New range of PDUs available from May 1, 2020

It is no longer a secret that in the coming years data volumes will grow exponentially. Modern data centers and server rooms house much of these volumes and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of hardware and software. Power costs quickly run into the tens of thousands of dollars per year. So it is not surprising that the demand for energy-efficient solutions is increasing and a solution is being sought to ensure operational security.

Lower management cost

Every data center has its own specific requirements for power distribution. Therefore, Rittal has introduced five new, compact PDUs: the PDU Basic, PDU metered, PDU metered +, PDU switched and PDU managed. Each of the different models has its own area of application and several common qualities. PDUs were initially introduced to the market due to the increasing demand for an easy-to-install and compact power supply in the rack. The PDU basic delivers a robust and compact basic power distribution for the IT environment. The socket strip connects easily and is immediately ready for use. This easy configuration and flexibility translate immediately into lower management costs.

Protection hardware and software

The new PDUs also address the need to protect the often very expensive hardware and software in modern data centers and server rooms. In addition to reliable protection against unauthorized use by covering unused outlets, the PDU metered it is also possible to manage a clear web interface via an Ethernet connection. This allows the power data of an entire IT rack to be monitored. The PDU metered + goes a step further with the ability to measure not only power per phase, but also per pitch. With the PDU switched individual outputs can then be switched on and off again via a Web interface.

"The new series of PDUs offers a lot of functionality. For example, an alarm can signal when a certain threshold of power consumption is exceeded," says Koen Van Hende, Product Manager at Rittal Belgium. "The person in charge can make the necessary changes, both on site and remotely. In this way, an unexpected failure can be prevented and damage to hardware or software is avoided. In turn, other sensors monitor temperature, humidity, access control, etc."

Minimal power consumption

Specially designed for high-end IT racks, the PDU managed a power distribution system with energy measurement and monitoring functions for each individual outlet. These functionalities turn the PDUs into "intelligent sockets. Not only voltage, current, and effective and apparent power can be measured, but also energy consumption. In addition, the bistable relays keep the power consumption of the PDU itself as minimal as possible.

"Low energy consumption starts with an optimally calculated power supply," says Koen Van Hende. "An analysis can be made by measuring the energy consumption for each slot. If this runs too high, the customer can ask himself whether the power costs of the current device outweigh the cost of purchasing a new, more energy-efficient device. Thus, our intelligent power distribution systems help monitor energy efficiency in the data center and optimize the effective power consumption of data centers."

Availability

The five new PDUs will be available from May 1, 2020. The series will also be on display at Rittal's booth during Infosecurity.be, the ICT trade show, on September 9 and 10, 2020 in Brussels Expo. Several experts from Rittal will be present to demonstrate the new generation of PDUs. It is possible to visit the fair free of charge by registering via this link.