Patent ID: 8494370

Claim:
A system for locating a component in a data center, comprising: a plurality of hubs and a plurality of rods, each rod having opposing ends and a bus extending between the opposing ends, each hub having a plurality of ports, each port for coupling to an end of one of the rods in communication with the bus to form a customizable lattice of interlocking rods and hubs, wherein each hub in the lattice is in communication with one or more other hubs in the lattice over the bus; a hub controller on each hub configured for computing its address according to the address of another hub in the lattice, wherein each communication comprises a hub controller on a source hub sending the address of the source hub to a selected port on the source hub along with the directional orientation of the selected port, and wherein each communication further comprises a hub controller on a destination hub receiving the address of the source hub and the directional information of the selected port on the source hub to determine the address of the destination hub; and a plurality of wireless transmitters distributed along the lattice, each wireless transmitter in electronic communication with one or more of the hub controllers, and each wireless transmitter configured for wirelessly transmitting location information determined relative to the addresses of the hubs.