‘China’s Instagram’

 

Alibaba Cloud notches big with ‘China’s Instagram’ completing largest data migration

Alibaba Group Holding’s cloud computing arm is now home to 500,000 terabytes worth of data from Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu after what the companies called the largest data migration ever, a case that could enhance the leading position of one of the country’s largest tech firms in the domestic cloud market.

The migration of the 500-petabyte “data lake” – a repository that stores, processes and secures large amounts of structured and unstructured data – started last November, taking a year of 1,500 staff members from Xiaohongshu working with teams at Alibaba to complete, according to a statement from Alibaba Cloud. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

The data lake contains all the raw and critical data that Xiaohongshu has accumulated since it started operating 11 years ago. For context, one petabyte of data can hold around 11,000 4K high-definition movies, which would require more than two-and-a-half years of non-stop binge watching to get through – assuming an average size of 90 gigabytes and length of two hours per film.

The case marks a big win for Alibaba as cloud providers are racing to upgrade their data centres amid rising demand for artificial intelligence services. Alibaba is the largest cloud provider in China with 36 per cent of the market in the second quarter, according to Canalys. It is also the largest cloud provider in Asia-Pacific and third-largest in the world by revenue.

Shanghai-based Xiaohongshu is the largest lifestyle social media platform in China, boasting a monthly active user base of more than 300 million and growing rapidly in recent years. The vast amount of data it generates daily added to migration challenges that were “beyond one’s imagination”, Alibaba Cloud said in its statement posted to WeChat.

The scale of this project could bolster confidence in Alibaba Cloud after outages in recent years have dented its image. Outages in December 2022 and November 2023 took websites offline in Hong Kong and Macau, and suspended service on Taobao, Alibaba’s flagship shopping platform.

Alibaba Cloud said close collaboration, fast response times from teams and agreed-upon development standards contributed to the smooth migration, calling it a milestone for Xiaohongshu that allowed the social media firm to get a tally of all of its digital assets for the first time.

We are thrilled to extend a warm welcome to the China Scientist Awards!

Join us for the China Scientist Awards, a premier event in the realm of research. Whether you're joining virtually from anywhere in the world, this is your invitation to explore and innovate in the field of research. Become part of a global community of researchers, scientists, and professionals passionate about advancing research.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chinese research team creates tiny, wireless brain sensor

Image
  Chinese researchers have developed a sesame seed-sized, biodegradable and wireless brain sensor that could potentially transform the way brain conditions are monitored in patients with head injuries or tumors. The conventional method used to measure intracranial pressure, temperature and other brain health barometers is inserting a wired sensor into the brain. Implantation and removal of the device require surgery, and openings left in the skin during monitoring increase the risk of infection. To address these problems, researchers at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Hubei province, along with those from Tong Ji Hospital in the city and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, created a cubeshaped wireless sensor measuring 2 millimeters on each side. The tiny tube can be injected under the skull through a needle and operated through an external ultrasound probe, eliminating the need for invasive operations and preventing infections. Because the implant is
Read more

Drones soar into wider application in China

Image
  A staff member shows a drone at the First Jinjiang Trade Fair on Scientific and Technological Innovation in Quanzhou, Fujian province, April 9, 2024.  GUANGZHOU - Instead of checking her mailbox frequently for her university admission letter, high school graduate Wang Yunyi received it up from the sky. On Monday morning, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the first time delivered four college admission letters issued by the South China University of Technology to the hands of four students in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. The drone trip took about 30 minutes, covering 25 km, forming a new scenario for China's UAV application. "I was amazed to see my admission letter sent by a drone. It was like a movie scene coming to real life," said Wang. Guangzhou Post, the drone operator, has been delivering college admission letters for over 40 years, handling about 550,000 letters annually. "In the future, more students can experience technological advancement with their
Read more

Humanoid robot industry gains momentum, boosting China's economy

Image
  A humanoid robot welcomes guests at the reception desk of Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing on April 27, 2024. SHENZHEN - In an automotive factory, silver humanoid robots stride along assembly lines, conducting tasks once performed exclusively by humans -- from car scanning to seatbelt inspection and affixing labels onto vehicles. This is not a scene from a sci-fi movie, but a collaboration between UBTECH, a Shenzhen-based robotics firm, and Chinese electric carmaker NIO, highlighting the rapid advancement in China's humanoid robot industry. As competition intensifies among manufacturers, humanoid robots are increasingly being integrated into various sectors, with industrial applications leading the charge. Earlier this month, UBTECH announced it would work with FAW-Volkswagen, one of China's earliest joint venture automakers, to develop an unmanned car factory. This initiative aims to deploy UBTECH's industrial humanoid robot, Walker S, at FAW-Volkswagen's plant in East
Read more