Unboxing the New Server Tech HDOT Cx

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.

It is not often that we get the opportunity to take a first look at something that promises to be revolutionary.  This is the <yawn> data center equipment market, after all!    But the marketing claims were bold and direct: “High power densities and reduced cabinet space require new and innovative products like Server Technology’s own patented outlet technology that provides two-in-one Cx outlets for C14 and C20 cables.”

Patented?  Whoa.  Two in one?  I’m like, in!  Two for one?  BOGO??  Right on!  So, I took the bait and requested a demo.

The unit arrived in a fairly unspectacular fashion in a long 79” cardboard box.  The width of the plain brown wrapper answered my first question:  no, it was not two rack PDUs for the price of one.  This was clearly a single unit.  Not the BOGO I was thinking, but we’ll get back to that in a moment.

First, I carefully relieved the packing tape of its duties with a box cutter.  “Farewell tape, you fought the good fight.”  I then gently pulled back the lid and was immediately greeted by the familiar smell of high-end electronics.   The flash of the unit’s metallic skin was enticing.  Be still my heart.

I pulled back the packaging, and then I saw it.  I was like, are you kidding me?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Man, my heart was beating so fast and all I could think was, did Servertech just DO THAT?  How on earth did they JUST do that?  So, the big reveal:  the receptacle itself is the BOGO!    

What?

Staring back at me, unblinking, was the strangest set of receptacles I’ve ever seen – ever!  It looked like a madman took the standard C13 and just, well…toyed with it. 

The face of the standard C13 we know is serene.  Its three vertical slots are waiting, peacefully, for you to plug something in.  The Cx receptacle, however, stares as if to challenge you.  Its horizontal mouth appears to be smiling.  Its eyes, like the Cheshire cats. “Go ahead.  Take your best shot – I can handle it.” 

And it looks like it can.  What kind of madness possessed the engineers at that lab in Reno, Nevada?  Is it a C13 or a C19?  The answer to this question is YES. You can plug a C14 in today, or a C20 tomorrow.  Two receptacle types, one outlet.