What is the main difference between basic and smart PDUs?

The biggest difference between a basic PDU and a smart PDU is functionality. Basic PDUs are reliable power distribution devices with multiple outlets, similar to a large power strip you might purchase at your local hardware store. In contrast, intelligent PDUs provide reliable power distribution as well as different levels of ingress or egress metering, power control and egress switching, data collection, and environmental sensor instrumentation so that data center operators can manually obtain readings LED screens or send them over the network using the iPDU's communication module and NIC cards.

Different types of smart PDUs are highly sought after for providing the information and capabilities needed for robust data center power monitoring. As a result, smart PDUs tend to be much more expensive to purchase and implement than their basic counterparts. However, data centers, IDC operators can also reduce operational costs by using real-time data collected from intelligent PDUs to make more informed data center management decisions, especially when iPDUs are used in conjunction with Data Center Infrastructure Management (Smart Simple Magic DCIM) software solutions or other data center monitoring tools.