As data center managers and operators strive to meet the rising global demand for compute power, rack densities are increasing to an average of 8-10kW. This growth requires more robust Power Distribution Units (PDUs) and stringent monitoring to ensure efficient power management.
Why Intelligent PDUs Are Essential for Modern Data Centers
Rack-mount PDUs are an established solution for distributing power into equipment racks. And in today's remote working reality, intelligent PDUs with monitoring and switching capabilities have become essential. Here's why:
- Enhanced Efficiency: Advanced power-hungry equipment requires PDUs that enable monitoring and control down to the outlet level, helping IT professionals optimize power usage.
- High-Density Support: Intelligent PDUs can handle cabinets with 1U or 2U servers, server chassis, or networking switches.
- Three-Phase Power Distribution: Distributing three-phase power to racks reduces the number of PDUs needed while ensuring load balancing.
- Precise Power Monitoring: Monitoring power at the rack or input level provides data center operators with critical insights to prevent outages and improve energy efficiency.
Benefits of Intelligent Power Management
Power management in the white space, particularly inside a cabinet, is critical to ensure availability of all IT applications, as well as to minimize the overall energy footprint of the data centre. Additionally, with efficient power management, it is possible to boost operational efficiency by managing and monitoring power at the rack and device level. Here are a few recommended best practices for achieving this:
- Monitoring Equipment Utilization: Monitoring of voltage, power and current down to the outlet level provides visibility into the total power consumption for each piece of IT equipment, so data centre managers can see exactly from where power is being drawn.
- Managing Operating Conditions: Hotspots within cabinets are a common cause of equipment downtime. Temperature levels within the white space have a strong correlation to overall energy consumption within the data centre. Having the ability to measure and track inlet and outlet temperature levels at the rack level can help identify servers running ineffectively, aiding load balance and keeping costs in line.
- Responding to Issues in Real Time: You can quickly identify and resolve issues with real-time monitoring to maintain operational continuity.
- Minimizing Power Consumption: Remote outlet control allows unused outlets to be turned off and power to be cycled to hung equipment to better manage at rack level. There are several types of relays used within PDUs to control outlet state. B-stable latching relays recycle power to outlets, helping to maintain PDU efficiency levels. They also allow outlets to maintain state after a power event, while ensuring basic power distribution to an outlet is not compromised.
- Prioritizing Security: Ensure enterprise authentication and secure communication: Implement enterprise authentication and secure communication to protect sensitive data and prevent security breaches.
Experience the Difference with Chatsworth Products' Intelligent PDUs
Chatsworth Products' provide advanced features such as remote monitoring, outlet-level switching, and environmental monitoring. These capabilities enhance power distribution, improve energy efficiency, and ensure uptime, even in high-density environments.
Editor's Note: This blog is an excerpt from the May 2022 issue of Inside Networks. To dive deeper into strategies for efficient power management,
