It’s a few decades back, and this data center is protected by a Halon fire-suppression system that’s set off by smoke and heat sensors — or by a big red button on the wall, reports a pilot fish working there.

“Our midrange systems were on a preventive-maintenance contract that ensured they were opened, cleaned and checked every few months,” fish says. “It seemed we had more failures after those visits, but that’s another story.

“One day the service tech came in to do PM on the line printers we used for production. Sometime later, I went into the computer room to retrieve a listing and discovered the tech standing there patiently, holding in the big red Halon dump button.

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