A system, comprising: a rack; a network switch contained in said rack, said switch comprising a plurality of ports and a management unit comprising a processor coupled to a computer-readable storage medium storing software executable by the processor; a movable access mechanism in said rack; a sensor on said rack that is electrically connected to a port on said network switch, said sensor detecting when said movable access mechanism is moved; and a management station wherein said port to which said sensor is electrically connected comprises a transmit pin and a receive pin, and wherein said transmit pin and said receive pin are connected to said sensor such that, with the movable access mechanism in a closed position, said transmit pin is short-circuited to said receive pin, wherein the switch is configured to transmit pulses, and pulses sent by the switch over said transmit pin are received by the switch over said receive pin when said transmit pin is short-circuited to said receive pin; and, in an auto-negotiation process, the switch is configured to transmit a series of pulses over said transmit pin which are received by the switch over said receive pin and the switch is configured to determine that the link is operational; and the switch is further configured such that normal link pulses sent by the switch over said transmit pin are received by the switch over said receive pin, wherein, upon opening said movable access mechanism, the short-circuit condition is broken, and normal link pulses sent by the switch over said transmit pin are not received by the switch over said receive pin and said management unit of said switch is configured to detect a failure of the link when a normal link pulse is not received for a predetermined time period and to automatically transmit a status message via one of the ports to the management station, wherein the status message indicates that a link of the port within the switch to which said sensor is electrically connected has failed; and wherein the management station is programmed as to which port on the switch is connected to the sensor such that, when the management station receives a status message from the switch that a link associated with that port has failed, and wherein the management station is configured to report that the access mechanism has been opened. a rack; a network switch contained in said rack, said switch comprising a plurality of ports and a management unit comprising a processor coupled to a computer-readable storage medium storing software executable by the processor; a movable access mechanism in said rack; a sensor on said rack that is electrically connected to a port on said network switch, said sensor detecting when said movable access mechanism is moved; and a management station wherein said port to which said sensor is electrically connected comprises a transmit pin and a receive pin, and wherein said transmit pin and said receive pin are connected to said sensor such that, with the movable access mechanism in a closed position, said transmit pin is short-circuited to said receive pin, wherein the switch is configured to transmit pulses, and pulses sent by the switch over said transmit pin are received by the switch over said receive pin when said transmit pin is short-circuited to said receive pin; and, in an auto-negotiation process, the switch is configured to transmit a series of pulses over said transmit pin which are received by the switch over said receive pin and the switch is configured to determine that the link is operational; and the switch is further configured such that normal link pulses sent by the switch over said transmit pin are received by the switch over said receive pin, wherein, upon opening said movable access mechanism, the short-circuit condition is broken, and normal link pulses sent by the switch over said transmit pin are not received by the switch over said receive pin and said management unit of said switch is configured to detect a failure of the link when a normal link pulse is not received for a predetermined time period and to automatically transmit a status message via one of the ports to the management station, wherein the status message indicates that a link of the port within the switch to which said sensor is electrically connected has failed; and wherein the management station is programmed as to which port on the switch is connected to the sensor such that, when the management station receives a status message from the switch that a link associated with that port has failed, and wherein the management station is configured to report that the access mechanism has been opened.