Servers inside Microsoft's Chicago data center

Looking to expand its footprint in Web services, Microsoft has opened one of the largest data centers in the world in Chicago. The 700,00 square foot facility -- which follows the grand opening of a Dublin, Ireland data center facility last week -- uses massive shipping containers to house 1,800 to 2,500 servers each, writes Microsoft's Arne Josefsberg in a blog post.

The news -- first reported by Mary Jo Foley -- is significant given that Microsoft in August announced plans to move Windows Azure applications out of the Quincy, Washington data center due to a "change in local tax laws."

That decision by Microsoft prompted a debate on TechFlash about Washington's tax policy and Microsoft's corporate role in the state.

While much of the development on Microsoft's Web services platform, Azure, will occur in the state, the actual hosting and delivery of those applications will take place elsewhere.

The Chicago facility has other interesting features, including new technologies to reduce the building's power consumption. Josefsberg writes:

Containers provide further environmental benefits in that they don’t require additional packaging materials or external form factors for the thousands of servers that they house. They also require less cabling and other equipment that all add up to unnecessary waste in traditional data center designs. Containers are also a very efficient way to quickly deploy capacity. Another best practice we are using in Chicago is water-side economization, which enables us to cool the facility without requiring the high levels of electricity typically needed to power large chillers.

It is also pretty interesting to watch the installation of the shipping containers -- a familiar sight for anyone who has driven along the Seattle waterfront -- being used in this capacity. See video below:

Microsoft Chicago Data Center Container Bay