Dell Power Infrastructure Size Adjustments - Information Update
Summary
Dell Power Infrastructure Sizing Information Update provides guidance on calculating actual power consumption for data center deployments rather than using power supply rated wattage, which leads to costly over-provisioning. It recommends Dell capacity planning tools and power capping to determine real consumption for sizing PDUs, UPS units, and power distribution equipment, with practical cost-saving examples. For data center architects and IT facility managers designing efficient server power infrastructure.
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Information Update: Power Infrastructure Sizing Properly sizing system power consumption benefits an efficient IT environment. If the power supply power rating for a system is used to calculate the cumulative power for an overall deployment, it provides a conservative assessment for many hardware configurations and can be less efficient and more costly. In an effort to gain optimal performance and to avoid costly over-provisioning, you need to understand how to assess power consumption of the system to adequately provision the facility. Power consumption is specific to the system configuration and to the workload expected of the hardware. If a system is assessed under a peak workload for a specific deployment, the assessment may result in a significantly different power consumption requirement than that of the power supply power rating. On-line capacity planning tools available from Dell may help to understand peak power consumption for a particular system configuration. Systems characterized while using the power capping features enabled from Dell system management software provide additional predictability for peak power consumption. Combined use of system and workload characterization with power capping can more accurately approximate the appropriate size of Power Distribution Units (PDUs), Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs), and other power infrastructure distribution equipment. Example: If a server power supply is rated at 1000W and the characterization results in 500W of power consumption for the configuration and workload, the 500W power value can be used for infrastructure sizing. Using system power capping at the 500W value also provides additional assurance that 500W can be used for sizing the infrastructure. When deploying 20 of the same configuration in a rack, the total load can be sized for 10KW. By contrast, if the power supply rated value or 1000W were used, the total load would be sized as 20KW. The power supply-rated approach requires additional power and cooling and results in an infrastructure that is utilized less than 50 percent. Using PDUs with circuit protection devices such as circuit breakers or fuses ensures that regulatory and safety guidance is met for a deployment.
June 2009
Page Summary Contents For Dell Power Infrastructure Size Adjustments - Information Update
Manual Details
| Brand | Dell |
|---|---|
| Pages | 14 |
| File Size | 695.56 KB |
| Published | June 26, 2026 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
How should I calculate total power consumption for a deployment?
It is best to assess power based on the system configuration and expected workload, not just the power supply's rated rating.
What planning tools help estimate peak power consumption?
Dell offers online capacity planning tools, and using power capping features provides additional predictability.
Can I calculate total load for 20 servers in a rack?
Using characterization methods (like the 500W example), the total load might be 10KW. Using the rated value of 1000W would result in an overestimated 20KW.
What safety measures should I use for power distribution units (PDUs)?
Use PDUs equipped with circuit protection devices, such as circuit breakers or fuses, to ensure compliance with safety guidelines.