# Data center diagram

The floor plan sits above the rack elevations: rows, racks, power distribution and cooling. Each rack on the floor plan should link to its own elevation, and the pair covers most operational questions.

It is a positional diagram, so it belongs on a canvas.

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## When to reach for one

* Capacity planning and audit.
* Physical security and access reviews.
* Explaining a room to a contractor who has never been in it.

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## How to draw it in Capable

| **Route** | **Use when**                                     |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| draw.io   | Positional layout with scale and real shapes.    |
| RackDiag  | The per-rack elevations the floor plan links to. |

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## What to show at floor level

| **Layer**          | **What it answers**      |
| ------------------ | ------------------------ |
| Rows and racks     | Where is it, physically  |
| Power distribution | What fails together      |
| Cooling            | Why that corner runs hot |
| Access zones       | Who may go where         |

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## A few things that catch people out

* Link each rack to its elevation. A floor plan without that is a picture of some rectangles.
* Mark power and cooling zones; they constrain capacity more often than space does.
* Keep it to scale if anybody will use it to plan an install.

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## Related

[Packet and protocol headersBit offsets, drawn properly.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/packet-and-protocol-headers.html)

[P&ID diagramPiping and instrumentation, with the right symbols.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/p-id-diagram.html)

[ExamplesWorking diagrams you can copy.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/examples.html)

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_Somebody will read this at 3am. Be kind._