F E A T U R E

How is the industry responding to these changes? What are manufacturers doing differently to help operators cope with higher power requirements?

Manufacturers are expanding their product roadmaps and we’ re no different. Starline’ s new T5 DoubleBar Busway delivers up to 2000A with the most pluggable space available, and our High-Capacity Plug-In Unit( HCP) distributes up to 250A directly to the highest-density racks. Again, it comes back to the pace of change.

As a vendor, we’ re expanding our roadmap to ensure we’ re well positioned to support the 100- and 150-kW racks being deployed today, while also preparing for future requirements of 200 or 250 kW.

We’ re already hearing discussions in the market about rack power requirements potentially reaching 500 kW within the next couple of years. Our priority is to keep pace with these developments without falling behind, while continuing to support current deployments.

I believe it’ s increasingly important for operators to establish strong relationships with their vendors, both upstream and downstream.

With technology evolving so quickly, businesses need to understand what solutions are available and what is coming next so they can plan accordingly. Vendors are responding by developing new products and strengthening their supply chains.

We’ re also seeing businesses secure equipment and components well in advance to ensure they have sufficient supply for future projects. Above all, operators should maintain close communication with their vendors and treat them as strategic partners.

Sharing information and understanding the latest technologies available will be critical to planning infrastructure requirements over the coming years.

Beyond simply delivering more amperage, why is available plug-in space and flexibility becoming increasingly important in high-density data centre environments?

Plug-in space is extremely important. To illustrate why, let’ s go back to the increase in rack power requirements, from around 10 kW to more than 100 kW today.

Chris Osian, Product Manager at Starline, a brand of Legrand

The physical footprint of the rack hasn’ t changed significantly. Previously, racks were typically around 600 millimetres, or 24 inches, wide. Today, many racks still occupy roughly the same amount of space.

However, the amount of power that needs to be delivered within that footprint has increased dramatically. That makes plug-in space a premium.

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