Rackmount PDU FAQ

A “U” or “RU” refers to the unit of measurement for racks, PDUs and UPS products. Rack unit size is defined by the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). 1U is equal to 1.75” or 44.45mm. Many rack power distribution units come in 0U (vertical mounting), 1U or 2U (horizontal mounting). 

Yes, the Eaton rack PDU products have universal mounting hardware that will allow them to mount into our competitor’s products. Our tool-less mounting buttons allow the PDUs to seamlessly mount, no matter what the enclosure is. 

The number of outlets can vary as much as the equipment in your enclosure. Often the number of outlets or receptacles on a PDU is dependent on the number of pieces of equipment in an enclosure that need power. It is also suggested that potential future growth should be considered when looking at PDU options. Eaton offers many standard offerings for common output requirements. Horizontal units are limited in the number of receptacles that can be put in the PDU since they are limited by rack width, while the longer, vertical units can offer more receptacles. 

The estimated lifespan of a PDU is roughly 100,000 hours, but many PDUs can last longer.

Yes, PDUs offer the ability to control a single point of conditioned power from the UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to the equipment in your rack. 

Yes. Our metered input PDUs, metered outlet PDUs and managed PDUs have a network module that will allow remote management via web or SNMP protocol. Using this in conjunction with our Intelligent Power Management (IPM) platform will allow you to have total control of the equipment in your network. 

Daisy chaining is a method of linking PDUs that allows for up to eight rack PDUs to use the same IP address. This reduces network infrastructure costs and allows you to control several groups of power supplies with a single action. This is available on our metered input PDU.

Yes. In our user manual, we have detailed instructions along with images that tell you how to replace the network module. The module is hot-swappable, which means your outlets will not be affected or change state during the process.

Our rack PDUs have a standard 24-month warranty, but if you register your product,  the standard warranty is extended to 36 months. 

Yes. We have a High Density rack PDU offering that provides configurable inputs and outputs. With a mix of IEC and NEMA outlets, alternating phases and up to 54 total outlets the HDMA PDU can be customised to fit your needs. 

Yes. Eaton has two resources to help you select the right rackmount PDU for your IT application.