Welcome back to Tech Service Today's IT Disaster of the Week series where we post the ugliest IT environment our technicians ran into this past week.

Today's topic: "The Internet may be filled with filth, but how dirty is your own network?"

We aren't referring to dirty data or objectionable content residing on your servers and PCs. Rather the physical dirt, dust and grime on/in your IT equipment, and the deleterious effect it can have on your network performance.

Every IT professional dreams of having the perfect data center - a secure, environmentally- controlled, anti-static clean-room with a state of the art air filtration system that prevents dust and microscopic bacteria from entering. But unless your technology budget is the size of the Googles and Facebooks of the world, your "data center" is probably an old office in your building, or a section of the basement or utility room, or in some cases, a janitor's closet complete with mops, cleansers, toilet paper, and paper towels (none of which are effective at cleaning up IT disasters).

While these typical network rooms are a bit dirtier/dustier than the big data centers, consider how harsh and inhospitable the environments inside restaurants and retail stores (i.e. groceries, gas stations/convenience stores, automotive service centers) can be to your network equipment.

Whether your environment is just a little dusty, or the grease from your deep fryer permeates the air everywhere inside your building, it is important to recognize that those airborne particulates will build up on the inside of any unused RJ45 ports in your patch panels, switches, and routers. And once that happens, it can significantly decrease the performance, speeds and reliability of those ports once a cable is finally plugged in. 

Believe it or not, there is an affordable way to prevent this from happening to the unused ports on your equipment - as well as the open ports in your wall outlets. Companies like Panduit and Black Box have introduced little plastic inserts that fit inside any RJ45 jack. These port blocks/ port locks not only prevent dust from building up inside the jacks/ports, but also provide a layer of physical security that most IT managers overlook completely. (While most IT professionals go to great lengths to prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to their network via the Internet or their Wireless Access Points, most also fail to recognize their vulnerability of someone walking right into their building and physically connecting to their network via an open wall outlet.)

While we can't clean up all the dirty stuff you find on the Internet, Tech Service Today is highly skilled at helping our customers clean up their networking and IT disasters. With over 20,000 technicians scattered all over North America, we can deliver a technician to your facility quickly, no matter where or when you need help. See our Cabling Cleanup Services page for examples of several IT disasters we have transformed into clean, neat environments.

Is Your Network Already A Disaster?

Don't panic. Contact Tech Service Today to learn how our Cabling Cleanup Services can restore order to even the ugliest cabling chaos plaguing a network. And do it now - before a picture of your network appears on our IT Disaster Of The Week blog. 

Check back next Friday for TST's latest IT Disaster of the Week photo  

which represent one of the thousands of customer sites our technicians visit every year as they install and service IT, networking, and telecom equipment & cabling for our clients.

Click here to see last week's IT Disaster photo.

Do you need help cleaning up your IT disaster?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to install a network. But to ensure that your equipment, racks and cabling are installed properly in an organized, efficient fashion, does require the talents of a skilled IT technician. If you need help installing or cleaning up your network, contact Tech Service Today to have a skilled, seasoned Technician dispatched to your site.

Need help installing, troubleshooting, testing, documenting, or replacing your network cabling?  Call Tech Service Today for on-site technical services anywhere in North America - often in 4-hours or less.

Just call (800) 973-2022 (option 1), or Email us at Service@TechServiceToday.com