The Open Compute Project’s Trickle-Down Effect On The Rack Power Distribution Unit Market
A new report by IHS says that in 2012, 15% of rack PDU revenues were attributed to the sale of customized products.
The rack power distribution unit (PDU) market will not see a dramatic shift toward use of the Open Compute Project product specifications, but the idea of customizing data center infrastructure products to achieve maximum efficiency may trickle down into the rack PDU market, according to IHS. In the 2013 edition of The World Market for Rack Power Distribution Units, IHS reports that 15% of rack PDU revenues in 2012 can be attributed to the sale of customized products and expects that number to increase in 2013.
The Open Compute Project, launched by a group of Facebook engineers in 2011, makes some radical changes to traditional data center infrastructure. It was started in an effort to find the most efficient and economical way to build out data centers and grow computing infrastructure. Underlying this main goal is the idea that anything created through the project is “open source”, meaning all designs are publically available, with the hopes of creating a platform for open dialogue and innovation surrounding this topic. The initial result of the project was Facebook’s Prineville, OR data center, which includes custom-designed servers, racks, power supplies, and battery systems, all developed to gain the highest efficiencies in computing, space usage, and energy usage.