How Intelligent PDUs Play a Vital Role in Bitcoin Mining

Rick Gonedes
January 24, 2018

What is a Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system. It is the first decentralized digital currency, as the system works without a central bank or single administrator. The network is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary.

What is Bitcoin Mining?

Bitcoin mining is the process by which transactions are verified and added to the public ledger, known as the blockchain, and also the means through which new bitcoins are created.

A Miner, in Essence, Converts Electricity into Digital Currency

Bitcoin mining requires large, expensive machines with high compute deployments that compete to solve complex math problems in real-time. The participant who first solves the puzzle gets to place the next block on the blockchain and claim the rewards.

The computations get continuously harder, and so the servers used for mining are getting more advanced, based on GPU technology to keep up with the high amount of simultaneous calculations, which makes these specific servers more expensive as a result. The best ones cost thousands of dollars. Mining doesn’t require a person to be physically there to solve these cryptic puzzles—you can plug it in, download the proper mining software, and let it run; the machine does the work.

As the machines race to do their computations, they burn through a lot of electrical power, make a lot of noise, and generate a lot of heat—enough to heat your house in the winter.

Bitcoin mining “guzzles energy,” Wired declares. The process “uses more electricity than Iceland,” Digital Trends says. It “consumes more electricity a year than Ireland,” warns The Guardian.

That’s why energy efficiency is so important to these miners. The more efficient the miners' overall electricity use is, the better their profitability will be, and that's ultimately good for the success of digital currency, its users, and its investors.

Intelligent Power Distribution Units Make Mining More Efficient

North American Bitcoin mining typically relies on multiple, 30-amp connections. Running the electricity through power distribution units, or PDUs to optimizes the power currents. One 30-amp PDU, for instance, can keep four Bitmain Antminer S9 bitcoin mining machines running smoothly, but there are cases where higher amperage is required.

Now, is there any good reason to forgo regular PDUs and invest in intelligent PDUs? We think the answer is a resounding yes and here's why.

• Energy efficiency. Intelligent PDUs can increase energy savings even as they raise an operation's capacity.
• Remote control. Switch off outlets for security reasons, or shift them for optimal energy use. Manage individual outlets' power levels. Check environmental data from the PDUs and their connected devices. Reboot equipment. Do it all without ever having to make a trip to the data facility or “mining site”.
• Real-time power monitoring. An intelligent PDU will convey to the operator the precise number of amps used.
• Simplicity. Eliminate obstructive circuit breaker dog houses, fuses in storage, or the need to pay a licensed electrician to change the fuses.

See Raritan’s & Server Technology's PDUs at work in this Washington bitcoin mining warehouse!

You've Anticipated the Future of Money; Now Anticipate the Future of Your Business

Our open Xerus Technology Platform makes intelligent PDUs user-friendly, for better, smarter, and less costly mining management, predictions, and growth. Raritan PDU software comes with free, ongoing updates. Our embedded computing platform is integrated across all Raritan power products, designed for security and longevity. As your operations grow, and new features make sense, Xerus will continue to offer improvements to your system.

Ready to find out more? Visit www.raritan.com/px, email to sales@raritan.com, or call 1.800.724.8090.

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Sources:

• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bitcoin-mining.asp
• https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/01/12/behind-the-scenes-of-bitcoin-mining.html
• https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-mining-sucks-much-electricity-140843956.html