diff --git a/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/switch-service.go b/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/switch-service.go
index 54e1c51c5..092096c1e 100644
--- a/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/switch-service.go
+++ b/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/switch-service.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"log/slog"
 	"net/http"
 	"sort"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -80,6 +81,7 @@ func (r *switchResource) webService() *restful.WebService {
 		Operation("deleteSwitch").
 		Doc("deletes an switch and returns the deleted entity").
 		Param(ws.PathParameter("id", "identifier of the switch").DataType("string")).
+		Param(ws.QueryParameter("force", "if true switch is deleted with no validation").DataType("boolean").DefaultValue("false")).
 		Metadata(restfulspec.KeyOpenAPITags, tags).
 		Writes(v1.SwitchResponse{}).
 		Returns(http.StatusOK, "OK", v1.SwitchResponse{}).
@@ -191,6 +193,16 @@ func (r *switchResource) findSwitches(request *restful.Request, response *restfu
 
 func (r *switchResource) deleteSwitch(request *restful.Request, response *restful.Response) {
 	id := request.PathParameter("id")
+	forceParam := request.QueryParameter("force")
+	if forceParam == "" {
+		forceParam = "false"
+	}
+
+	force, err := strconv.ParseBool(forceParam)
+	if err != nil {
+		r.sendError(request, response, httperrors.BadRequest(err))
+		return
+	}
 
 	s, err := r.ds.FindSwitch(id)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -198,6 +210,11 @@ func (r *switchResource) deleteSwitch(request *restful.Request, response *restfu
 		return
 	}
 
+	if !force && len(s.MachineConnections) > 0 {
+		r.sendError(request, response, httperrors.BadRequest(fmt.Errorf("cannot delete switch %s while it still has machines connected to it", id)))
+		return
+	}
+
 	err = r.ds.DeleteSwitch(s)
 	if err != nil {
 		r.sendError(request, response, defaultError(err))
diff --git a/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/switch-service_test.go b/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/switch-service_test.go
index 81e7e738a..46bbd031f 100644
--- a/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/switch-service_test.go
+++ b/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/switch-service_test.go
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ import (
 
 	restful "github.com/emicklei/go-restful/v3"
 	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"gopkg.in/rethinkdb/rethinkdb-go.v6"
 	r "gopkg.in/rethinkdb/rethinkdb-go.v6"
 
 	"github.com/metal-stack/metal-api/cmd/metal-api/internal/datastore"
@@ -21,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	v1 "github.com/metal-stack/metal-api/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/v1"
 	"github.com/metal-stack/metal-api/cmd/metal-api/internal/testdata"
 	"github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib/httperrors"
+	"github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib/pkg/pointer"
 )
 
 func TestRegisterSwitch(t *testing.T) {
@@ -1418,3 +1421,128 @@ func TestToggleSwitchNicWithoutMachine(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Equal(t, result.Message, fmt.Sprintf("switch %q does not have a connected machine at port %q", testdata.Switch1.ID, testdata.Switch1.Nics[1].Name))
 }
+
+func Test_SwitchDelete(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name       string
+		mockFn     func(mock *rethinkdb.Mock)
+		want       *v1.SwitchResponse
+		wantErr    error
+		wantStatus int
+		force      bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "delete switch",
+			mockFn: func(mock *rethinkdb.Mock) {
+				mock.On(rethinkdb.DB("mockdb").Table("switch").Get("switch-1")).Return(&metal.Switch{
+					Base: metal.Base{
+						ID: "switch-1",
+					},
+				}, nil)
+				mock.On(rethinkdb.DB("mockdb").Table("switch").Get("switch-1").Delete()).Return(testdata.EmptyResult, nil)
+				mock.On(rethinkdb.DB("mockdb").Table("switchstatus").Get("switch-1")).Return(nil, nil)
+				mock.On(rethinkdb.DB("mockdb").Table("ip")).Return(nil, nil)
+			},
+			want: &v1.SwitchResponse{
+				Common: v1.Common{
+					Identifiable: v1.Identifiable{
+						ID: "switch-1",
+					},
+					Describable: v1.Describable{
+						Name:        pointer.Pointer(""),
+						Description: pointer.Pointer(""),
+					},
+				},
+				Nics:        v1.SwitchNics{},
+				Connections: []v1.SwitchConnection{},
+			},
+			wantStatus: http.StatusOK,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "delete switch does not work due to machine connections",
+			mockFn: func(mock *rethinkdb.Mock) {
+				mock.On(rethinkdb.DB("mockdb").Table("switch").Get("switch-1")).Return(&metal.Switch{
+					Base: metal.Base{
+						ID: "switch-1",
+					},
+					MachineConnections: metal.ConnectionMap{
+						"port-a": metal.Connections{},
+					},
+				}, nil)
+				mock.On(rethinkdb.DB("mockdb").Table("switch").Get("switch-1").Delete()).Return(testdata.EmptyResult, nil)
+			},
+			wantErr: &httperrors.HTTPErrorResponse{
+				StatusCode: http.StatusBadRequest,
+				Message:    "cannot delete switch switch-1 while it still has machines connected to it",
+			},
+			wantStatus: http.StatusBadRequest,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "delete switch with force",
+			mockFn: func(mock *rethinkdb.Mock) {
+				mock.On(rethinkdb.DB("mockdb").Table("switch").Get("switch-1")).Return(&metal.Switch{
+					Base: metal.Base{
+						ID: "switch-1",
+					},
+					MachineConnections: metal.ConnectionMap{
+						"port-a": metal.Connections{},
+					},
+				}, nil)
+				mock.On(rethinkdb.DB("mockdb").Table("switch").Get("switch-1").Delete()).Return(testdata.EmptyResult, nil)
+				mock.On(rethinkdb.DB("mockdb").Table("switchstatus").Get("switch-1")).Return(nil, nil)
+				mock.On(rethinkdb.DB("mockdb").Table("ip")).Return(nil, nil)
+			},
+			force: true,
+			want: &v1.SwitchResponse{
+				Common: v1.Common{
+					Identifiable: v1.Identifiable{
+						ID: "switch-1",
+					},
+					Describable: v1.Describable{
+						Name:        pointer.Pointer(""),
+						Description: pointer.Pointer(""),
+					},
+				},
+				Nics:        v1.SwitchNics{},
+				Connections: []v1.SwitchConnection{},
+			},
+			wantStatus: http.StatusOK,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+
+			var (
+				ds, mock = datastore.InitMockDB(t)
+				ws       = NewSwitch(slog.Default(), ds)
+			)
+
+			if tt.mockFn != nil {
+				tt.mockFn(mock)
+			}
+
+			if tt.wantErr != nil {
+				code, got := genericWebRequest[*httperrors.HTTPErrorResponse](t, ws, testAdminUser, nil, "DELETE", "/v1/switch/switch-1")
+				assert.Equal(t, tt.wantStatus, code)
+
+				if diff := cmp.Diff(tt.wantErr, got); diff != "" {
+					t.Errorf("diff (-want +got):\n%s", diff)
+				}
+
+				return
+			}
+
+			force := ""
+			if tt.force {
+				force = "?force=true"
+			}
+
+			code, got := genericWebRequest[*v1.SwitchResponse](t, ws, testAdminUser, nil, "DELETE", "/v1/switch/switch-1"+force)
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.wantStatus, code)
+
+			if diff := cmp.Diff(tt.want, got); diff != "" {
+				t.Errorf("diff (-want +got):\n%s", diff)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/v1/switch.go b/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/v1/switch.go
index 99eaf221d..85c214c0d 100644
--- a/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/v1/switch.go
+++ b/cmd/metal-api/internal/service/v1/switch.go
@@ -138,6 +138,11 @@ func NewSwitchResponse(s *metal.Switch, ss *metal.SwitchStatus, p *metal.Partiti
 		}
 	}
 
+	var partition PartitionResponse
+	if partitionResp := NewPartitionResponse(p); partitionResp != nil {
+		partition = *partitionResp
+	}
+
 	return &SwitchResponse{
 		Common: Common{
 			Identifiable: Identifiable{
@@ -157,7 +162,7 @@ func NewSwitchResponse(s *metal.Switch, ss *metal.SwitchStatus, p *metal.Partiti
 			ConsoleCommand: s.ConsoleCommand,
 		},
 		Nics:          nics,
-		Partition:     *NewPartitionResponse(p),
+		Partition:     partition,
 		Connections:   cons,
 		LastSync:      snr.LastSync,
 		LastSyncError: snr.LastSyncError,
diff --git a/cmd/metal-api/main.go b/cmd/metal-api/main.go
index 03bb9224c..c5ea61907 100644
--- a/cmd/metal-api/main.go
+++ b/cmd/metal-api/main.go
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib/jwt/grp"
 	"github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib/jwt/sec"
+	"github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib/pkg/pointer"
 
 	"connectrpc.com/connect"
 	restfulspec "github.com/emicklei/go-restful-openapi/v2"
@@ -296,6 +297,7 @@ func init() {
 	rootCmd.Flags().String("headscale-api-key", "", "initial api key to connect to headscale server")
 
 	rootCmd.Flags().StringP("minimum-client-version", "", "v0.0.1", "the minimum metalctl version required to talk to this version of metal-api")
+	rootCmd.Flags().String("release-version", "", "the metal-stack release version")
 
 	must(viper.BindPFlags(rootCmd.Flags()))
 	must(viper.BindPFlags(rootCmd.PersistentFlags()))
@@ -749,6 +751,11 @@ func initRestServices(audit auditing.Auditing, withauth bool, ipmiSuperUser meta
 		log.Fatalf("given minimum client version is not semver parsable: %s", err)
 	}
 
+	var releaseVersion *string
+	if viper.IsSet("release-version") {
+		releaseVersion = pointer.Pointer(viper.GetString("release-version"))
+	}
+
 	restful.DefaultContainer.Add(service.NewAudit(logger.WithGroup("audit-service"), audit))
 	restful.DefaultContainer.Add(service.NewPartition(logger.WithGroup("partition-service"), ds, nsqer))
 	restful.DefaultContainer.Add(service.NewImage(logger.WithGroup("image-service"), ds))
@@ -766,7 +773,11 @@ func initRestServices(audit auditing.Auditing, withauth bool, ipmiSuperUser meta
 	restful.DefaultContainer.Add(service.NewSwitch(logger.WithGroup("switch-service"), ds))
 	restful.DefaultContainer.Add(healthService)
 	restful.DefaultContainer.Add(service.NewVPN(logger.WithGroup("vpn-service"), headscaleClient))
-	restful.DefaultContainer.Add(rest.NewVersion(moduleName, service.BasePath, minClientVersion.Original()))
+	restful.DefaultContainer.Add(rest.NewVersion(moduleName, &rest.VersionOpts{
+		BasePath:         service.BasePath,
+		MinClientVersion: minClientVersion.Original(),
+		ReleaseVersion:   releaseVersion,
+	}))
 	restful.DefaultContainer.Filter(rest.RequestLoggerFilter(logger)) // FIXME
 	restful.DefaultContainer.Filter(metrics.RestfulMetrics)
 
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 0d2a34bea..09fc15553 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/looplab/fsm v1.0.2
 	github.com/metal-stack/go-ipam v1.14.1
 	github.com/metal-stack/masterdata-api v0.11.4
-	github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib v0.17.0
+	github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib v0.17.1
 	github.com/metal-stack/security v0.8.0
 	github.com/metal-stack/v v1.0.3
 	github.com/nsqio/go-nsq v1.1.0
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index e0c9729f8..c67327fe7 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -299,8 +299,8 @@ github.com/metal-stack/go-ipam v1.14.1 h1:kTe4GUvLTNd27sad2uzxZUS5jD7pZfgfr077xo
 github.com/metal-stack/go-ipam v1.14.1/go.mod h1:0KqCwF1nTB3SZGED+Z+bxdZwXQjP7CiLPcjGDLMKn3s=
 github.com/metal-stack/masterdata-api v0.11.4 h1:bgRk7PbD5BjYbmAReaV7gTKKKrW5x/ZzCwj98VSWoJk=
 github.com/metal-stack/masterdata-api v0.11.4/go.mod h1:fD0AtsoNNaOLqRMBeZzDFljiQW9RlrOnxeZ20Pqhxas=
-github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib v0.17.0 h1:0fCRUtYweJ5wbUwiEalFGiHkEz0mZwTWQUIIo3Npzkw=
-github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib v0.17.0/go.mod h1:nyNGI4DZFOcWbSoq2Y6V3SHpFxuXBIqYBZHTb6cy//s=
+github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib v0.17.1 h1:JLa4wJ62dgxtY9UOLF+QDk10/i/W5vhzrv8RsundDUY=
+github.com/metal-stack/metal-lib v0.17.1/go.mod h1:nyNGI4DZFOcWbSoq2Y6V3SHpFxuXBIqYBZHTb6cy//s=
 github.com/metal-stack/security v0.8.0 h1:tVaSDB9m5clwYrnLyaXfPy7mQlJTnmeoHscG+RUy/xo=
 github.com/metal-stack/security v0.8.0/go.mod h1:7GAcQb+pOgflW30ohJygxpqc3i0dQ2ahGJK1CU5tqa0=
 github.com/metal-stack/v v1.0.3 h1:Sh2oBlnxrCUD+mVpzfC8HiqL045YWkxs0gpTvkjppqs=
diff --git a/spec/metal-api.json b/spec/metal-api.json
index 897b54824..5efe1b755 100644
--- a/spec/metal-api.json
+++ b/spec/metal-api.json
@@ -402,6 +402,9 @@
         "name": {
           "type": "string"
         },
+        "release_version": {
+          "type": "string"
+        },
         "revision": {
           "type": "string"
         },
@@ -9371,6 +9374,13 @@
             "name": "id",
             "required": true,
             "type": "string"
+          },
+          {
+            "default": false,
+            "description": "if true switch is deleted with no validation",
+            "in": "query",
+            "name": "force",
+            "type": "boolean"
           }
         ],
         "produces": [