Eaton’s Guide to Buying a Rack PDU

Rack PDUs are often an underappreciated part of your server room, often being looked down upon as just fancy power strips. However, the moment you enter a data center with hundreds, or even thousands, of PDUs you will quickly realise the importance of these devices. In these scenarios having the right PDU can be a critical part in effectively managing your data center.

Before you go out and buy such an important piece of equipment, it’s important to know some of the top things to look for to ensure you find the right PDU to suit your needs!

 

1. Select your Rackmount PDU form factor

Before you start looking into different types of PDUs, it is important to think about what form factor will work best for your environment. If your rack space is empty, a 1U or 2U PDU may be a good fit. If your rack is already full, the traditional route of a 0U vertical PDU in the back will be a better choice. 1U horizontal rack PDU 2U horizontal rack PDU

0U vertical rack PDU

2. Select your PDU Technology

To know what PDU technology you’re after you will need to think about what level of control you will need on a daily basis. Your main choices will be between:
1. Metered PDUs
2. Managed PDUs
Metered PDUS are available as Metered Input PDUS with branch-level metering, or Metered Outlet PDUs that will provide outlet-level metering.
If you’re looking for something more advanced, the Managed PDU, or a Switched PDU, can provide remote switching abilities for each outlet alongside other outlet-level monitoring features.

3. Select your Rackmount PDU Input Cord

The power running through your PDUs will need to be enough to adequately power your whole data center. To find the right input cord and plug for the job make sure to find out how much power it provides to the rack alongside the total power consumption of your IT equipment.

Whilst its easy to forget, make sure to consider future growth and expansion within this stage. If you plan on growing your data center, make sure you design your power distribution plans to cater for this.

4. Select your PDU Outlets

Outlets will play an important role within this process, including the type of outlets as well as overall quantity. It is vital to ensure all your plugs have the right receptacle to ensure there is enough power for all of your connected devices. The key here is to have the right balance of C13 (15 amp) outlets and the higher power C19 (20 amp) outlets.

Select your PDU Breaker

The industry standard for rack PDU breaker protection is 5 kAIC, however Eaton also offers a 10 kAIC breaker and fuse options if you’re after something with higher breaker protection. These higher breaker and fuse options are part of their build-to-order High Density Rack PDU offerings.

6. Consider the PDU Operating Temperature

How hot is your data center? Location, amount of equipment, and current cooling systems will all play a role in the overall temperature of your data center. If you have a warmer data center it may be wise to invest into a higher operating temperature PDU to ensure your PDU and connected devices will operate at full functionality. Plus, PDUs with higher operating temperatures can help you save on cooling costs.

7. Take Advantage of PDU Colours

Have you ever had to configure IT equipment in the back of a dark cabinet? If you have, you’ll know that the right colour can greatly enhance your visibility. Eaton provide their PDUs in a range of colours to help make organising your server racks easier. Take advantage of their coloured sides to easily label and cable each side of your PDU for clear identification.

8. Consider the Ease of Installation

How much experience do you have in installing PDUs? Considering the weight of PDUs and mounting capabilities are both important before making a decision. Eaton offer tool-less mounting, low profile form factors, and a light-weight aluminium chassis to help make your PDU deployment as easy as possible.

9. Ensure Physical PDU Security

Any disruptions to your PDUs can result in problems to the entire data center. The best way to avoid this is to keep unauthorized users out and human error to a minimum. Using outlet switching technology to control the unauthorized use is a great way to keep your PDU safe whilst still enabling you to be able to turn your outlets on and off when needed. Using IEC outlet grips can also help reduce accidental disconnects caused by human error, as well as problems cause by the equipment vibrating over a long period.

10. Cybersecurity and Monitoring

How do you plan on managing your PDUs? Will you manage them remotely for multiple rows of equipment, or even across multiple sites? Eaton offers software solutions like Brightlayer Data Centers suite for distributed infrastructure to provide you with a method to remotely manage and control your equipment, as well as identify and fix issues before your equipment goes down.

Helpful Hints

If you’re looking for something simple across only a few racks, the Eaton Basic PDU range may be a good fit!

Always double check to ensure the length of your PDU line cord fits within the allocated space.

Shop Eaton ePDU Basic PDUs

The basic Eaton PDU models feature Eaton’s patented IEC outlet grip plug retention, color-coded outlet sections, and low-profile form factor, and are able to operate at high temperatures. They have been designed for reliable and cost-effective power distribution.

Features:

• IEC outlet eGrip plug retention: retains all standard IEC plugs
• Colour-coded outlet and branch circuits for simple load balancing
• Eaton Hydraulic–Magnetic Circuit Breakers with accidental trip protection
• Low-profile form factor: 52mm wide x 53mm deep x 704mm High
• 60 Degree C operating temperature
• Installation: Button mounting on rear & side + variable mounting system

Buy Eaton ePDU Basic

 

Shop Eaton ePDU Managed PDU

Ensure complete control and metering of devices with an Eaton Managed PDU. They include IEC Class 1 billing grade accuracy, advanced hot-swap meter with LCD pixel display, and the ability to daisy chain up to 8 PDUS together. Combine the functionality of the switched and metered Outlets into one PDU!

Features:

• Securely allows remote control and remote rebooting
• Input and Phase Metering, Circuit Breaker Current Metering, circuit Breaker status monitoring
• Level 3 PUE measurements
• Highly secure with user access control, password protection and SSL configurable to 1024 or 2048 bit
• Colour-coded outlet and branch circuits for simple load balancing
• Eaton Hydraulic–Magnetic Circuit Breakers with accidental trip protection

Buy Eaton ePDU Managed

 

Shop Eaton ePDU Switched PDU

Like the managed Eaton PDU, the Switched PDU also includes IEC Class 1 billing grade accuracy, an advanced hot-swap meter with LCD pixel display, and the ability to daisy chain 8 PDUs. With an Eaton switched rack PDU you can allow lights-out control of devices.

Features:

• Securely allows remote control and remote rebooting
• Highly secure with Admin controlling user access permission, password protection, and SSL configurable to 1024 or 2048 bit
• Sequence outlets to avoid in-rush current, to ensure equipment starts in correct order
• IEC outlet eGrip plug retention: retains all standard IEC plugs
• Eaton Hydraulic–Magnetic Circuit Breakers with accidental trip protection
• Graceful Equipment shut down via Intelligent Power Manager software

Buy Eaton ePDU Switched

 

Shop Eaton ePDU Metered Input PDU

Allow metering to the branch and phase level with an Eaton Metered Input PDU for effective load balancing without switching.

Features:

• Allows phase branch level metering for load balancing
• IEC outlet eGrip plug retention: retains all standard IEC plugs
• Highly secure with user access control, password protection, and SSL configurable to 1024 or 2048 bit
• Eaton Hydraulic–Magnetic Circuit Breakers with accidental trip protection
• Optional Temp/Humidity sensor
• Intelligent Power Manager software

Buy Eaton ePDU Metered Outlet

 

Shop Eaton ePDU Metered Outlet PDU

An Eaton Metered Outlet PDU allows for device-level metering over multiple power feeds. Clearly view and understand the consumption of individual devices and see what power you have available.

Features:

• Allows device level metering over A and B feeds (Requires Daisy Chained ePDUs)
• Highly secure with user access control, password protection and SSL configurable to 1024 or 2048 bit
• IEC outlet eGrip plug retention: retains all standard IEC plugs
• Eaton Hydraulic–Magnetic Circuit Breakers with accidental trip protection
• En masse configuration and update available via Intelligent Power Manager software
• Single Pane Monitoring via Intelligent Power Manager software

Buy Eaton ePDU Metered Outlet