While power and cooling are the two major expenditures of all large scale data centers, improved security and auditing can be achieved at a fraction of the overall upgrade cost.
While the traditional data center security attributes are important (such as a backup power, man trap, thick concrete walls, no windows, inconspicuous outer appearance, etc.), they do not protect the servers individually. Once granted access into the data center, a technician can very easily go to the wrong cabinet thinking that it is his, and start disconnecting cables or provisioning the wrong server.
Large enterprises are now looking for ways to protect the servers at the cabinet or even server level via an access control system that is compatible with their existing enterprise smart cards or proximity cards, and separate from their corporate access control system; one which is administered by the Data Center Manager. Data center security catastrophes are often the result of simple mistakes. Having access control at the cabinet level can make all the difference.
This type of access control system should log all events including door closure time. By having the grant access time and door closure time, the administrator can see exactly how long each cabinet was open within any given time frame. In addition to security, some corporations would like this information to better understand their IT costs or have more clear information for audits and maintenance schedules. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding data center security.
Patrick Conners