USER GUIDE

Racketeer v0.3.2 — complete reference for administrators and viewers. Covers every feature from first login to advanced professional workflows.

Introduction

Racketeer is an offline-first rack documentation system for fire & security, IT, and AV integrators. It runs as a background service on your local network — no cloud account, no internet connection, no data leaving your site.

The core workflow is: create Sites → add Racks → place Devices → map Ports → export professional PDFs for clients and compliance records.

Two User Roles

Plan Tiers

Features marked PROFESSIONAL+ require a Professional, Team, or Enterprise license. Starter plan users see these features greyed out with an upgrade prompt.

Installation

Racketeer installs as a native background service on every platform — no Docker or cloud account required. The app runs at http://localhost:3000 and starts automatically on boot.

Windows

1. Download Racketeer-Setup-0.3.2.exe from the releases page.
2. Right-click → Run as administrator and accept the UAC prompt.
3. The installer silently installs Node.js 22 LTS (if not already present), extracts the application, and registers it as a Windows Service.
4. When it finishes, open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.
5. Racketeer starts automatically on every Windows boot — no manual action needed.

Linux / macOS

unzip Racketeer-0.3.2-linux.zip -d racketeer
cd racketeer
chmod +x install.sh
sudo ./install.sh

The installer registers a systemd service (Linux) or LaunchDaemon (macOS) so Racketeer starts at boot. Access at http://localhost:3000.

# Status / start / stop
sudo systemctl status racketeer
sudo systemctl start  racketeer
sudo systemctl stop   racketeer

First Login

Navigate to http://localhost:3000. The default admin credentials are:

Username:  admin
PIN:       0000

Session & Inactivity

Admin sessions automatically expire after 5 minutes of inactivity to protect access on shared machines. Viewer sessions do not time out.

License Activation

The Free Plan is active by default — no license key required. It includes 3 users, 5 sites, and 10 racks with no expiry.

To activate a purchased license key:

1. Log in as an admin.
2. Click your username in the top-right → License.
3. Paste your RKS1.-prefixed key into the field and click Activate.
4. The page confirms your plan tier, seat count, and expiry. No internet required.

License Status Indicators

Dashboard

After login you land on the dashboard. This is your command centre — it shows all your sites and their racks, with quick-access stats and navigation at the top.

Stats Cards

The five cards across the top show live counts across all your data:

• Sites — total number of sites.
• Racks — total racks across all sites.
• Devices — total devices placed across all racks.
• IP Conflicts — duplicate IP addresses detected (amber when > 0). Click to see the full conflict list.
• Expiring Licenses — asset licenses expiring within 30 days (amber when > 0, Professional+). Click to open the Licenses page.

Header Buttons

• Cables — opens the Cable Register (all port connections across all sites).
• Audit — opens the Audit Log (admin only, Professional+). Greyed out on Starter plan.
• Capacity — toggles the capacity overlay on rack cards (U space, power, ports).
• Tools — opens the tools suite (IP calculator always available; CCTV/RAID/Battery on Professional+).

Sites & Racks

The data hierarchy is: Site → Rack → Device → Port. A site represents a physical location (office, server room, client premises). Racks live inside sites.

Creating a Site

1. On the dashboard, click the + Add Site button.
2. Enter a name (e.g. "Head Office — Server Room") and click Add Site.
3. The new site card appears on the dashboard.

Site Actions (⋮ menu)

• Rename — edit the site name in-place.
• Export Site (PDF) — generates a full PDF for this site including a cover page (if client info is set), rack summaries, and port connections.
• Export Site (CSV) — exports all devices across all racks as a spreadsheet.
• Export Site (JSON) — exports the entire site as a portable JSON file for backup or migration.
• Import Rack — import a .rackjson file exported from another installation.
• Delete Site — permanently deletes the site and all its racks and devices.

Site Client Info ℹ

Click the ℹ icon on any site card to open the Client Info panel. This information appears on exported PDFs and on the site card itself.

• Client / company name
• Site address, contact name, phone, email
• Contract reference number
• Next service date — highlighted amber on the site card if within 30 days
• Notes (freeform)

Adding a Rack

1. On a site card, click Add Rack.
2. Enter a rack name (e.g. "IDF-01") and its total U-height (e.g. 42).
3. Optionally set a key number and maximum power budget (W).
4. Click Add Rack.

Rack Card Actions (⋮ menu)

• Edit Rack — rename, change U height, key number, or power budget.
• Duplicate — creates a copy of the rack in the same site (Professional+).
• Save as Template — saves the rack configuration as a reusable template. IP/MAC/asset fields are stripped (Professional+).
• Move to Site — moves the rack to a different site.
• Export Rack (PDF / CSV) — exports just this rack.
• Delete Rack — permanently deletes the rack and all devices.

Rack Builder

Click any rack card to open the rack builder. The rack is displayed as a U-slot grid with a device palette on the left.

Placing Devices

Drag a device type from the palette on the left and drop it onto a U-slot in the rack. Alternatively, click a device in the palette then click the target slot.

• Toggle Front / Back to place devices on the rear of the rack.
• Full-depth devices (servers, UPS) block the same U-slot on the opposite face.
• Half-width and quarter-width devices can be placed side-by-side in a single U.

Device Palette Categories

• Networking — switches, patch panels, SFP-equipped devices.
• CCTV — NVR/DVR recorders and CCTV servers.
• AACS — door controllers (GCM, ACM, IPACM), PSU, PoE injectors.
• PAVA — PAVA amplifiers and controllers.
• Servers & KVM — servers, KVM switches.
• Power — PDU, UPS, PSU.
• Management & Fillers — blanking plates, brush plates, cable trays, drawers.
• Custom — any device types you've defined in your custom library (Professional+).

Moving & Removing Devices

Click a placed device to select it, then drag it to a new slot or click the Trash icon in the detail panel to delete it.

Device Configuration

Click any placed device to open its detail panel on the right-hand side of the rack builder. The panel is tabbed; available tabs depend on device type.

Details Tab

• Name — label for this device (e.g. "Core Switch", "NVR-01").
• IP Address, Subnet, Gateway — for network-connected devices.
• MAC Address — for auditing and conflict detection.
• VLAN — management VLAN tag.
• Power Draw (W) — contributes to rack power budget calculations.
• Asset Number — your internal asset tag.
• Description / Notes — freeform notes.
• Colour — applies a colour tint to the device in the rack view for visual grouping.

Ports Tab

See the Port Mapping section below.

Cameras Tab (NVR/DVR, Professional+)

NVR and DVR devices can have cameras attached. Click Configure Cameras to open the camera management dialog. For each camera you can record:

• Name, type (bullet, dome, fisheye, PTZ, thermal, thermal PTZ, predator, panoramic)
• IP address, subnet, gateway, MAC address, VLAN
• NVR port assignment (auto-computes the patch location)
• Cable number, asset number, drawing reference number
• Connection type: direct cable or via a device:port

PAVA Tab (PAVA controllers, Professional+)

PAVA controller devices can have connected speakers and devices. For each PAVA device:

• Name, type (horn, bi-directional, fist mic, yellow phone)
• IP, MAC, serial number, directory number
• Beacon fitted flag, patch location, asset number
• Connection via device:port or direct cable

Drives Tab (servers/NAS/NVR, Professional+)

Storage devices display a visual drive bay grid. For each bay you can mark it as empty, populated (with brand and capacity), or a hot spare.

Drawer Contents

Drawer devices have a Contents tab listing items stored inside — useful for spare parts trays or cable management drawers.

Port Mapping

Select any device → click the Ports tab. Each port is listed with its label and current status. Click a port to open the Port Details dialog.

Port Fields

• Label — port identifier (e.g. "Gi0/1", "Port 3", "HDMI Out").
• Type — network, power, USB, fiber, SFP, video in/out, input/output, etc.
• Status — Active, Reserved, or Disconnected.
• Connected To — free-text description of what's connected, or auto-populated by port linking.
• Cable Type — Cat6, fiber, DAC, power, USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, coax.
• Cable ID — asset tag for the physical cable (e.g. "CAT6-042").
• Cable Length — length in metres.
• IP Address, VLAN — for network ports.
• Reader Name — for door controller reader ports.
• PoE Enabled — marks a switch port as PoE-capable.
• Output Mode — normally open or normally closed (for relay outputs).
• Muster Point — flag for AACS reader ports used as muster points.
• Comment — freeform notes.

Capacity Planning View

Click the Capacity button in the dashboard header to toggle the capacity overlay on all rack cards. Three bars appear on each card:

• U Space — filled Us / total Us. Green <70%, amber 70–90%, red >90%.
• Power — total device power draw / rack power budget (W). Only shown if a power budget is set on the rack.
• Ports — connected ports / total ports across all devices in the rack.

Click Capacity again to return to the normal site view.

Cable Register

Click Cables in the dashboard header (or navigate directly to /connections). The cable register aggregates every port-to-port connection across all sites into one searchable table.

Columns

Bidirectional connections (A→B and B→A recorded on both ends) are automatically collapsed to a single row.

Filters

• Free-text search across device name, port label, connected-to, and cable ID.
• Filter by Site or Rack.
• Filter by Cable Type.

Export the register as CSV or PDF using the buttons in the top-right.

IP Conflict Detection

Racketeer continuously scans all IP addresses entered across devices, cameras, PAVA devices, and ports across every site and rack. If any two entries share the same IP, the IP Conflicts dashboard card turns amber and shows the count.

Click the card to open the IP Conflicts dialog, which shows each duplicate IP together with the full location path (Site → Rack → Device → Port) for every occurrence.

Search

The search bar at the top of the dashboard filters all visible site and rack cards in real time. Matching criteria include:

• Site name, rack name, rack key number
• Device name, IP address, MAC address, VLAN, description, asset number
• Port label, connected-to text, reader name, camera name, port IP, port comment
• Camera name, IP address, MAC address
• PAVA device name, IP, MAC, serial number, directory number
• Contained device names (inside drawers)

Racks with at least one match are highlighted. Clear the search box to return to the full view.

Audit Log PROFESSIONAL+

Click Audit in the dashboard header (admin users only). Every write operation — create, update, delete, import, login, logout — is recorded with:

• Timestamp (date and time)
• Username of the admin who made the change
• Action type: create / update / delete / import / login / logout
• Entity type: site / rack / device / port / account / system
• Entity name and optional detail text

The audit log is append-only — entries are never edited. Up to 10,000 entries are retained (oldest evicted first).

Filtering & Export

• Filter by action type, user, and entity type.
• Free-text search across entity name and detail.
• Export filtered results as PDF.

Rack Templates & Duplication PROFESSIONAL+

Saving a Template

1. On a rack card, click the ⋮ menu → Save as Template.
2. Enter a name and optional description for the template.
3. All devices and port configurations are saved. IP addresses, MAC addresses, and asset numbers are stripped automatically.

Creating from a Template

1. On a site card, click From Template (below the Add Rack button).
2. Choose a saved template from the list.
3. Enter a name for the new rack — it is pre-populated with all devices from the template.

Duplicating a Rack

On a rack card, click the ⋮ menu → Duplicate. A copy is added to the same site with " (Copy)" appended to its name. IP/MAC/asset fields are stripped in the duplicate.

Site Client Info & PDF Cover Page

Click the ℹ icon on any site card. Fill in any combination of client and contract details. When saved:

• The site card shows the client name below the site name.
• If a next service date is set and falls within 30 days, it is highlighted amber on the card.
• All PDF exports for that site include a formatted cover page with the client information.

Asset License Tracking PROFESSIONAL+

Navigate to the Expiring Licenses dashboard card (or go directly to /licenses) to manage software, hardware, and subscription licenses for your customer installations.

Adding a License

1. Click Add License (admin only).
2. Enter the license name (required) and type: Software / Hardware / Subscription / Maintenance.
3. Optionally add vendor, license key string, seats/nodes, site assignment, purchase date, expiry date, cost, and notes.
4. Leave Expiry Date blank for perpetual licenses.

Status Badges

The dashboard card turns amber when any license is Expiring Soon. Use Export CSV to download the full license register.

Tools Suite PROFESSIONAL+

Click Tools in the dashboard header. The IP Subnet Calculator is available on all plans; the remaining tools require Professional or higher.

IP Subnet Calculator (all plans)

Enter a CIDR range (e.g. 192.168.1.0/24) to instantly calculate:

• Network address, broadcast address, subnet mask
• Total hosts, usable hosts, first and last usable IP

CCTV Bandwidth & Storage Calculator

Estimate storage requirements for a CCTV system. Input the number of cameras, resolution, frame rate, compression, and retention days to get daily bandwidth (Mbps) and required storage (TB).

RAID Capacity Calculator

Select a RAID type (0, 1, 5, 6, 10) and enter your drive count and individual capacity to see usable capacity and fault tolerance summary.

Battery / UPS Runtime Calculator

Enter load (W), battery voltage (V), battery capacity (Ah), and efficiency (%) to calculate estimated runtime in hours and minutes.

App Branding PROFESSIONAL+

Admins can replace the default Racketeer identity with their own company branding.

• App Title — click the title text on the dashboard to edit it in-place. Replaces "Racketeer" in the dashboard header and on all exported PDFs.
• App Logo — click the logo area on the dashboard header. Upload any image file (PNG, SVG, JPG). The logo appears in the dashboard header and top-right on all exported PDFs.

Branding is stored in your data file and persists across restarts and upgrades.

PDF & CSV Export

Full Infrastructure Export

Dashboard → Tools menu → Export PDF. Generates a single PDF covering every site, every rack, and all port connection tables.

Site PDF Export

Site card ⋮ menu → Export Site (PDF). Includes:

• Cover page with client info (if set)
• Device summary table per rack (U, side, device name, type, IP, VLAN)
• Port connection table per rack

Rack PDF / Mounting Guide

Open a rack → Export dropdown → Export PDF or Mounting Guide. The PDF includes a device summary and detailed port table for every device. The mounting guide lists U positions, heights, and device names.

Camera Config PDF

From the Camera Configuration dialog → Export PDF. All cameras for that NVR/DVR device with full IP, cable, and location details.

PAVA Config PDF

From the PAVA Device Configuration dialog → Export PDF. All connected speakers and devices with directory numbers and locations.

Audit Log PDF

From the Audit page → PDF button. Exports all currently filtered entries.

Cable Register PDF / CSV

From the Cables page → use the CSV or PDF buttons top-right. Exports all currently filtered connections.

Asset Licenses CSV

From the Licenses page → Export CSV. Exports all currently filtered licenses with status, cost, and expiry.

Account Management

Dashboard → user menu (top-right) → Accounts. Admins can create and manage all user accounts.

Creating an Account

1. Click Add Account.
2. Enter a username, set a PIN, and choose role: Admin or Viewer.
3. Click Save.

Editing a PIN

Click the Edit icon next to any account → enter the new 4–8 digit PIN → Save. You can change your own PIN; admins can change any account's PIN.

Deleting an Account

Click the Delete icon next to any account (except the last admin). Deleted accounts are removed immediately.

Data Backup & Restore

All data — sites, racks, devices, accounts, license key — is stored in a single file:

# Windows
C:\Program Files\Racketeer\data\db.json

# Linux / macOS
/opt/racketeer/data/db.json

To back up: copy the entire data/ folder to a safe location.

To restore: stop the Racketeer service, replace the data/ folder, restart the service.

Plan Comparison