3 ms·
> At the point that Google's "bunch of cheap computers" was new It wasn't even new, people just don't know the history. Inktomi and HotBot were based on a flee
by jasonwatkinspdx 11mo ago
> At the point that Google's "bunch of cheap computers" was new
It wasn't even new, people just don't know the history. Inktomi and HotBot were based on a fleet of commodity PC servers with low reliability, whereas other large web properties of the time were buying big iron like Sun E10K. And of course Beowulf clusters were a thing.
And as far as I know, google's early ethos didn't come as some far sighted strategy, but just the practical reality of Page and Brin building the first versions of their search engine on borrowed/scavenged hardware as grad students and then continuing that trajectory.
- onecommentman 11mo agoThe “bunch of cheap computers” approach was being studied and implemented at the National Labs years before Google showed up. Revisionist history?
- jasonwatkinspdx 11mo agoNot revisionist I think just more that a lot of people first encountered the concept with the story of Google and don't know it had plenty of precedent.