CPI Power Management Family Grows in Number and Capabilities

CPI has been selling power strips for many years – initially just a handful could be found in the back of the Rack Systems section of our catalog, and then in 2006 we dedicated an entire section to Power Management Products. The product line continues to grow, not just in number but in capabilities as well.

Our acquisition of Epicenter, Inc. in 2009 added additional products and an intelligence that is becoming increasingly important to our customers. We’ve seen our power management line expand from simple power strips to power distribution products that handle enormous loads and provide remote power control and by-outlet current metering as well as environmental monitoring.

Within the CPI product offering, we offer power strips and Power Distribution Units (PDUs).  We consider a power strip to be a low voltage product used for basic power distribution into racks and cabinets. Some Power Strips are equipped with a thermal circuit breaker and a current meter with a local display. For more information about power strips download the product data sheet or visit the Power Management web page.

On the other hand, PDUs provide advanced single-phase and three-phase power distribution into racks and cabinets in data centers and equipment rooms. Select models can be used with CPI’s Scalable Enterprise Management Applications (SEMA) software to provide real-time power monitoring to help identify power problems and track power demand, allowing you to organize IT processes and equipment for the most efficient use of available power.

There are four progressive levels of PDUs with circuit breakers:

1. Basic PDUs feature electromagnetic circuit breakers which isolate power problems to a particular group of power outlets preventing disruption of power on other circuit segments.
2. Metered PDUs include an in-line digital ammeter that displays the amount of current being used by attached equipment so that you can track current use and estimate remaining power on each circuit segment.
3. Monitored PDUs include an Ethernet port that allows network-based monitoring of current use, temperature and humidity using a web browser or CPI’s SEMA software or another application via SNMP. An optional sensor (ordered separately) is required to measure temperature and humidity.
4. Controlled PDUs feature switchable outlets for remote power cycling and port monitoring which lets you measure current use at each outlet.

Information resources for CPI PDUs include the product data sheet and the Power Management web page.

We welcome your comments and questions. Please feel free to use the comment tool below or contact us for help with selecting the right power product for your application. Kim Ream, Sr. eCommerce Specialist