Rittal has now published a white paper which considers the role of power distribution units in cutting-edge IT infrastructures.

The recent, rapid increase in global digitisation has led to a steep rise in the numbers of companies installing new, more powerful IT systems to support their operations.

The new reality is that having access to fail-safe, secure IT has become an existential requirement for many businesses. And a key part of ensuring IT reliability is delivering a stable power supply.

The power source for data centre servers is taken from the mains supply, via into socket systems in the IT racks known as the power distribution units.

Power distribution units (PDUs) are becoming ever more sophisticated in response to the expansion of data centres, and the changing needs of operators. 

In part these are around budget management and expenditure; IT operating overheads are rising and optimising energy costs in data centres has become a key performance goal. 

But efficiencies and cost-saving measures must not cut across an overriding need to ensure a secure, year-round 24/7 service to support and underpin customer operations.

The new generation of intelligent PDUs form the basis of a safe, efficient and energy-optimised data centre operation.

They can monitor and control the power supply down to the level of individual socket outlets. They also support remote maintenance, are network-capable and provide an increasingly important role in energy management. 

Intelligent PDUs allow IT managers to not only monitor overall energy costs but they also identify where those costs are coming from and therefore, potentially, how to lower them.

All this data collectively builds a picture that underpins both the commercial success and the technical planning of modern data centres.