Dusty environment - RMA possible ?

[Rajagopal Sivaramakrishnan]

Hi All

I went through RMA guidelines but it didnt give me any definitive answer. 

We have a customer who is going to install 3650 switches in rather "dusty" environment - cooling plant areas, manufacturing areas etc. are there any RMA guidelines if this switch goes faulty ? Hope they can get the switch replaced incase of any environmental issues ?

This is the general guideline, which the customer understands:

Cisco Ethernet Switches are equipped with cooling mechanisms, such as fans and blowers. However, these fans and blowers can draw dust and other particles, causing contaminant buildup inside the chassis, which can result in system malfunction. You must install this equipment in an environment as free from dust and foreign conductive material (such as metal flakes from construction activities) as is possible.

These standards provide guidelines for acceptable working environments and acceptable levels of suspended particulate matter:

–Network Equipment Building Systems (NEBS) GR-63-CORE (only with the DC power supply)

–National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Type 1

–International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) IP-20

[jonathanlunt]

This can't be answered by anyone except Cisco, but I can see it being hardly unlikely that they would replace any device if it isn't a direct hardware malfunction. And if they got it and opened it up and a tonne of sand came out, I think they would send it straight back!

You can buy racks designed for environments you described above. They're more pricey then normal ones, but cheaper then replacing all of your kit!

[Rajagopal Sivaramakrishnan]

Yeah.. they have racks with additional air filters and fans.. but still... 

thanks for the answer. I didnt see any RMA guideline for this. but I agree.. too much of dust, they might not even replace ....

:)

[Prabath Godevithanage]

I think It may vary on case by case.however there's a separate product line for industrial applications as well,if you haven't noticed it yet