User “TechMole” certainly had an experience for the books! Having no formal diagnostic tools to track a fickle breaker problem in a server farm, TechMole opted to perform a real-life whack-a-mole experiment by repeatedly flipping each breaker on and off to isolate the faulty one. This approach is not only potentially harmful to the electronics, but also incredibly risky considering the data held within such systems.

As this story unfolds, TechMole had a successful initial run, with no immediate dramatic aftermath. However, their relief was short-lived when one particular breaker caused a harsh flicker in the server room’s lights and then…silence. A wave of dread washed over them as they realized that this breaker was evidently not for the room’s lighting, but rather the main power supply for the entire server farm.

Within seconds, routers, switches, servers, and related subsystems were plunged into darkness. The loss of power was akin to cutting off the lifeblood of any digital operation. Even after restoring the power, a new cascade of issues emerged. Are the servers still bootable? What about data corruption? And of course, the huge loss of productivity time for whoever relied on those servers.

In the end, the “whack-a-mole” tactic proved to be not only less than effective, but also an expensive lesson in the importance of appropriate troubleshooting procedures. This story serves as a clear reminder that while unconventional methods may seem enticing, they can often lead to very real, very serious consequences. We hope TechMole and anyone else reading might think twice before going down the whack-a-mole route in the future.