PDUs Enhance Data Center Power Monitoring and Measurement

Eaton Corp. today announced new metered outlet power measurement capabilities for data centers with its best-in-class ePDU® third-generation (G3) platform in the Americas. Providing capabilities to monitor and measure critical factors such as voltage, current and power consumption, Eaton's latest rack power distribution units (PDUs) help information technology (IT) and data center managers conserve energy with one percent billing grade accuracy at the outlet level.

Eaton’s newest offering is especially beneficial for colocation data centers and other mission-critical facilities that require the benefits of outlet level monitoring without an outlet switching component. Eaton’s metered outlet, metered input and managed models also feature a new daisy-chain function that allows up to eight ePDUs to share the same network connection and IP address, providing up to an 87.5 percent reduction in network infrastructure costs. This feature is also available for existing installations through a free firmware update.

“Eaton’s metered outlet models build on Eaton’s existing ePDU G3 platform, driving business value for end users with more precise power management and measurement capabilities at the outlet level,” said Hervé Tardy, vice president and general manager, Eaton’s Distributed Power Quality Division. “Providing advanced power monitoring functions and the flexibility to maximize network connectivity, Eaton’s latest offering can allow data centers to achieve significant cost savings and reduce the time needed to manage their power infrastructure.”

Network connected ePDU G3 models are optimized to work with Eaton’s Intelligent Power Manager software, offering end-users an integrated power management platform to monitor multiple units through virtualization systems like VMware® vCenter Server™. Eaton’s ePDU G3 Metered Outlet and Managed models are designed to allow data center and IT managers to precisely measure power consumption at individual outlets for full-power utilization. With the capability to hone in on energy usage, data centers can make decisions that will help reduce power consumption, such as moving low utilized servers to another virtual machine.

With ePDU G3 Metered Outlet and Managed models, data centers gain the capability to meter power at the outlet level, which is the innovative functionality needed for accurate Level 3 power usage effectiveness (PUE) calculations. Eaton’s ePDU G3 platform also offers a hot-swap network module so that users can replace the module without shutting down servers; therefore, maintaining business continuity and enhancing serviceability.