Embodiments of the invention include systems and method for determining the location of components in a data center. In one embodiment, a component locating system includes a lattice formed of interconnected hubs and rods. Each hub in the lattice computes its address relative to the address of a reference location, such as the location of an adjacent hub or of an origin hub defining the origin of a reference coordinate system. A plurality of optical transmitters is distributed along the lattice to transmit location information. Optical receivers mounted on top of the racks receive the location information and communicate the location information to rack-mounted components. The racks and rack-mounted components determine their locations from the location information and optionally transmit the location information to a central management server.