A massive internet outage stemming from errors in Amazon cloud services on Monday morning demonstrated just how many people rely on the corporate behemoth’s computational infrastructure everyday — and laid bare the vulnerabilities of an increasingly concentrated system.

But despite it’s omnipresence, most users don’t know what — or where — the cloud is.

Here is what to know about the data centers in Northern Virginia where the outage originated, and what the malfunction reveals about a rapidly evolving industry.

Renting internet infrustructure

Cloud computing is a technology that allows companies to remotely access massive computing equipment and services without having to purchase and maintain physical infrastructure.

In other words, businesses ranging from Snapchat to McDonald’s e

See Full Page