How to build rack diagrams in draw.io

Cable management best practice

When managing a data center or a small office server closet, outlining where your switches should go and your overall cable management visually is best practice to ensure everything is set up as intended.

In draw.io, you can build a visual representation of your IT hardware to help you optimize space and plan the installation in detail before you get started. For teams using Confluence and Jira Cloud, draw.io enables you to document these physical layouts directly where your project requirements live.

In this blogpost, we’ll look at everything you need to build rack diagrams in draw.io.

1. Enable dedicated shape libraries

draw.io comes packed with vendor-specific shapes (APC, Cisco, Dell, F5, HP, IBM, and Oracle). All of our shape libraries are instantly available to use, unlike other diagram software providers who often gate advanced libraries behind a paywall.

To enable the Rack shape library:

1. Head to +More Shapes at the bottom of the left side menu.

2. Scroll down to the Networking category and select Rack. If you are working on industrial hardware, check the Cabinets library under the category Other.

3. Click Apply. Use the dropdown arrows to the left of a shape library to expand the view and see and select shapes.

2. Set up your cabinet

Choose from a template

Use a template to get a head start on your diagram. In the template manager, there is already a Cabinet template under the Engineering category.

If you’re working with Arista rack equipment, there is a dedicated template. To use this:

1. On a Confluence page, start typing “/draw.io” and select draw.io Diagram 

2. The template manager will open by default. Alternatively, if you’re already in the draw.io diagram editor, click the plus (+) icon in the top menu and select Template.

3. Type in “Arista” in the top-left search bar. You can use the magnifying glass icon to preview the template.

4. Click Insert in the bottom right to add the template to the canvas.

Build your cabinet or rack from scratch

Use the search bar in the left side menu to search for cabinet shapes (we offer both numbered and unnumbered versions). Hover over a shape to preview it, then drag the shape onto the canvas.

Need a 42U rack, or a smaller 12U wall-mount? Select the cabinet and drag the blue circles at the top or bottom. The rack space (and numbering) will automatically adjust as you resize.

You can toggle the Display Numbers property to run in ascending or descending order, depending on your facility’s standard. To do this, select the cabinet and in the Style tab of the format panel (on the right), expand Properties.

3. Populate the rack

Drag any of the component shapes (e.g. servers, patch panels, UPS, etc.) into the middle of the cabinet or rack. These are designed to “snap” into the U-slots, and you can simply drag them up or down to change where they sit within the rack.

Press Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) + D to duplicate a shape; this will nest directly below the previous shape in the rack.

Tip: You can hover over any shape in the library to view its specific name.

Add a label to a shape on the right side of the rack by double-clicking a component, adding your text, and pressing Enter.

As shown in the image below, professional documentation often segregates hardware by its role to ensure better cooling and cable management:

• Server racks: Dedicated to the compute layer and high-density drive arrays.
• PSU racks: Housing Power Supply Units, UPS systems, and infrastructure.
• IO racks: The connectivity layer for switches, routers, and patch panels.

4. Replacing shapes

When upgrading a switch in your diagram, you don’t need to delete the old one and realign the new one. Simply drag the new shape from the library and hover it over the existing component until the “replace” arrow appears. Release it, and draw.io swaps the hardware while keeping the position accurate.

Your hardware’s source of truth

A great rack diagram acts as a source of truth. By planning it out in draw.io first, you’re saving yourself (and your back) a lot of trouble later. What’s more, your team only has to look at the Confluence page or Jira ticket to see how everything is set up. Knowing where everything goes in advance means you move heavy hardware once, reducing the risk of cabling errors, or finding out the hard way that everything doesn’t fit as expected.

Here is why draw.io is the right tool for your rack diagrams:

• Automatic scaling: Racks add numbered slots as you resize them, ensuring your plan matches the physical layout.

• Shape access: Instant access to shapes from APC, Cisco, Dell, and more, without hitting a paywall.

• Replace shapes: Swap out hardware easily with the Replace feature, while keeping the rest of the layout as is.

• Keep everything centralized: Everyone’s on the same page when you house your diagrams in your single source of truth, directly alongside your project documentation and requirements.

So, before you grab the rack screws and velcro ties, build out your rack diagrams in draw.io – your future self will definitely thank you!

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