Score:-1

Is redundant power supply really redundant?

br flag

Apologize for my inexperience or if I am missing something important here...

Everyone kept talking about how good it is to have redundant power supply in servers, yet no one talks about a redundant power supply's distributor failing.

Correct me if I am wrong, redundant power supply consists of 3 major parts, 2x power supply units and a power distributor. Does the central power distributor never fail? Or am I missing something here?

Edit for more clarification: The Power Distributor as in the unit that you plug the redundant power supply unit's golden finger in.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/breLv.jpg

cn flag
Power Distribution Unit (PDU). Yes, they can fail. That's why it's also a good idea to have redundant PDU's, each from a separate mains/generator supply if possible.
Jerng Yue avatar
br flag
Hey Greg, I am referring to the unit that the golden finger plugs in. Not the power supply unit itself.
joeqwerty avatar
cv flag
What exactly is the "golden finger"?
vidarlo avatar
ar flag
Redundant PSU's isn't about PSU's failing either; it's about power *input* failing. Two PSUs means you can replace an UPS without downtime.
cn flag
@vidarlo Indeed, at least not limited to the scenario of that a PSU in itself fails.
Jerng Yue avatar
br flag
@vidarlo Thank you for your input, I am aware of that, people mentions this a lot . I am just wondering why no one talks about this exact unit (Power Distributor), do they fail or it is just some kind of wire passing through from the PSU unit which makes it almost impossible to fail? There has to be some kind of switching going on isn't it? There is also a buzzer that is connected to this that makes sound when one PSU fails...
Jerng Yue avatar
br flag
and this is also one of those parts that I believe is very hard to find a part replacement for when it fails
cn flag
Depending what a PDU is for you - a low function PDU is basically an extension cord of some sort with multiple plugs. Metered contain meter circuits for every plug, switched can be switched on and off.
Score:0
cn flag

Yes, you are missing something - that a professional setup does not have a central PDU but 2 PDU that are fed from 2 separate power lines, have 2 different USV's and generator clusters in case that fails.

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