Rack PDU Blog

Leave it to Dilbert to remind us that the collective human effort known as corporate doesn’t always generate the best ideas when it comes to your data center. Not to worry: Server Technology’s data center power distribution units, from single phase to three-phase PDU(s), always have your best interests in mind. Take the newly launched HDOT Cx, for example. The new Cx outlet design provides 2 outlets in 1, which not only solves the ongoing issue of density but also provides future flexibility to swap out IT gear without swapping out your rack PDU(s).

It’s never a good feeling reading about a truly green data center, and then realizing just how far behind your own data center ecosystem is in its sustainability efforts. Take Google, for instance. On September 14, Google announced a new commitment to achieving “Zero Waste to Landfill” in its data centers. As Google Technical Program Manager Rachel Futrell explained on the Google Green Blog, Google is striving to divert waste away from its data centers in a sustainable way. Six of its 14 sites are now achieving 100 percent diversion rates. Globally, Google is now diverting at least 86 percent of waste away from landfills. And Google wants to improve these figures!

Kids these days. You’ve got to hand it to Gabby, that entrepreneurial citizen of Grand Avenue. She recognizes that as times change, it takes great ideas to meet the needs of your customers.

The following is an excerpt from an episode on the new YouTube channel titled ‘Unboxing the Data Center Smart PDU.’* Please be aware there are product spoilers in this post.

While the Server Technology engineers here in Reno are a little more on the ball than Frank and Earnest, the newly launched power distribution unit we’ve dubbed ‘HDOT Cx’ could arguably be a turning point in network PDU history.

In our previous post HDOT Success Part 2: Lessons Learned, we discussed the success of our HDOT High Density Outlet rack PDU, and how that success is based on listening to our clients and learning how we can help them get ahead of the power distribution challenges of the data center industry. In this blog, we will shift our focus and discuss the answer to the question, what is the next step in the evolution of the most popular intelligent PDU on the market? Server Technology is proud to say that the HDOT is evolving. The market challenges that were emerging when we started still exist today: high density three-phase power that needs to be distributed to the rack by an intelligent power distribution product that is customizable and readily available. Check. But how do you improve on that formula?

In our previous post HDOT Success Part 1: Staying True to our Vision, we discussed the success of our HDOT High Density Outlet rack PDU in relation to our mission statement to Stay Powered, Be Supported, and Get Ahead. In order to understand that success within the context of continuous improvement, we took a step back to look at the big picture. As a result of that process, we identified some factors that contributed to the popularity of the HDOT product family, and in doing so answered an important question: how do we improve the product and allow our customers to continue to get ahead? First, it is important to understand what HDOT is – and isn’t. The HDOT product is not a basic data center PDU, but rather a solution to the issues of density, planning, and power management. To tackle these basic issues, we offer the product in Switched, Smart, and POPS versions that allow you to control power and measure power at the rack. HDOT is also available with Alternating Phase Outlets to make power distribution and load balancing even easier.

Sometimes it is a good thing to take a step back and take a look at the big picture. For most of us, it offers opportunities: for reflection, to be reminded of what is important, and to refocus on the things that will make the biggest impact in our lives. For companies like Server Technology, the same holds true. We find that it is essential to take a step back and make sure that what we do day in and day out is focused on our core mission. For many of you, our mission statement is simple and familiar: Stay Powered. Be Supported. Get Ahead. But what do those words mean in light of our desire for continuous improvement in server power distribution? Here’s what we think.

We wanted to take a moment to reflect on the Labor Day holiday in the US. Today’s holiday celebration looks more like an end-of-summer poolside blowout, complete with charcoal grills belching smoke, water splashing, and American flags waving. Kids are back in school and summertime is officially over. The origin of the holiday was a little less about chillin' by the water with a beer and a hotdog and had a more noble goal: to celebrate the American worker, and the product that resulted from his labor. In the late 1800’s, the head of a then-new labor union proposed a day of rest for those "…who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

Recently, many customers have inquired about whether they should implement a Smart or Switched Rack PDU in their data centers. When looking at the two Servertech products side by side, they appear to be almost identical, since both products offer the following features: Branch circuit protection Input current monitoring Environmental monitoring Access, security and communications An expansion module There is one major difference, however, between Smart and Switched PDU(s): a Switched PDU adds the ability to turn power on and off on a per-outlet basis. Because of this, a switched PDU offers more control at the outlet where it’s being used. Conversely, a Smart PDU will provide the same level of critical power and environmental monitoring data but will not allow you to make changes to the outlet from a central location. Smart PDUs are mainly about monitoring and reporting, Switched PDUs add a level of command and control.