Power Capacity Planning With Intelligent PDUs

Jessica Ciesla
June 27, 2019

In recent years, energy costs have more than doubled for some data centers. As energy costs have risen, so to have the demands for power increased. The combination of rising energy costs and power consumption needs has led to new demands for more efficient power capacity planning. In fact, power capacity planning just might be one of the most important tasks that data center managers will tackle this year. 

Power Consumption Within The Data Center

In days long gone by, data center managers looked at energy management as a low priority. In fact, it wasn't until power consumption rose from 2.1kw per rack in 1992 to 14kw per rack in 2006 that data center managers started to sit up and pay attention. Fast forward to 2019 and the average power consumption per rack is now 16kw. With this in mind, data center mangers can no longer rely on nameplate power ratings for their units. Instead, they must move away from the mentality that "good energy management practices" are "good enough."

The reality is that the best power capacity planning practices must be leveraged, if data centers want to achieve the following benefits:

•    Reduce energy costs throughout the data center. 
•    Accurately analyze power trends for the entire data center (and at the individual rack level). 
•    Optimize rack level power for real-time results
•    Maximize efficiencies to effectively cool racks (as needed). 

If data center managers want to achieve the above benefits, then they need to accurately measure and asses the power demands of each piece of equipment with the help of Intelligent PDUs. 

How Do Intelligent PDUs Tackle The Power Planning Challenge?

Intelligent PDUs provide data center managers with valuable power consumption insights into any IT device, storage unit, or server. The latter insights, coupled with accurate historical data and trends, can help data center managers make more effective power capacity planning decisions. The beauty of an Intelligent rack PDU is that it can be controlled remotely, which means that data center managers can avoid the costly lag time between identification and resolution. Instead, through remote capabilities, data center managers will be able to make real-time decisions that effectively maximize the power capabilities of the entire data center. 

Improve Power Capacity Planning With The Help Of The Raritan Team

Whether you want to lower your data center's carbon footprint, reduce costs, or maximize energy efficiencies, the Raritan team is here to help you choose the right Intelligent PDUs. Raritan has a wide selection of high-powered, Intelligent PDUs that can be customized and delivered directly to your data center in three or fewer weeks. These engineered-to-order Intelligent PDUs will give you the real-time insights that you need to reduce downtime, enhance power efficiencies, and effectively prepare for a successful and profitable future. Contact a Raritan team member to discover how an Intelligent PDU can make smart power capacity planning a reality.

Source: 
https://www.datacenters.com/news/understanding-the-interplay-between-data-center-power-consumption-data-center-en