RackTables Review, Pricing & Features

See what RackTables offers for datacenter asset management: rack visualization, IPAM, VLAN tracking, pricing (free/open source), and key features.

Category
DevOps
Pricing
Free and open source (self-hosted, no paid tiers), from Free
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2004
Headquarters
N/A (community-maintained open-source project)
Free PlanWeb AppOpen SourceSelf-Hosted

Overview

RackTables is an open-source datacenter and server-room asset management system that has been in continuous development since 2004. It gives IT and network teams a single system of record for physical rack space, hardware inventory, IP address allocation, VLANs, and network cabling, all accessible through a web-based interface backed by a MySQL database.

Unlike commercial DCIM platforms, RackTables has no company behind it and no license fees; it is released under the GPLv2 and maintained by volunteer contributors. This makes it attractive to organizations that want full control over their infrastructure documentation without recurring software costs, though it also means support comes from community channels rather than a vendor help desk.

Key Features

At its core, RackTables models real rack elevations and lets administrators place typed objects, such as servers, switches, PDUs, and patch panels, into specific rack units, with custom attribute sets defined per object type. A flexible tagging system supplements this hierarchy so equipment can be grouped by owner, project, or environment independent of physical location.

The IP address management module is NAT-aware and can represent virtual routers and load balancers, a level of network modeling that is uncommon in free asset-tracking tools. RackTables also tracks VLANs, structured cabling between ports, and can pull live topology data via CDP and LLDP to compare against documented connections, plus integrates with Cacti and Munin for monitoring context.

Pricing

RackTables is completely free to download, self-host, and modify under the terms of the GPLv2 license. There are no tiers, seat limits, or paid add-ons; the only cost is the infrastructure you run it on and the internal time spent on setup and maintenance.

Because there is no vendor, there is also no commercial support contract available directly from a RackTables company. Organizations that need guaranteed response times typically either rely on in-house PHP/MySQL expertise or contract a third-party consultant familiar with the codebase.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Completely free and open source with no licensing costs
  • NAT-aware IPAM with virtual router and load balancer modeling is advanced for a free tool
  • Lightweight PHP/MySQL stack that is easy to self-host on modest hardware
  • Strong community history and active GitHub development since 2004
  • Extensible attribute dictionary adapts to many types of equipment
  • Integrates with existing monitoring tools like Cacti and Munin

Cons

  • No official commercial support or SLA available
  • Interface looks dated compared to modern SaaS DCIM tools
  • Requires a Linux host; no native Windows support
  • Initial setup and data entry can be time-consuming for large environments
  • No built-in drag-and-drop floor plan editor
  • Documentation and UI can feel form-heavy for newcomers

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

Is RackTables really free to use?

Yes. RackTables is released under the GPLv2 license and can be downloaded, self-hosted, and modified at no cost, with no seat limits or paid tiers.

What does RackTables run on?

RackTables is written in PHP and stores data in MySQL. It runs on Linux and other Unix-like operating systems; it does not support Windows as a host.

Does RackTables support IP address management?

Yes. Its IPAM module is NAT-aware and can model virtual routers and load balancers in addition to standard IPv4 and IPv6 address tracking.

Who maintains RackTables?

RackTables has no owning company. It is maintained by a community of open-source contributors, with development history dating back to 2004 and source hosted on GitHub.

Can RackTables discover network topology automatically?

RackTables supports neighbor discovery via CDP and LLDP, which helps reconcile documented cabling and connections against what devices actually report.

How does RackTables compare to NetBox?

Both are free, open-source infrastructure documentation tools. RackTables is older and PHP/MySQL based with strong rack and IPAM modeling, while NetBox is Python/Django based with a stronger API and broader modern community adoption.

Is there official support if something breaks?

There is no commercial vendor support; help comes from the project wiki, mailing lists, and GitHub issue tracker.

Can multiple team members use RackTables at once?

Yes, RackTables includes a multi-user access model with permission controls so teams can collaborate without sharing one login.

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