what are metered banks, phases, outlets, switched outlets and how are they monitored?

[BillP]

Hello Guys,

this is my first time working on a metered PDU and i was wondering how can i monitor, metered banks, metered outlets, switched outlets and metered phases and what

do they really mean in Electrical world cause i am purely an IT person.

Regards

[BillP]

Hello Guys,

this is my first time working on a metered PDU and i was wondering how can i monitor, metered banks, metered outlets, switched outlets and metered phases and what

do they really mean in Electrical world cause i am purely an IT person.

Regards

[BillP]

Hello,

A metered PDU (Power Distribution Unit) means the current draw of the PDU is monitored and displayed to the user to understand the power consumption and amperage of the attached equipment (servers, IT equipment, etc). Banks are just "groups" of outlets which some PDUs have and they typically have their own circuit breaker. Most PDUs just metered at the total PDU or the bank level. Some new PDUs allow you to meter or monitor amperage at the outlet level, hence metered outlets. Switched outlets are outlets that have a relay that you can "switch" on and off to turn the equipment plugged into it off remotely. You do this all remotely via a network management interface typically.

Phase refer to phases of power which is best handled here-> Single-phase electric power - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - there is single and three phase power. A metered PDU can sometimes report how much current per phase is being drawn depending on the input power to the device.

Hope that helps get you started. Metered and Switched PDUs are intelligent power strips that allow you to see information about the power draw and power consumption for the entire strip, groups of outlets AKA banks, or sometimes for the individual outlets. Switched PDUs specifically allow you to control individual outlets with on, off, or reboot commands. These can also be scripted via multiple methods to help assist with automation. Switched PDUs are also very useful for a user to log in remotely and reboot a "hung" server or similar.

[BillP]

Hello again,

Thanks for the screenshot. Your PDU model is a metered model, AP8858. You can see it here -> Buy Rack PDU 2G, Metered, ZeroU, 20A/208V, 16A/230V, (18) C13 & (2) C19 - Technical Specifications a...

It does NOT support switched outlets or metering at the outlet level as we have other models that support those features that ultimately cost more.

Because of its size and rating, I also don't think it has multiple banks. That's why in your screenshot it shows 1 phase of power and 0 for the rest since ultimately you have one giant bank which contains all of the outlets on the PDU and is powered by a single phase of power.

You can set thresholds on the metered phase including a low load, warning load, and overload. You do this under Configuration, RPDU, phase menu I think (going off the top of my head). The page I linked you to has the user's guide as well under Documentation tab/section and you want the 6.X.X firmware user documentation based on what I can tell on your firmware version since the interface is green and white. This can help explain some of the functionality for you as well. 

Once you set these thresholds, you can set up email notifications (among other types like SNMP) when they are triggered to alert people. FYI, the default thresholds come preset for what we recommend but you may need to change them based on your application and how much load is typically connected. It also may depend on what region you are in and what the input voltage is to the PDU. This model is used or can be used  in different parts of the world.

Also, separate issue, please check this alert which may apply to you if you're running this firmware version - and we want to update it to prevent a problem -> INFORMATION BULLETIN: Potential Issue with AP8XXX series Rack Power Distribution Units with rpdu2g v...

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hello Angela,

thanks for your kind response this helps a lot for sure, i have well understood most of the terms which made me suffer earlier and now i will use the links you provided me to seek more information. in case i will have anything to share or ask i will get back to you as earlier as possible.

Kind Regards.