A device that is used to control the flow of electrical current in a data center is known as a power distribution unit or PDU. Large power strips that do not have surge protection are the most fundamental type of PDU. However, they are not equipped with any monitoring or remote access capabilities and are only designed to offer ordinary electrical outlets for data center equipment. PDUs with a higher level of sophistication have the ability to monitor in real-time and give remote access.
PDUs, which manage and distribute electricity, are often mounted directly into a rack where they are installed. It’s possible that the source of electricity is direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) (DC). It is possible for it to originate from a generator, a utility power supplier, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), or some other secondary power source. In addition, power distribution units (PDUs) are built for power requirements that are often significantly greater than those of power strips and surge protectors used in homes or offices.
Electricity distribution units ensure that the information technology infrastructure and data center of a company receives the necessary amount of power. PDUs are also utilized by businesses in order to monitor power efficiency and uptime. According to research conducted by Marketquest.biz, the size of the global PDU market is expected to reach over $1.6 billion by 2028, up from an estimated value of about $1.4 billion in 2021.
What do PDUs do?
PDUs, or power distribution units, provide much the same function as power strips, which is to say that they supply power to several devices at the same time. It is not possible to plug all of the equipment used in data centers and other industrial locations into a single power source. Simply put, there are an excessive number of them. PDUs, on the other hand, are responsible for distributing power to a number of other types of equipment, such as servers, computers, networking and storage devices, and telecommunications equipment.
In most cases, a single PDU is able to supply power to a maximum of eight different devices simultaneously. PDUs, or power distribution units, are designed to be installed in equipment rack enclosures so that they can provide power to rack-mountable pieces of information technology equipment like servers, switches, and routers.
These power units are also capable of providing comprehensive power management and monitoring from a remote location. For instance, the infrastructure management equipment used in a data center can measure the amount of power consumed by a PDU in order to determine the efficiency of its power utilization or to compile other statistics.
Depending on the brand and type, each power distribution unit (PDU) has the capacity to manage significantly more energy than a standard power strip. In most cases, they supply power to a number of separate equipment racks.
What are the different types of PDUs?
There are four different form factors available for power distribution units: rackmount, floor-mounted, cabinet, and portable.
- Rackmount PDUs mount straight to a rack for equipment. They can help with power load balancing and manage power to particular servers, switches, and other data center devices.
- Floor-mounted PDUs supply a backup power source and racks for data center equipment for a building.
- Cabinet PDUs are units with electrical panels that monitor power as well as main and individual circuit breakers. These are employed when a company has to supply electricity for numerous racks with numerous high-current
- Portable PDUs are lightweight, portable devices designed for home and business use by consumers.
