New product family from Server Technology combines power-measurement capability with always-on status.
Smart POPS (Per Outlet Power Sensing) power distribution units from Server Technology Inc. make up a new product family of cabinet power distribution units (CDUs). The products are capable of individual device power monitoring with secure "always-on" outlet status, the company says. Server Technology's president Brandon Ewing said the company developed the Smart POPS product family based on the needs of data center managers who require measurements of individual device-level power, with secure outlet power that is always on.
The company recalls the history of the product line's development: A financial institution was looking for technology that would provide power measurements on individual servers, while also providing assurance that the outlet state would never be turned to "off." Server Technology's Switched CDUs provide outlet-reboot status, the company says, but its Smart CDUs maintain "on" status for its outlets at all times. Product manager Steve Hammond explains that some customers prefer the security of non-switched receptacles, in part out of concern that a person could unintentionally power down the wrong outlet. The Smart POPS CDUs answer that call.
Server Technology says that once the financial-institution customer began using Smart POPs CDUs, it began to measure power consumption per device with the "always-on" outlet state. The data this customer gathered allowed it to identify underused servers and take appropriate action, Server Technology says. The customer also uses the monitoring package Sentry Power Manager, through which it monitors and trends power on all its connected devices.
