Power Distribution Units Include Security Features

Chatsworth Products' (CPI) intelligent eConnect® Power Distribution Units (PDUs) not only monitor power availability, energy consumption of individual IT equipment and provide environmental monitoring, but also address new challenges in security.

The overall rack power distribution market grew 4.7 percent, year-over-year, with the intelligent versions being significantly higher than that. As the need for data center infrastructure management (DCIM) continues growing, data center managers are making the shift towards intelligent rack PDUs.

With the rise in intelligent rack PDUs, comes new challenges in security. CPI's eConnect intelligent rack PDUs address security in several different ways: Onboard Web Interface -- supports HTTPS protocol, which uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to transmit and encrypt data. Centralized Management Software -- provide support for Standard Network Management Protocol (SNMP) version 3, which supports authentication and Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption. Text Based/Serial Communication -- supports Secure Shell (SSH), which provides remote login and other network services for secure operations. Local Display/Remote Interface -- Local Display should be used for monitoring only, while remote interface should be left for users to manage and control power, thresholds and more.

For additional security and accountability, eConnect PDUs maintain an exportable log of all major events, such as threshold violations, configuration changes and power control operations. eConnect PDUs also feature CPI's new patent pending Click Secure Technology, which allows locking outlets to prevent accidental disconnections.