American power management specialist Eaton has announced a new entry in its networked Power Distribution Unit (PDU) range.

The ePDU G3 Managed lets IT staff control and measure power consumption at the outlet level, with an error margin of one percent. That’s exactly the functionality needed for Category 3 Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) calculations – the most accurate PUE measurement standard.

The new PDU can also shut down certain servers at different times of the day, and help facilities take advantage of utility rebate opportunities.

Exact numbers

Power monitoring can give IT staff additional visibility into the inner workings of their data center, helping minimize energy costs.

The latest entry in Eaton’s ePDU range combines all the benefits of outlet metering with those of switched rack PDUs. It can handle up to 17.3kW of IT load and features an LCD control screen, color-coded outlets, hot-swappable network meter modules and patent-pending outlet grip, which keeps the unit in place in the face of bumps and vibration.

Each ePDU G3 Managed can be daisy chained with up to three other units, so that four devices take up just one network port and IP address, reducing network connection costs by up to 75 percent.

The new PDUs are optimized to work with Eaton’s Intelligent Power Manager software, which is in turn compatible with virtualization systems like VMware vCenter Server.

“With advanced power management features that are designed to seamlessly integrate with other information technology (IT) and networking infrastructure, the ePDU G3 platform provides the resources needed to enhance energy efficiency and reliability,” said Hervé Tardy, vice president and general manager, Eaton’s Distributed Power Quality Division.