iX7™ Controller Video

Rack PDU Controller for Hyperscale Data Centers, Lab Applications, and More...

In the video below, we sit down with Raritan’s Global Technical Product Manager, Paul Mott, to talk about all the features and benefits of Raritan’s rack PDU controller built to service large-scale data center operations, smaller specialized lab applications, and more.

 

Learn More


Transcript:
Hey guys, it's Jess, and today I'm back with Raritan's technical product manager, Paul Mott, for another video.

In today's video, we'll be doing a brief overview of our iX7 controller. So, let's get started.

Sure! Thanks, Jess. So, this is a Raritan demo PDU. We typically use this to demonstrate all the different features and functions.

We're gonna be focusing on this part of the product today, which is the iX7 controller.

So, the intelligent PDU controller really is the brain of the intelligent PDU, and it allows you to connect things, like Ethernet cables and peripheral devices, to enable all types of different functionality.

So, on our design, we have a hot swappable capability on our 0U models, which allow you to remove the controller if you need to service it, and you can do it in a way that's safe because the cab —the compartment— is isolated, and we have a single wire connector design.

Now the controller can do a number of other things, which we'll take a little bit of a closer look at right now.

First, we have our LCD display and button interface.

Now, the LCD is a full color, dot matrix type of screen, and it allows a user to understand a number of pieces of information about the PDU.

We can display things like: critical alerts; voltage; current; and we can understand what types of devices are also connected to the PDU.

Now the LCD display also allows a user to scroll through a number of different menus using the buttons so that they can access information about the PDU such as connected devices, outlet States, attached peripherals, and network information.

Next to the LCD display are two buttons. One is labeled reset — pressing this resets the controller.

The second button is for disaster recovery purposes — this button should only be used when directed so by tech support.

Next up is our dual Ethernet interface.

On each iX7 controller, we have two Ethernet ports, one of them with gigabit — this allows a user to connect to two separate networks, or it allows the ability to connect up to 16 PDUs together using Ethernet cascading.

So I noticed there's a lot of USB ports on our controller — why is that?

Yeah, that's a good question. So, we have both A- and B-type USB ports, and each one of them has a specific purpose.

So, let's take a closer look to see why that is.

Every iX7 controller has two USB-A ports and one USB-B port.

The USB-A ports can be used for cascading PDUs, similar to that of Ethernet cascading, for connecting Wi-Fi dongles and peripheral devices such as webcams, and it can also be used for upgrading firmware.

The USB-B port is primarily for a direct serial connection for troubleshooting, maintenance, & administration purposes.

The red-colored RJ45 port on the iX7 controller is the FEATURE port. The FEATURE port is used for Raritan's Asset Management solution — it's a flexible modular system that allows tracking of individual assets down to the RU level, and there are even options for complex assets like blade servers.

Below the FEATURE port is a blue-colored RJ45 port — this is for CONSOLE/MODEM purposes.

It can be used as a general serial interface for connecting other systems to computers, but it's primarily used for attaching a power sim that can be linked to KVM products.

The gray colored port is the EXPANSION port — this is specifically for the power sharing feature, which allows two PDU controllers to be linked together for power redundancy purposes.

Last is the yellow-colored SENSOR port — this allows for the connection of multiple types of Raritan smart sensors.

Most common are temperature and humidity; however, we have sensors such as air pressure, airflow, water leak, and more.

And recently, we've also added the ability to control electronic door handles with this port as well.

So I notice that the ports on the controller all look very similar — do they need any special type of cabling or adapters?

That's a good question — so, most of the ports on the iX7 controller are RJ45, and no, you don't need any type of special cables or adapters, you can connect most things with just a simple category cable.

Nice. Well, thank you Paul, and thank you guys for watching. We hope you enjoyed and found this helpful.

If you have any video requests, please be sure to leave them in the comments below.

Also, make sure you hit that "Subscribe" button, and give this video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it.

And if you're looking for more information, you can visit us online at www.raritan.com.

Thanks again for watching, and we'll see you guys next time. Bye! Bye.


 

Ready to Learn More?

Request a Quote

Ask our sales team for a no-strings-attached price quote.

Contact Sales

Online Demo

Try the PX iPDU right now. See if it's right for you.

Test Drive

rack-pdu-controller-preview

Have a Question?

Contact a product specialist to learn more about SmartSensor.

Contact Us