System and method for determining the environmental configuration of telecommunications equipment

This invention relates generally to telecommunications equipment, and more specifically relates to a system and method for determining the environmental configuration of telecommunications equipment. A system and method determines the environmental configuration of telecommunications equipment having interchangeable components to provide an alarm if an improper environmental configuration exists. A configuration engine associated with the network management system of the telecommunications equipment determines the environmental rating of components added to or removed from the telecommunications equipment by querying flash memory associated with the component. If components designed for controlled environmental conditions and components designed for uncontrolled environmental conditions are both present in the telecommunications equipment, then component engine sets the alarm to alert the user of an improper environmental configuration.