Four tiers of rack PDU
Basic: reliably distributes power, with no measurement. Metered: reports total or per-outlet current. Switched: can remotely switch individual outlets. Intelligent: per-outlet metering and switching plus environmental sensors. A PDU distributes power to devices in a rack: the rack PDU takes one or more power sources and splits them across multiple outlets for servers, storage, and network gear.
Rack capacity is won and lost at the PDU
Rack power is a hard ceiling. Without per-outlet data, teams either underpopulate out of caution and waste capacity, or trip breakers from overloaded circuits. Intelligent PDU telemetry turns power planning from guesswork into documented planning — critical as AI racks push circuits to their limits. Key advantages: load tracking by outlet, PDU, and circuit; avoided overloads; reclaimed idle rack capacity; accurate data for PUE and energy reports; remote power-cycling to recover devices.