How to Properly Do Rack

Power Distribution Unit

(PDU) Planning for IT
Equipment

Joe Prisco
Senior Technical Staff Member
IBM

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 Agenda

• Basic power terms and power consumption values

• Variables that influence power consumption when IT
equipment is in operation
• Rack PDU plugging and limitations
• Review a detailed example of placing IT equipment on
rack PDUs

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 Basic Electrical Power Terms
Reactive • Watts
Power (VAR) • Active power or usable electricity
• Heat output (BTU/hr = watts x 3.413)
• VAR (Volt Amps Reactive)
Apparent
Real Power Power (VA) • Imaginary power or wasted electricity
(Watts) • Stored in capacitors and inductors
• VA (Volt Amps)
• Vector sum of the watts and VAR
• Total power available at the line cord
of a piece of equipment

VA is the term most useful for electrical planning

inside a data center
VA = Volts x Amps

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Other Helpful Power Terms

Photo is licensed under CC-BY-SA

• kWh (Kilowatt Hour)
• How the utilities measure electricity
consumption
• 100-watt light bulb uses 1 kWh every
10 hours (0.100 kW x 10 hours)
• PF (Power Factor)
• Ratio of the real power (watts) to the
apparent power (VA)
• Ranges from 0 to 1
• A higher PF is better
• Utilities may impose fees for low
power factor because of the need
to increase their generation and Low Power Factor High Power Factor
transmission capacity
100 𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊 100 𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊
0.1 = 1.0 =
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽

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 Power Consumption Values
• Nameplate
• Product safety rating label
• Used for electrical code compliance
• Maximum measured power
consumption
• Found in physical planning manuals
Nameplate

• Worst case power consumption

• Used for UPS and switchgear loading
Max

Benchmark
measured • Benchmark
power • Power consumption running an industry
Actual standard performance benchmark
measured • Used in HPC environments to reduce the
power electrical demand overhead
• Actual power consumption
• Typical, every day value
• Used for air conditioning heat rejection
calculations

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Nameplate – PDU (Ships Worldwide)
• The nameplate includes
all the mandatory legal
Product Safety compliance marks and
Compliance ID information
• The most important
data is about the input
electrical service
• Voltage (V)
EMC • Amperage (A)
overcurrent protection
• 24 amps x 125% = 30A
service
Environmental
• 48 amps x 125% = 60A
service
• Calculate VA = V x A
Single • Use low-line volts
Point
of • 200V x 24A = 4.8 kVA
Contact • 200V x 48A = 9.6 kVA

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Maximum Measured Power Consumption
• Worst case power consumption • Look for published maximum VA
• Largest configuration (Volt Amps)
• Highest utilization • If VA is not available, an alternative is
• Abnormal conditions that affect fan maximum watts
speed • Convert to VA using power factor
• Internal hardware failures (e.g., power • VA = Watts / PF
supply) • For most IT equipment, power factor is
• High ambient temperature close to 1
• Account for oversubscription

Normal Mode
Amps per Power Supply
4200VA/200V/2 = 10.5 Amps

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Maximum Measured Power – High Ambient Temperature

Source: 2011 Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments

°C °C

• Power consumption is affected by fan • With the increase in fan speed over
power, component power (leakage the range of ambient temperatures,
current), and power conversion the IT flowrates also increase
• If the Inlet temperature increases • The cubic feet per minute (CFM)
demand of the IT equipment must
from 15°C to 35°C, the IT equipment be satisfied or else recirculation
power could increase in the range of could further increase inlet
7 to 20% temperature
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Oversubscription
• The IT equipment DC
load can draw more
output power than is
available from a single
power supply
• If a single power supply
is unavailable, the IT
equipment throttles the
power consumption to
a level that allows the
machine to run on a
single power supply

Normal Mode Power Capped Mode

Amps per Power Supply Amps per Power Supply
2575VA/200V/2 = 6.4 Amps 1960VA/200V = 9.8 Amps
Use this amperage for PDU sizing
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 8286-41A

Actual Power Consumption

• Expected, steady-state typical value
for a specific configuration under
normal environmental operating
conditions
• The values are very aggressive
because they are used in TCO
calculations
• The mechanical system can better
handle fluctuations and spikes in
heat load, even if it crosses a
predetermined threshold for a short
period of time
• The typical power consumption can
be used for all cooling calculations
(e.g., kW/rack, heat load balance,
watts/square foot)

Maximum Measured Power Consumption = 1420 W

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Rack PDU Planning
• Rack Power Distribution Unit (PDU)
Definition
• Brings electrical power in from the facility
and distributes it to server, storage, and
networking hardware inside a rack
• Think of it as a power strip with superior
features
• Primary circuit breaker protection
• Optional: metering, monitoring, Ethernet
communications, relays
• How to Properly Do Rack Power
Distribution Unit (PDU) Planning for IT
Equipment
• Electrical specification choices for Rack
PDU Planning
• IT equipment manufacturer maximum
measured power consumption Photo is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

• Your own facility measured data

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Steps to Rack PDU Planning
1. Understand the PDU

Photo by is licensed under CC BY-SA

A. Maximum input amperage
B. Output receptacle quantity and limitations
i. Receptacle ratings
ii. Circuit breaker ratings
C. Desired level of redundancy
2. Identify the IT equipment to be connected to the PDU
A. Find the maximum measured power consumption from the
manufacturer’s technical specification
B. Calculate the amperage
3. Place the IT equipment on the PDU and check for rating
violations based on item #1

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Step 1 – Understand the PDU
Step 1A – Maximum Input Voltage and Amperage
Line Cord Plug Voltage Rated Amps
#1 NEMA L6-30 200-208 24
#2 IEC 309 332P6W 220-240 32
#3 IEC 309 360P6W 200-208 48
#4 IEC 309 363P6W 220-240 63

Step 1B – Output receptacle quantity and limitations

• Each individual IEC 320-C13 receptacle (1-12) can
support up to 10 amps
• Each pair of receptacles (a-f) is protected by a 20
amp circuit breaker derated to 16 amps
• Every 4 outlets are on a phase (L1-N, L2-N, L3-N)
when line cord is 3 phase wye (European type
electricity distribution)
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Step 1B Continued – Rack PDU Schematic
CB = circuit breaker
CR = control relay

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 Step 1C – Level of Facility Redundancy
The IT equipment is
Typically referred to as
designed to run on a single
A-side/B-side or AC power supply
left-side/right-side
redundancy

Each AC power supply (#1

and #2) in a dual corded #1 #2 This data center redundancy
piece of IT equipment is layout is designed to carry the IT
connected to a separate equipment redundancy to the
power panel (typically for
wall
maintenance reasons)

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Step 1C – IT Equipment Redundancy
• How many power supplies does the server, storage, or switch have
installed?
• Two power supplies
• Are the supplies current sharing?
• Power supplies draw approximately equal current from the utility (electrical supply)
• Deliver approximately equal current to the load
• Are the power supplies operating like an automatic transfer switch (ATS)?
• Four power supplies
• What is the redundancy setup?
• 2+2 (N+N)
• 3+1 (N+1)
• Is PDU mapping important?

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 Steps 2 and 3 – PDU Calculations and Checks (I)
• Dual Corded IT Equipment
• Divide maximum measured VA (Volts
Amps) by “lowline” Volts (200 V)
• EQ1 = 1750 VA / 200V = 8.75 amps
• EQ2 = 1800 VA / 200 V = 9.00 amps
• PDU Input
• Line cord #1 – 24 amps
• A-side/B-side redundant
P
D Equipment Amps Outlet Pair Pair Amps PDU Total Amps
U
EQ1 8.75 a–1 8.75 8.75
1
& EQ2 9.00 a–2 17.75 17.75
2

Pair “a” amps less than 16 – Fail P P

D D
PDU total amps less than 24 – OK U U
# of line cords less than 12 per PDU – OK 1 EQ2 2

EQ1

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 Steps 2 and 3 – PDU Calculations and Checks (II)
• Dual Corded IT Equipment
• Divide maximum measured VA (Volts
Amps) by “lowline” Volts (200 V)
• EQ1 = 1750 VA / 200V = 8.75 amps
• EQ2 = 1800 VA / 200 V = 9.00 amps
• PDU Input
• Line cord #1 – 24 amps
• A-side/B-side redundant
P
D Equipment Amps Outlet Pair Pair Amps PDU Total Amps
U
EQ1 8.75 a–1 8.75 8.75
1
& a–2
2
Equipment Amps Outlet Pair Pair Amps PDU Total Amps P P
D D
EQ2 9.00 b–3 9.00 17.75 U U
1 EQ2 2
b–4

Pair “a” amps less than 16 – OK PDU total amps less than 24 – OK EQ1
Pair “b” amps less than 16 – OK # of line cords less than 12 per PDU – OK

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 Steps 2 and 3 – PDU Calculations and Checks (III)
P
D Equipment Amps Outlet Pair Pair Amps PDU Total Amps
U
EQ1 8.75 a–1 8.75 8.75
1
& a–2
2
Equipment Amps Outlet Pair Pair Amps PDU Total Amps
EQ2 9.00 b–3 9.00 17.75
b–4

Equipment Amps Outlet Pair Pair Amps PDU Total Amps

EQ1 8.75 c–5 8.75 26.50
c–6

Pair “a” amps less than 16 – OK P

EQ1 P
D D
Pair “b” amps less than 16 – OK U U
Pair “c” amps less than 16 – OK 1 EQ2 2
PDU total amps less than 24 – Fail
# of line cords less than 12 per PDU – OK EQ1

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 Steps 2 and 3 – PDU Calculations and Checks (IV)
P
D Equipment Amps Outlet Pair Pair Amps PDU Total Amps
U
EQ1 8.75 a–1 8.75 8.75
1
& a–2
2
Equipment Amps Outlet Pair Pair Amps PDU Total Amps
EQ2 9.00 b–3 9.00 17.75
b–4
P
D Equipment Amps Outlet Pair Pair Amps PDU Total Amps
U
3
EQ1 8.75 a–1 8.75 8.75
& a–2
4

Pair “a” amps less than 16 – OK P

EQ1 P
D D
Pair “b” amps less than 16 – OK U U
PDU total amps less than 24 – OK 1 EQ2 2
# of line cords less than 12 per PDU – OK
EQ1

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Electrical specification choices for Rack PDU Planning
• Use maximum measured power consumption as
specified by the IT equipment manufacturer
• Divide VA by low-line voltage
• Is oversubscription (power capping) used when redundancy is
unavailable?
• Use your own data
• Pre-production testing
• Include corner conditions
• Run worst case applications
• High ambient temperature and/or operate on a single power supply
• Reconfigure the electrical distribution of existing racks
• US National Electrical Code (NEC) 220.87
• Continuously record the demand (loads averaged in 15-minute
intervals) over a minimum 30-day period and find maximum demand
• Factor in conditions that can impact the power consumption of the
equipment

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Single-Phase or Three-Phase?
Wiring Wall Plug Rated Amps Voltage Power Capacity Primary
VA Geography
1-phase 60 A 48 A 200-208 Vac 𝑃𝑃 = V ⋅ I North America
9.6 kVA
3-phase Delta (Δ) 60 A 48 A 200-208 Vac 𝑃𝑃 = 3 ⋅ V ⋅ I North America
16.6 kVA
3-phase Wye (Y) 32 A 32 A 220-240 Vac 𝑃𝑃 = 3 ⋅ V ⋅ I Europe
21.1 kVA

• More capacity doesn’t mean you can use it

• Layout IT equipment on the PDU
• Look for amperage bottlenecks
• Still must balance loads across the electrical distribution
• Balanced means the IT equipment loads are identical on all three phases (e.g., Y =
A-N, B-N, C-N; Δ = A-B, B-C, C-A)
• Balanced means all three line conductors have equal currents (e.g., A, B, C)
separated by 120°
• Three-phase PDUs will be unbalanced
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Questions
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