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How Google Routes Around Outages

Posted by timothy on from the retrains-pigeons dept.

1sockchuck writes "Making changes to Google's search infrastructure is akin to 'changing the tires on a car while you're going at 60 down the freeway,' according to Urs Holzle, who oversees the company's massive data center operations. In a Q-and-A with Data Center Knowledge, Holzle discusses Google's infrastructure, how it has engineered its system to route around hardware failures, and how it responds when something goes awry. These updates usually go unnoticed, but during system maintenance last month a software bug triggered an outage for Gmail."

12 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. Just me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Was it just me or did anyone else spend a few minutes contemplating how you actually could make a car that did allow you to change a flat while moving?

    1. Re:Just me? by esocid · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just you. I kept thinking about how I could use a car metaphor to describe how google...oh wait.

      --
      Absolute power corrupts absolutely. indymedia
    2. Re:Just me? by Slumdog · · Score: 5, Funny

      Just you. I kept thinking about how I could use a car metaphor to describe how google...oh wait.

      I kept thinking about derailing a car, before I realized I was on the wrong track.

      --
      FreeBSD bounties
    3. Re:Just me? by tux0r · · Score: 5, Funny

      I kept thinking about derailing a car, before I realized I was on the wrong track.

      I was going to reply about mixing metaphors, but then I lost my train of thought.

      --
      ( Redundancy is ) ^ n
    4. Re:Just me? by moxley · · Score: 2, Funny

      What are you talking about? I'm in America, and we need to find someone to blame for the flat first....

      Then, maybe we can fix it..Got any nails and a hammer?

  2. I know! I know! Pick Me!!! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Funny

    It just treats the damage as censorship and routes around it, right?

    1. Re:I know! I know! Pick Me!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      It treats the routes as damage and censors them.

    2. Re:I know! I know! Pick Me!!! by fulldecent · · Score: 4, Funny

      It treats the censors as routes and damages them?

      --

      -- I was raised on the command line, bitch

  3. Video of the car analogy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Excellent use of the car analogy, especially since it is possible to change a tire while driving a car. Youtube video at 1:48.

    Slightly..ahem... OT so posting anon.

  4. Re:nothing by Yetihehe · · Score: 2, Funny

    Analizing the reason first is a very good step. It could have saved me two hours today :/

    --
    Extreme Programming - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Developers
  5. Re:Google File System Paper by SeePage87 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why would we need a more in-depth description? We already got our car metaphor!

  6. Re:Simple, really... by SeePage87 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bollocks! I tried learning from my mistakes once, and boy did that ever turn out bad. Now I know better than to try that again.