> long ago they installed the switches at the top of the racks BACKWARDS so the ports where at the FRONT of the rack instead of the back with the server ports and they just ran with it instead of taking 20 minutes to flip them around

There might be a good reason for this, it sounds like they messed up the switch order and got front to airflow switches. Normally you would buy rear to front airflow, as the front of the cabinet is the cold aisle and the rear is hot.

In a shared colocation like Equinix, they will make you conform to these standards and have you rack a switch that way so the airflow is correct. Incorrect airflow lowers cooling the efficiency of a DC.

Front to airflow switches still have their place though, you typically find them on two post telco racks where the patch panels are.