In the middle of a live VLAN readressing of a 200-node company, I encountered this gem. The ports just kept blinking on even after plugging out the cables. (HP aruba 24 port switch)
One turned off after a reboot.
The lights are combined link/act, not separate link act. left for upper side, right for lower side. 2 and 4 are blinking, 1 and 3 (the empty ports) are not.
This guy networks.
The lights are even labeled…
client had 2 near identical switches, one had LEDs on each port, one had LEDs all on top, I was looking at each port wondering why they weren’t lighting up and thinking they were disabled in admin panel. took me a few minutes, I was an idiot that day.
By the authority conferred to me through the “ownership” of approximately 25cm^2 of Scottish highland from a well-intentioned holiday present, I’m invoking my right as a Lord to grant you a pass on that one.
It would take me a few minutes, tooAs a Glencoe lord I support this.
So #5 is disconnected on the other end, right?
Yes, or the systems etc. Or the port is disabled if the switch has the ability.
Could’ve also just caught the photo in a flash of down activity depending. Still tho.
It’s a gif and the LED is permanently off.
Port 4 is slightly pulled out, you can see the cable difference between 2and4. which I think is what OP was getting at.
It’s probably touching just enough pins to keep active
It doesn’t seem to be, they look like different cables, look at the strain relief after the clear part, looks like a different pattern and shorter. They are probably both fully seated.
Hmm maybe I was wrong. Either way I think we can both agree this is everything just working normally…
Really? I’ve never seen that. In my experience, those labels are for the ports themselves, not the lights.
The ports are numbered with arrows. Port one’s LED is on the left, port two is beneath port one and has its LED on the right. The two blinking above open ports are for even-numbered ports that are actively plugged in on the bottom row. I dunno why the LED for port five isn’t blinking; maybe the other end of the cable is connected to a device that is powered off.
Those are WiFi ports.
The Netgear M4300 I got works like that, it’s a feature not a bug. There’s no link lights on the bottom, so the top row does not ports in alternate left/right patterns matching the label on the case right above the light.
Who ya gonna call?
Someone‘s probably just using those ports wirelessy!
That’s normal.
The switch doesn’t immediately detect that there is nothing plugged in. It keeps transmitting.
Edit: the lights are not even lit if you look closer
Listen, the ghosts gotta get online somehow
That ain’t right
Actually it’s by design! Right side is for the lower ports, that’s why there’s the number with an arrow above it.
Yeah, which is how we know that 5 isn’t patched into a machine, (likely goes to patch panel, then through the walls to an office/cubical with no machine connected to that port.)… Often means someone was fired and not replaced, or else the patch would be swapped to another place if they replaced the user and placed them elsewhere.
(Doesn’t have to be that, could be other things of course, like a laptop someone took home, a dead VoIP phone… A disconnected media station, etc)
Okay Oscar
Edit: Oscar Martinez?
“Who’s been looking at 1800’s ankle porn on my PC?”
