3 ms·
Altavista started in a DEC mainframe. Google architecture (and Amazon) was forced because a powerful constrain: some time ago they didn't have enough money.
by estebarb 6y ago
Altavista started in a DEC mainframe. Google architecture (and Amazon) was forced because a powerful constrain: some time ago they didn't have enough money.
- kstrauser 6y agoGiven the size of the web back then, running Altavista on a mainframe made sense. But how many exabytes can you stuff into any small collection of units today if you wanted to? Even today, reading the specs for the unit mentioned in the linked article, I’d have a hard time imagining running the Amazon.com website off a single mainframe. The shopping cart? Sure. The funny matching like “pjama wih ft” showing me “pajamas with feet”? I’d hate to be the one who had to power a million of those per second.