Vertiv has announced a universal rack power distribution unit that promises to meet the power needs of hyperscale, colocation, enterprise and edge deployments anywhere in the world, regardless of the existing power infrastructure. 

The new Vertiv Geist UPDU is being billed as a ‘significant reimagining of the rack PDU’, with a single, universal design with a universal input and detachable power cable. There’s a reason Vertiv wants to hone in on the word ‘universal’, as the company says that every model of the Geist UPDU can be used anywhere in the world. 

“Today’s data centre environments are complex and made all the more so because of differences in power architectures from country to country and region to region,” said Brad Wilson, vice president, global rack power distribution, Vertiv. 

“The Vertiv Geist UPDU eliminates some of that complexity with a technology designed for fast, easy deployment anywhere in the world, with the ability to adapt to changing business needs by increasing the available power capacity and upgrading intelligence.”

Vertiv came up with the design of the Geist UPDU thanks to the Open Compute Project, an open source grouping of companies that includes Google, Intel and Facebook. It created a universal design that is compatible with AC power topologies that are common worldwide, ranging from 16A to 60A, 100V to 415V, available in single and three-phase power configurations. 

The universal design of the Vertiv Geist UPDU allows users to swap out the detachable Facility Side Cable (FSC) to increase or decrease power availability based on changing IT power needs. Models are available in 11kW and 22kW max power load capacities in both vertical and horizontal form factors with various receptacle combinations and monitoring options.Intelligent models are equipped with embedded monitoring firmware and are compatible with all common management software, including Vertiv Environet. Vertiv offers additional services including rPDUs pre-installed in Vertiv racks and comprehensive support packages. 

The major benefit of Vertiv’s Geist UPDU is the fact that companies are able to procure the same system worldwide, reducing the complexity of inventory management and increasing the speed of deployment. What’s more, all models boast a built-to-order lead time of as little as 3 to 5 business days, and are available now. A select offering of the most common configurations will be available through the reseller distribution channel in early 2020, with models stocked locally.