Top Free Open-Source Tools for Automated Datacenter Infrastructure Documentation


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Proper datacenter documentation is critical for maintaining infrastructure visibility, troubleshooting network issues, and planning capacity. Manual documentation using spreadsheets becomes unmanageable at scale. Here are free tools that automate the process:

Originally developed by DigitalOcean, NetBox has become the de facto standard for datacenter documentation:


# Sample NetBox API call to document a server
import requests

url = "https://netbox.example.com/api/dcim/devices/"
headers = {
    "Authorization": "Token your_api_token",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}
data = {
    "name": "web-server-01",
    "device_type": 1,
    "device_role": 3,
    "site": 1,
    "rack": 5,
    "position": 42,
    "face": "front",
    "status": "active"
}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=data)

This PHP-based tool provides excellent rack visualization:


-- SQL query to find all servers in rack A12
SELECT d.name, d.asset_no, p.label as port, s.name as switch
FROM Device d
JOIN Port p ON d.id = p.device_id
JOIN Switch s ON p.switch_id = s.id
WHERE d.rack = 'A12'

Features include:

  • Auto-generated rack elevation diagrams
  • Cable management with trace routes
  • Power chain visualization

The combination provides:


# Sample inventory XML from FusionInventory
<REQUEST>
  <CONTENT>
    <HARDWARE>
      <NAME>db-server-03</NAME>
      <UUID>123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000</UUID>
      <MEMORY>65536</MEMORY>
    </HARDWARE>
    <NETWORKS>
      <IPADDRESS>192.168.1.42</IPADDRESS>
      <MACADDR>00:1a:4b:23:5c:1d</MACADDR>
    </NETWORKS>
  </CONTENT>
</REQUEST>

While not a documentation tool itself, Nmap can feed data into your systems:


# Scan a subnet and output machine-readable data
nmap -sV -O -oX inventory.xml 192.168.1.0/24

# Parse with Python
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
tree = ET.parse('inventory.xml')
for host in tree.findall('host'):
    ip = host.find('address').get('addr')
    for port in host.findall('ports/port'):
        print(f"{ip}:{port.get('portid')}")

For maximum efficiency, combine these tools:

  • Use Nmap for initial discovery
  • Feed data into NetBox as your source of truth
  • Visualize racks with OpenDCIM or RackTables
  • Track changes with Git version control

Managing data center documentation manually with spreadsheets becomes unsustainable as infrastructure grows. I've personally struggled with outdated network diagrams where servers were physically moved but documentation wasn't updated, causing hours of troubleshooting. The ideal solution should track:

  • Physical rack layouts with U positions
  • Network port-to-switch mappings
  • Asset inventory with custom fields
  • IP address management
  • Cable connectivity diagrams

Originally developed by DigitalOcean, NetBox has become the de facto standard for network documentation. Here's a sample Docker-Compose setup:

version: '3'
services:
  netbox:
    image: netboxcommunity/netbox:latest
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - redis
    environment:
      - DB_NAME=netbox
      - DB_USER=netbox
      - DB_PASSWORD=yourstrongpassword
      - REDIS_HOST=redis

Key features I've found invaluable:

  • Rack elevation views with color-coded devices
  • API-first design for automation (Python example below)
  • Circuit and provider documentation
  • IPAM with VRFs and VLANs

When I needed a lighter solution for a colocation facility, RackTables proved perfect. Its PHP/MySQL architecture makes it easy to deploy:

CREATE DATABASE racktables;
GRANT ALL ON racktables.* TO 'rackuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

What makes it stand out:

  • Drag-and-drop rack management
  • IPv4/IPv6 address space management
  • Custom attribute support
  • SNMP integration for auto-discovery

Here's a script I use to sync server data from NetBox to our monitoring system:

import pynetbox
import requests

nb = pynetbox.api(
    'https://netbox.example.com',
    token='your_api_token'
)

def get_rack_devices(rack_id):
    devices = nb.dcim.devices.filter(rack_id=rack_id)
    return [{
        'name': dev.name,
        'position': dev.position,
        'primary_ip': str(dev.primary_ip)
    } for dev in devices]

print(get_rack_devices(5))

For specific use cases:

  • phpIPAM: Focused solution when IP management is the priority
  • GLPI: Includes ITIL-compliant asset tracking
  • NIPAP: For large-scale IP address management

When evaluating tools, always check for:

  • REST API availability for automation
  • Role-based access control
  • Custom field support
  • Reporting capabilities