Questions tagged [power-distribution-unit]

Questions related to power distribution units (PDU) or mains distribution unit (MDU) which are devices fitted with multiple outputs designed to distribute electric power, especially to racks of computers and networking equipment located within a data center.

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How can I reset the password to my Wattbox WB-700-IPV-12?

I have a open box Wattbox WB-700-IPV-12 I purchased. I would like to reset the password to the web interface. The manual says nothing of how to reset the password. I tried the default of wattbox for ...
Evan Carroll's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
138 views

How best to monitor power draw on a "dumb" PDU

I'm working on an initiative to replace some PDUs in my company's datacenter with Smart PDUs, however it will be a few weeks before the new units are in. In the meantime, we've got to rack two new ...
subjectbeef's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Switching APC rack PDU via SNMP

How can I switch the outlets of an APC Rack PDU (AP7920) via SNMP (Linux SNMP command tools like snmpget/snmpset) ? I can't find anything about it. I was able to walk it via: snmpwalk -v3 -a MD5 -A ...
divB's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
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snmpwalk: Decryption error for APC Rack PDU

I have an APC Rack PDU (AP7920) and have configured: [x] Enable SNMPv3 access Username: switch Authentication Passphrase: test Privacy Passphrase: test Authentication Protocol: (o) MD5 Privacy ...
divB's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
934 views

How to upgrade APC Rack PDU?

I have an APC Rack PDU AP7920 (hardware revision B2, manufactured 07/21/2012). When I log in via telnet I get: American Power Conversion Network Management Card AOS v3.3.4 ...
divB's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
336 views

UPS and PDU options for NEMA L6-30P

I have to say I don't know enough about supplying power to a rack. So here goes: This is for a room that will host network equipment (and maybe a server), in an office. Room has: some 120VAC outlets; ...
JDS's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
22 views

automate settings change on multiple power appliances

I'm trying to automate the task of changing settings on 100+ power appliances via SSH but each settings change has multiple interactive prompts. Is this possible or does anyone have an example of how ...
iisor's user avatar
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1 answer
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APC PDU has wrong idea of its outlets

I have a APC rack PDU here. It should be AP7953, although that doesn't show in the telnet interface: About System Model Number : Serial Number : NMC Serial Number : Manufacture Date : ~ ...
Ansgar Esztermann's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
247 views

Step-Down 400/230V to 120V without a stepdown transformer

At my current data center, 400/230V is delivered to the racks. Is their any way I could step this down to 120V without a transformer? I'm trying to see if maybe there is a PDU that exists that can do ...
Martin Fi's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
244 views

Redundant power solution in datacenter rack

We have two racks in a datacenter, currently powered by two independent sources. All devices are distributed across four different power extenders, and a few critical ones are first connected to a UPS ...
Jax's user avatar
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2 answers
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How to diagnose false positives with a smart PDU ping'ing devices on LAN

Ive got a smart PDU (Pakedge) which pings, various LAN devices in the rack and if they dont respond it power cycles the associated power outlet to reboot the device, it also sends me an email alert. ...
sam's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
300 views

Rack PDU with IP control and surge protection

Im speccing up a new 16A PDU for a 42u rack build, i need a PDU with IP control so that i can power cycle devices remotely. But I've noticed that most PDUs with IP control don't have surge protection ...
sam's user avatar
  • 173
2 votes
2 answers
6k views

Load distribution across PSUs on a Dell PowerEdge

What does the current distribution look like on a Dell PowerEdge R630 (or any for that matter) when using 2 power supplies? I assume it will either draw continually from both, distributing the load, ...
SimonJGreen's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
64 views

Can I power 2x6 socket surge protected PDUs from a surge protected UPS?

I've got a local network rack with: 24 port switch 2x voip dect bases 2x modems 1x load balancing router 1x wifi access point 1x 2bay Synology nas At the moment these are all powered via 2x 1U 6 ...
sam's user avatar
  • 173
4 votes
2 answers
3k views

AP8941 PDU frozen, how to reset management interface?

I have a frozen AP8941 PDU. It still produces power to its outlets, but I can't serial in, ethernet in and even the LCD is frozen. How do I reset it without losing power on the outlets? (I prefer a ...
Charlie Wilson's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

UPS systems in parallel for redundancy and/or capacity, generator as backup, ATS,

I am about to upgrade our server room's power plan and would kindly ask you for your help with a proper, optimal design / advice on "good practice" approach. Please note that our business is small, ...
Charlie's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
388 views

Surge Protector for PDU and Servers

I am going to be attaching my gear in this order: 20 amp outlet => Surge Protector => PDU => servers. My current PDU says in the manual "does not provide surge or line noise protection". I have been ...
invulnarable27's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

APC Switched PDU: group outlets on different PDU's

We have newer gen 2 switched PDU's and I noticed that they have an ability to daisy chain the PDU's. I can see that dasily chaning allows us to have a central access point for the PDU's which is nice....
Eric C. Singer's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Zero-U PDU preferred mount location

Looking for some experience from the field - The rack I manage has two zero-U vertical PDU's supplied by the datacenter. They have fitted one on each side (one on the left, one on the right). The ...
Nathan O'Sullivan's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
6k views

Power Cables Required to Switch from 120v to 240v for Dell Poweredge Servers

We have a cabinet of servers and other hardware (switches, firewalls, etc) that all are currently running on 120v. I've confirmed that the power supply for all of our devices support both 120v and ...
Dan's user avatar
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-3 votes
2 answers
10k views

How Do I Reset a Tripp Lite PDU [closed]

I am working on reselling a tripp lite PDU for my company, and I need to know how to reset it to default factory settings. In other threads it says to push the reset pin, however there is no pinhole ...
user232710's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
5k views

desperately need 110v from a 208v pdu [closed]

I'm in a bit of a pickle... We're moving a client's infrastructure to a colocation facility. We have redundant 208v/30amp PDUs. While installing today, we realized that the client had a small ...
LinuxGnut's user avatar
  • 217
3 votes
1 answer
509 views

Order of connections between UPSs and PDUs

Half of the equipment on my server cabinet (data servers, networking) are critical and need to be backed up by UPS's, while the other half of it is non-critical (high-load simulations that only take 3-...
elleciel's user avatar
  • 389
9 votes
4 answers
5k views

Maxing out both PDUs in a rack with redundant power

If I have a rack full of servers using redundant power supplies, and I'm keeping the amps at 80% (16A of 20A), isn't this still asking for trouble in the event of a power loss on one of the circuits? ...
Matt Beckman's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
7k views

Difference between a power strip, a power distribution unit (PDU) and a remote power switch? [duplicate]

I would like to know what is the main differences between a power strip, a power distribution unit (PDU) and a remote power switch. Thank you.
MarAja's user avatar
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2 answers
2k views

It is possible to visualize the load of an APC switched PDU for a specified period of time?

There are some APC PDUs AP7953 and now we think about a solution for check the load over a period. We don't need a 100% correct Value only a trend on which hours we have more load to localize peeks in ...
kockiren's user avatar
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52 votes
5 answers
4k views

PDU wiring - is this normal (or even safe)?

I removed the side panel of our server rack so I can clean up some of the wiring. Inside I found the PDU was wired like in the picture. Instead of an incoming power cable, there's just 3 uninsulated ...
Grant's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is there some software available to centrally manage APC IP enabled PDUs? [closed]

I am not looking for a recommendation of which one to use, just an answer as the whether anything to do this exists. We have a few dozen AP7921 & similar units that until now we have managed on ...
TafT's user avatar
  • 243
3 votes
1 answer
836 views

PDU management interface has low availability - product flaw or isolated issue

Our colocation provider has supplied us with APC AP7932 switched 0U PDUs as part of several cabinets they provide us. We have had a lot of trouble with the network management aspect of these PDUs, ...
HikeOnPast's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
5k views

Source of PDU De-Rating?

In researching PDU's I have noticed most cite a derated current at the 80% level. For example, 30A is derated to 24A: Tripp Lite: Raritan: Does anyone have anything that shows what agency this is (...
Kyle Brandt's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
821 views

Correct UPS and PDU sequence

I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to setting up power for a network rack. I have a location that has a dedicated 20 amp circuit with a LP-20P socket. I have a APC UPS 3000XL rackmount UPS and a ...
user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
26k views

Power Usage via IPMI or BIOS or?

Is it possible to check the power usage of an entire machine via IPMI, BIOS, or any other option? I have done some searching but no results have came up yet. PDUs only show the total usage, so this ...
Jacob's user avatar
  • 51
5 votes
1 answer
739 views

Using Y split cables to connect two servers to a single PDU receptacle

We have bought a few 30amp 208v PDUs that only have 9 receptacles. The servers we are connecting to those PDUs will not use the full 30amps (at 80%, or actually 40% since we use redundant power) so we ...
sagi's user avatar
  • 707
16 votes
3 answers
24k views

What is the difference between a PDU and a power strip (both 120V, 15A)?

I just chatted with an APC rep about upgrading the UPSes at our office. She recommended a single higher-capacity 6-outlet Smart-UPS to replace the four Back-UPS units we currently have. When I asked ...
rob's user avatar
  • 1,273
0 votes
1 answer
3k views

APC switched PDU rack, lost state after reboot or power loss

I have the following: We have a few APC 7920 PDU's Using POWER IQ to control the PDS's via SNMP 1/2 Using also Mobile Power IQ to control the PDU if need via iPad/iPhone I am in the process of ...
Arthor's user avatar
  • 195
2 votes
1 answer
349 views

Liebert MPH SNMP Poweroff

Super specific question, but here it goes. We have several Liebert MPH rack PDU units with the necessary Liebert 'RPC' cards intalled to allow for SNMP polling. Does anyone have experience with ...
volatile900's user avatar
3 votes
5 answers
4k views

A plan to mitigate PDU failures?

A client just experienced a complete failure of an APC AP7911A switched/metered rack power distribution unit (PDU). This obviously took all of the connected equipment down with it. The equipment is ...
ewwhite's user avatar
  • 198k
2 votes
1 answer
258 views

PDU With Configurable AMP Limit

I have a 20 AMP/120V circuit. The only device plugged into this circuit is a 1000 Watt Dell UPS. Right now several devices plug directly into the 1000 Watt UPS. I wanted to order a PDU to help ...
user426724's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
6k views

Is it possible to use mixed 110V / 208V power on a single server with dual power supplies?

Is it possible to run a dual power supply server with one PS plugged into 110V, and the other power supply plugged into 208V? We've asked the vendors and they say they've never tested it or some other ...
Nathan Neulinger's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
17k views

Will a NEMA L5-20P plug work in a NEMA L5-30R receptacle?

I need to purchase a UPS & PDU and want to know if they will be compatible. Will the plug of the PDU be able to plug into this UPS? The UPS: APC Smart-UPS X 3000VA Rack/Tower LCD 100-127V with ...
jftuga's user avatar
  • 5,791
0 votes
1 answer
999 views

Running IBM servers at both 110v and 220v at the same time for a few seconds for power migration?

In our data center we are going to be moving all of our dual power supplied IBM servers (auto sensing 110/220) from an outdated 110 system of dumb power strips to an updated in rack 0u 220 monitored ...
Jason's user avatar
  • 1
10 votes
4 answers
9k views

Proper Sizing for PDU's/Power in Rack

I've struggled with sizing my power sources and associated PDU's in my server racks. Somehow I feel like I'm way oversizing things based on nameplate requirements on power supplies. My simplistic ...
Andy's user avatar
  • 101
25 votes
6 answers
14k views

Best practices for power cabling racks in DC

With network cables it is easy. I use velcro-ties, coloured cables, 0U vertical cable organizers from APC on side of the rack -- easy and neat. However with power cables it was always giving me ...
bart613's user avatar
  • 548
0 votes
3 answers
6k views

Switching from 120v to 208v power

We are going to switch from 20 amp 120 volt to 20 amp 208 volt circuits in our colocation facility. I am new to dealing with anything other than standard 120v power, so I am unsure of some intricacies ...
tjohn86's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
2k views

Are there any "Zero-U" PDU's that allow for power management/remote power control

I can't seem to find any PDU's (in general) that fit a 24U server rack that don't require at least 1U of rack space. (I'd prefer Zero-U) that allows for remote 'reset' of the power ports as well as ...
Mindflux's user avatar
  • 120
2 votes
2 answers
2k views

APC switched rack PDU: Startup outlet state

I have an APC Switched Rack PDU powering a number of servers in a remote datacentre. After a recent power outage, I noticed that the outlets did not automatically default to the On status once power ...
Ian Gregory's user avatar
2 votes
5 answers
2k views

Power strategy for first server rack

We are about to install our first server and networking rack at my office. I'm more of a programmer than a sysadmin, so I'm learning as I go. Let me start by saying that it's just a router, patch ...
user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
19k views

How to step down voltage from 208V to 110V

I have some racks that will be fed by 208V/20A circuits. These circuits will be conditioned and battery-backed by the facility in which these racks will live. 99% of the devices in the rack will be ...
Eric Dennis's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
113 views

Lowering power circuit at data-center, please help clarify what PDU I need

I have the following question: We have a rack at a datacenter with a 208V/60 amp circuit coming into a 208V/60 AMP PDU and I was wondering if we lower the circuit to let say 208V/30 amp or 120/30 amp ...
user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
3k views

PDU says to ground to rack with "thread making screw".. this is impossible?

I'm trying to use the 'thread making screw' to ground my Dell PDU to the Rack, however the metal on the rack is impossibly hard. Is this even required? The included screws don't even seem "thread ...
Mindflux's user avatar
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