A Scalable, Reconfigurable, And Efficient Data Center Power Distribution Architecture

By Neil Rasmussen, senior VP, Innovation, Schneider Electric

In the traditional system, the main data center power is distributed to power distribution units (PDU - typically rated from 50 kW to 500 kW). The power distribution units may contain large power transformers to convert voltage or provide power conditioning. The power distribution units in turn distribute a quantity of branch circuits (typically rated from 1.5 kW to 15 kW) to the IT equipment. Each IT enclosure uses one or more branch circuits.

Since the introduction of this system, there have been dramatic changes in how power is utilized in data centers that have challenged this architecture, specifically driven by increasing power density, the increasing number of separate IT devices within the data center, and the need to add and remove IT devices on a continuous basis.