What's the difference between cabinet and rackmount PDUs?

Power distribution units come in two form factors: floor standing or cabinet PDU s and rackmount PDUs.

A floor standing PDU, or a cabinet PDU, is a large, three-phase power distribution unit that comes enclosed in its own cabinet. These PDUs are often used in large data centers for raised and non-raised floor applications to take incoming power and distribute it to an individual rack or groups of racks. A PDU can optimize utilization and availability down to the branch circuit level as well as address specific needs for isolation, voltage transformation, harmonic reduction, and voltage regulations. Cabinet-based PDUs should have monitoring capabilities as well. Because floor standing PDUs are most often found in large data centers, they are usually deployed in conjunction with managed rack PDUs that are placed in each server rack or enclosure.

Rack PDUs are used to effectively distribute power to racks where multiple outlets are necessary. Beyond the capabilities of a power strip, a rack PDU offers a range of intelligent features to help control the power distributed to IT devices. Rack PDUs are used in all types of environment sizes and come in a variety of plug and outlet configurations, including 120 and 200-240 volts. Whether it’s the only distribution unit or part of a whole distribution strategy, PDUs are a vital connection point and allow you to protect your entire IT investment.