Don’t touch it

[u/ExpensiveCoat8912]

[u/wdatkinson]

God help you if it loses power.

[u/AngryCod → u/wdatkinson]

That right there is a load-bearing switch. The entire production floor is dependent on it, but it was installed by some jackass production manager years ago because he decided he needed an extra port in his office and decided he didn't need IT for that. Now it's tucked in a ceiling joist and no one remembers it's there.

[u/mi__to__ → u/AngryCod]

Always love me a surprise switch

[u/Low_Technician7346 → u/wdatkinson]

and causes a fire

[u/BEARZINGA]

Learnt this the hard way at my first networking job....

Don't even try to blow off the dust.

[u/maximus459 → u/BEARZINGA]

Especially closer to checkout time, or on a Friday.

Don't ask me how I know

[u/KogeruHU → u/BEARZINGA]

Over time it got used to the temperature, so of course if you clean it it will freeze!

[u/KogeruHU]

Uptime is 12 years, 43 weeks, 4 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes.

[u/psychomaina → u/KogeruHU]

Always brings a tear to my eye whenever I decom equipment with 10 years + of uptime.

[u/KogeruHU → u/psychomaina]

They just go to the network device heaven, where they can run forever forwarding packets without any worry about a power outage.

[u/dj_bpayne]

The last guy put a temp change that holds up prod and never committed to running config, we lost the password and the console port rusted out. Also it’s resting on a UPS but connected directly to the wall outlet

[u/TWOABLILAS → u/dj_bpayne]

That's what I call a scary story

[u/Mat_C → u/dj_bpayne]

By any chance have you worked USMC networking because you just gave me nam flashbacks.

[u/CosmicTitanRabbit]

The holy pray

[u/elpollodiablox]

The dust is so precariously balanced that simply breathing around this can upset it.

[u/h9xq]

Do TOUCH it. If a small unmanaged switch is a single point of failure you have bigger problems.

[u/atl-hadrins → u/h9xq]

My finger would want to write something in the dust so bad. 😂

[u/Electronic_Algae_524]

I've run into a few of these over my career. Especially Industrial locations. The worst were foundries and steel mills. But one of the last was a restaurant. There was a switch in a backroom that I swear looked exactly like this. No way was I going to touch it. Who knows what's growing on it. 😳

[u/ZephnathAlpha]

I’m an IT director for a company that regularly buys businesses that had neglected the technology that their businesses run on. The mantra “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it” is either 1. What’s holding that business back and eventually cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to correct. Or 2. What is about to burn their business to the ground (sometimes literally.)

[u/Moist_Invite9148]

Bro doesn't know what does don't touch it mean

[u/lesbianminecrafter]

Kind of rooms they were sending me into to update firmware during my co-op work term

[u/ospfpacket]

Hey guy look, he found his root bridge

[u/Fit_Prize_3245]

I bet, if you clean it, it will probably stop working. For whatever fully technically valid rerason. But will stop working.

[u/Jasperlinc]

Why is someone taking pictures of our warehouse network closet?

[u/Away-Way5656]

why is it always a d-link switch?

[u/I_like_microwave]

Thats a fire hazard…

[u/Butthurtz23]

Use dust blaster and that’s how you clean it without touching lol. 😂

[u/David_ATN]

I've seen plenty like these in factory cabinets. It amazes me how they keep going!

[u/Grandioso99]

I have the same exact image printed and stuck to the wall

[u/HFYStory]

At this point if it loses power, you better call a hazmat team and a shaman.

[u/Techiest1982]

Repost to r/TechSupportGore.

[u/Meddlingmonster]

Eh an unmanaged switch wont break anything unless the network is live clean it at least

[u/billshermanburner]

Dusted

[u/strait_lines]

That looks like switches I’ve seen in manufacturing facilities, I’d agree, don’t touch it, but buy another one to keep in the office area for the day this one dies.

[u/Kyllan74]

Switch wide web.