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# Power Tracking

## Power Panel

A power panel represents the origin point in Nautobot for electrical power being disseminated by one or more power feeds. In a data center environment, one power panel often serves a group of racks, with an individual power feed extending to each rack, though this is not always the case. It is common to have two sets of panels and feeds arranged in parallel to provide redundant power to each rack.

Each power panel must be assigned to a site, and may optionally be assigned to a particular location and/or rack group.

Note

Nautobot does not model the mechanism by which power is delivered to a power panel. Power panels define the root level of the power distribution hierarchy in Nautobot.

## Power Feed

A power feed represents the distribution of power from a power panel to a particular device, typically a power distribution unit (PDU). The power port (inlet) on a device can be connected via a cable to a power feed. A power feed may optionally be assigned to a rack to allow more easily tracking the distribution of power among racks.

Each power feed is assigned an operational type (primary or redundant) and a `status`. The following statuses are available by default:

- Offline
- Active
- Planned
- Failed

Each power feed also defines the electrical characteristics of the circuit which it represents. These include the following:

- Supply type (AC or DC)
- Phase (single or three-phase)
- Voltage
- Amperage
- Maximum utilization (percentage)

## Rack Power Utilization

The power utilization of a rack is calculated when one or more power feeds are assigned to the rack and connected to devices that draw power.

Here are the typical instances required for the power utilization of a rack to be calculated and shown in the web UI:

- Power Panel in the same site as the rack
- Power Feed assigned to the power panel and to the rack
- 1 Device (i.e. PDU)
  - power port connected to the power feed
  - power outlet(s) connected to the power port of itself
- 1 or more Devices
  - power port connected to a power outlet of the PDU

The total power utilization for a rack is calculated as the sum of all allocated draw (from power ports of devices either directly connected to a power feed or connected to a power outlet of a device that is connected to a power feed) divided by the Total Power (Amps × Volts × Max Utilization %) for all power feeds.

## Example Power Topology