Microsoft(s msft) is ripping a page out of its own playbook with the launch of what it calls the, “Cloud OS” network of some 30 partners — cloud providers, telcos, hosting companies — that will run data centers that will work smoothly with Microsoft’s public Azure cloud.

The deal is that these partners will be running Windows Server 2012 R2, Systems Center 2012 R2 and Windows Azure Pack — a configuration that mirrors the Windows Azure that Microsoft runs in its own data centers. Participants include OVH.com, T-Systems, Fujitsu, iWeb, Dimension Data, CSC, and Capgemini.

Microsoft built its franchise with a large network of reseller, ISV, hosting and other partner types and often calls up that army to fend off rivals. The keynote plea COO Kevin Turner made to attendees of the Microsoft Partner Conference to beat back Google(s goog) incursions a few years back had to be heard to…