APC NetShelter Switched Rack PDU, 1U, 1.4kW, 120V, 15A, 8 NEMA 5-15R outlet

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

For **£745.60 ex-VAT** this APC NetShelter **switched 1U PDU** is one of those “pay for control, not convenience” buys. If you run real infrastructure in a rack—VM hosts, network gear, lab equipment, maybe even a messy mix of vendors—remote/individual outlet control is genuinely useful. The big win is faster troubleshooting (“power-cycle that one thing, not the whole rack”) and safer maintenance (you can sequence power during redeployments). APC also tends to be fairly painless to integrate and replace in environments that already use their rack ecosystem.

That said, I wouldn’t buy it just because it’s APC or because it’s “in budget.” If you only need basic power distribution and nobody will actually use the switching features, you’ll likely overpay versus simpler PDUs. Also, if your environment doesn’t have the network access/licensing/workflow to make the switching management practical, the extra cost doesn’t translate into value. In short: **buy it if you want operational control and you’ll use it regularly**; **avoid it if you just need outlets** or if you can’t operationalise the management side.