an event that drew 9,000 people.

For Amazon, which rarely talks about Amazon Web Services, it was an 
unusually frank and detailed explanation of a system on which the company 
is thought to spend perhaps $1 billion annually (Amazon officials would 
not confirm this number, but did not dispute it when asked directly.)

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