Companies are now powering up their data centers with the recent developments in technology. They utilize power strips and PDU’s. There are now server rack mount power strips that can accommodate 15 – 30 amps. The PDUs will help the companies to oversee the operation of the equipment and these PDUs can give surge protection for the equipment. The huge selection of the best quality rack mountable power strips as well as PDUs has been recently proven to give successful results amidst demanding environments.
The basic power strips can efficiently come in two basic types: surge & non-surge protected. If an engineer will try to plug the power strips in the UPS, the engineer would really want to have a non-surge protected power strip. The UPS will give surge protection for the equipment. It is very vital to know that it is dangerous to plug a power strip that is surge protected into the UPS.
With this in mind, the power strips can come in two basic orientations: the vertical and horizontal one. The use of any of these came from pure preference of the engineer. Usually, the businesses want the vertical strips one because this can be used for taller cabinets. These power strips can also allow easy access to receptacles.
The horizontal rack power strips offers more options that includes the pilot light, digital ammeter, as well as the surge protection. The basic types of power strips can be used for 15-20 amps. The vertical power strips can be successfully mounted on the rack by just using a simple clip.
Even if there are people who would prefer to use the terms PDU and power strips interchangeably, the main difference of PDU to a power strip is that the former has an additional functionality compare to the latter. There are functions that also includes remote or local monitoring. There can also be a remote management of the power strip.
With this in mind, the industry uses the terms basic, metered, monitored, and switched for the PDUS. There are some server racks that has PDU that comes with dual circuit. This only means that there will be two identical power circuits in the power strips. This is the best design for equipment that has existing redundant power supplies.
Today, PDUs are widely available in several range of amperages, and it can range from 15 to 60 amps. This can both exist in the single-phase up to three phase. The majority of the small and mid-sized buildings used for commercialism utilizes the single-phase power. Whilst the three-phase one is more commonly seen in much larger commercial and industrial facilities – even data centers.