Tripp Lite Debuts Line of Hot-Swap PDUs

Tripp Lite, a manufacturer of power protection solutions, introduced a line of hot-swap Power Distribution Units (PDUs), which are designed to make it possible to remove standard plug-in UPS systems for maintenance or replacement without interrupting power to the connected load. Prices for PDUs on the company's Website range from $122 for the PDU1215, designed for designed for standard 19-inch racks (1U high) and offering 12 rear-facing outlets and one front-facing outlet, to the PDUMV30NET, a switched, metered PDU with remote monitoring for $1,302.

The hot-swap PDUs feature dual input power cables that connect both to the UPS and directly to the primary power source. During normal operation, the PDU supplies conditioned power from the UPS to connected equipment. A manual transfer switch enables the load to be shifted from the UPS to direct primary power. The UPS may then be powered down and removed from service while connected mission-critical equipment remains powered and operational.

Features and benefits include enabling standard UPS systems to be removed, replaced or repaired without powering down a mission-critical connected load, minimization of network downtime during scheduled UPS maintenance periods, dual power input cables and manual transfer switch with lighted status indicators, 2U installation in 2- or 4-post racks (which also support space-saving rear-post mounting) and five models, 10A-30A, which are universally compatible with UPS systems up to 3000VA.

"Viewed from a lifecycle perspective, a standard plug-in UPS system isn't necessarily uninterruptible," said Tripp Lite product manager Rich Feldhaus. "At some point it may be necessary to take the UPS off line for maintenance--and that means costly system downtime. But with Tripp Lite's new Hot-Swap PDUs, a UPS can be repaired or replaced at any time, while keeping connected mission- critical equipment powered and fully operational."

The company currently offers five hot-swap models ranging in price from $325 to $419. The flagship PDUBHV20 offers a manual transfer switch with lighted status indicators, which controls PDU output between utility and UPS power sources, a 2U horizontal rackmount form factor compatible with two or four post racks and separate PDU input cables connect to utility and UPS power sources (a pair of C19-C20 interconnect cables included, alternate input cordsets are also available).

Earlier this year the company announced a line of IP-capable Cat5 KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) switches with features including virtual media capability, redundant dual power supplies and energy-saving  temperature sensors. Occupying 1U of rack space, these NetDirector KVM switches can control a maximum of 128 (16-port models) or 256 computers (32-port models), with full-screen graphical OSD and multilevel authentication, including super administrator, administrator and user.