The Rack Planner lets you design and document equipment rack layouts directly inside a FindBoxes project. You can build multiple rack diagrams per project, add gear from your equipment catalog, track power and heat loads, and export elevation drawings — all saved automatically to your account.

Getting Started

Navigate to any project and click Rack Planner in the project navigation. If no rack diagrams exist yet, you'll see an empty state with a New Rack Diagram button. Click it to create your first diagram.

Managing Rack Diagrams

Creating a Diagram

Click + New Rack in the tab bar at the top of the page. A new diagram is created immediately and becomes the active tab. New diagrams default to a 42U rack and are auto-named (Rack A, Rack B, etc.).

Switching Between Diagrams

Click any tab in the tab bar to switch to that diagram. All your diagrams for the project are listed as tabs across the top.

Renaming a Diagram

Click into the name field in the diagram header (it shows the current rack name, e.g. "Rack A") and type a new name. The tab and the saved record update automatically.

Deleting a Diagram

Click the × on any tab to delete that diagram. You'll be asked to confirm before anything is removed. This action cannot be undone.

Configuring the Rack

Changing Rack Size

Use the dropdown in the diagram header to change the rack size. Available sizes are 12U, 18U, 24U, 42U, and 48U. If any equipment already placed in the rack would extend beyond the new size, the resize will be blocked — you'll need to move or remove that equipment first.

Adding Equipment

You can add equipment two ways: by searching your catalog, or by entering details manually.

Searching the Equipment Catalog

Type at least 2 characters into the Search Equipment Catalog field. Results appear in a dropdown as you type and are filtered to only show rack-mountable items (items with a rack unit size set). Each result shows the item name, rack units (U), watts, and BTU/hr.

Click any result to select it. The Equipment Details form below will populate automatically with the item's name, rack size, power draw, and heat output. A green badge confirms which catalog item is selected — click × on the badge to clear the selection and start over.

Entering Equipment Manually

Fill in the Equipment Details form directly:

When you enter a wattage, the BTU/hr field updates automatically. You can override it manually if needed.

Placing Equipment

Click + Add to Rack to place the item. Equipment is placed automatically starting from the bottom of the rack, filling the first available continuous space. If there isn't enough continuous space, you'll see an alert with how many units are free.

Arranging the Rack

Dragging and Dropping

Equipment blocks in the rack visualization can be repositioned by dragging. Click and hold any block, then drag it to a new position. Valid drop targets highlight in green; invalid positions (out of bounds or overlapping other equipment) highlight in orange. Release to drop.

Touch drag is supported on mobile and tablet devices.

Removing Equipment

In the In This Rack list on the right panel, click Remove next to any item to remove it from the rack. The diagram saves automatically.

Power and Heat Monitoring

Three stat cards below the rack display track total load at a glance:

• Rack Units Used — how many U are occupied vs. total rack capacity
• Total Power (Watts) — sum of all equipment power draws
• Heat Output (BTU/hr) — sum of all equipment heat output

Each card has a progress bar. Bars turn orange when thresholds are approached:

Warning banners also appear below the rack visualization when thresholds are exceeded.

Auto-Save

All changes save automatically. A status indicator in the top-right corner of the page shows the save state:

• ● Saving… — a save is in progress (triggered 1.5 seconds after your last change)
• ✓ Saved — the diagram has been saved successfully
• ✗ Save failed — a network or server error occurred; try again or refresh the page

Changes that trigger a save: adding or removing equipment, dragging equipment to a new position, renaming the diagram, and changing the rack size.

Exporting a Rack Elevation

Click Export PNG to generate a rack elevation drawing. The image is rendered in the browser and uploaded directly to your project — no file is downloaded to your device.

The exported PNG includes:

• Rack elevation with unit numbers and all equipment labeled
• Power LED indicator on each equipment block
• Summary line showing rack size, units used, and units free
• Total power (W) and heat (BTU/hr) at the bottom
•  The export date

A confirmation toast appears in the bottom-right corner when the export has been saved successfully. If the upload fails, an error toast appears — check your connection and try again.

Note: A diagram must have at least one piece of equipment before you can export.

Tips

• Plan power circuits early. Add all equipment to the rack before reviewing the power stat card — it's easy to miss load capacity when building incrementally.
• Use catalog items when possible. Searching from your equipment catalog pulls in accurate RU, wattage, and BTU values, reducing manual entry errors.
• Name your racks clearly. For multi-rack projects (e.g. a server room alongside an AV rack), descriptive names like "AV Rack — Main Stage" make diagrams easier to navigate.
• Leave breathing room. The 90% rack space warning is a guideline — in practice, leaving 10–15% empty improves airflow and makes future additions easier.
• Patch panels and blanks count. If you're planning a complete rack build, add 1U patch panels, blanks, and cable managers so your diagram reflects real-world space usage.