As an IT buyer, you’ll likely want to find the best value when choosing the right PDU. A basic PDU provides reliable power distribution, while a smart PDU offers even more advanced features, including power metering, environmental monitoring, and remote outlet control.
1. What is the difference between a regular PDU and a smart PDU?
A rack-mounted power distribution panel or rack power distribution unit (PDU) is a device equipped with numerous outlets that distributes power to servers, storage devices, and network equipment located within data center racks or cabinets.
Leading analytics firm IHS categorizes them into two main types:
1) Basic PDUs, which provide reliable power distribution; and
2) Smart PDUs, which offer advanced features such as energy metering, environmental monitoring, and remote outlet control.
Smart PDUs can be categorized as follows:
a) Metering inlet PDUs
b) Metering outlet PDUs
c) Switch PDUs d) Switch PDUs with metering outlets
Each subcategory of the intelligent PDU has features that can help data centers reduce operating costs, increase uptime/availability, improve mean time to repair (MTTR), improve energy efficiency, and manage existing capacity.
2. Why is it important to choose the right PDU?
Seeking better long-term value
With IT buyers struggling on smaller budgets, lower price is often a decisive factor. Basic PDUs, with their lower retail price, seem like a more cost-effective option.
Others may not believe that the advanced features of intelligent rack PDUs offer added value, or their organization may lack the time or resources to benefit from them.
Therefore, many buyers opt for basic PDUs, even though intelligent PDUs can provide greater value and cost savings in the long run.
To understand why intelligent PDUs are a better choice, we must first examine the common problems they can solve.
The main challenges that almost all data centers face now
One of the most important goals of a data center is to ensure business continuity. Rack PDUs help achieve this by providing stable, reliable, and sufficient power to all the devices plugged into them—servers, storage, and network equipment. However, some other major challenges facing data centers must also be considered:
• Power capacity management and configuration
• Energy management
• Environmental management
• Physical and network security
• Computing capacity requirements
• Asset and change management