An intelligent PDU,goes beyond distributing power to IT equipment within the data center. It is capable of monitoring, managing, and controlling power consumption to multiple devices. The intelligent PDU provides data center professionals with remote network access to real-time critical infrastructure data to help drive informed decision making to ensure maximum availability and to meet important efficiency requirements. While there are four  types of intelligent PDUs, Metered  , Switched ,Switched Metered outlet and Advance PDU 4 in 1, each type has a variety of additional features that can be included to increase the critical information available from the device. Some of the key features include outlet level monitoring, environmental monitoring, alerts and alarms based on user-defined thresholds, and many more. These features minimize downtime and carry manufacturer-provided support to meet Service-Level Agreements (SLAs).

As data center environments become more dynamic and complex, many organizations are putting pressure on data center managers to improve availability while reducing costs and boosting efficiency. Next generation high density servers and networking equipment have increased the demand for higher rack densities and overall facility power requirements. While densities under 10kW per rack remain the norm, deployments at 15kW are typical in hyperscale facilities – and some are even nearing 25kW. High density configurations provide improved levels of performance and capacity, but this creates the need for more effective power delivery. Thus, the features and functionality available in an intelligent PDU become increasingly more important to achieve efficient power distribution to respond to changes in data center capacities and densities.