Eaton C39 Combines C13 and C19 PDU Outlets at OCP 2022

Jun 19, 2023

Here is one we saw at OCP 2022. Eaton has what it calls the “Eaton C39” outlet. This effectively combines a C13 and a C19 receptacle into a single outlet. This was our first time seeing it and if you have ever run into an issue where you had the wrong outlet on a PDU when adding new gear, you can immediately understand the benefit.

On the OCP Summit 2022 show floor, there was the Eaton Rack PDU G4, more on that label in a moment. Here we saw that the company had an outlet that many of our readers may not have seen between standard C13 outlets, that is the C39 (labeled B9, B11, and B13 below.)

The idea with these outlets is that you can deploy a PDU and then change the type of cable you plug in later. This accepts either a C13 or a C19 plug. Many servers we are reviewing have transitioned to C19 as power has gone up over generations. We expect more servers to use C19 going forward.

On the Eaton Rack PDU G4 bit, that is what the label says. The PDU shown has the older G3 card installed.

Going through photos, here is another aspect of the Rack PDU G4 that you may not have seen before. The input cable can be swapped out.

Here is the locking connector. This is more common on higher-end PDUs, whereas lower-end PDUs tend to have fixed power inputs.

Eaton also had an ePDU with a larger array of C39 outlets. Here one can see six of these outlets.

This was a fun outlet to see at the show.

Many of our readers will have seen this, but we also have readers that use lower-end PDUs or simply have not installed new PDUs in a few years and would not have seen this. This is probably not the most groundbreaking innovation, but it was something we often do not cover and thought it would be worth a quick post for OCP Summit 2022.