Data centres are already some of the most secure buildings in the world, but Siemon believes that it has found a gap in that security that could be solved by its new V-Lock security system.
According to Siemon, data centre downtime is about more than just network and power outages, and more often than not can be attributed to human error. That’s because in a colocation facility an employee could easily access the wrong cabinet for patching and maintenance work, and end up taking down the wrong server.
With the V-Lock security system, data centre operators will be able to granularly control who gets access to which cabinet – eliminating the risk associated with the use of universal cabinet keys. It works by pairing advanced software with a set of smart door handles, that can only be unlocked when presented with the correct authentication method – be it a low-frequency card, high-frequency card, biometric fingerprint or a simple PIN.
The clever thing about the V-Lock system is the fact that an employee’s fingerprint can work on a cabinet door one day, while the next that employee finds themselves locked out. This ensures that the employee only gains access to the cabinets they need to get into, rather than providing unfettered access to all of them. What’s more, the software behind V-Lock offers real-time monitoring and maintains logs of events for auditing and compliance regulations.
The new system also facilitates compliance with privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), the Financial industry’s Sarbanes-Oxley and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS).
“Physical access control and management remain a critical measure in providing security in the data centre environment and by preventing unauthorised access to data centre cabinets, risk of data centre downtime can be mitigated,” says Alberto Zucchinali, data centre solutions and services manager at Siemon.
“Our new V-Lock system eliminates the use of universal keys that can open any cabinet but instead controls cabinet access by restricting access to mission critical equipment based on specific cabinets, roles and time periods. In that, V-Lock can make a valuable contribution to physical security in the data centre space.”
V-Lock can be used on all Siemon standalone cabinets and it can be retrofitted to single-hinge doors. The system is available in a centralised Bus and Node System that provides cabinet-level or end-of-row authentication, or in a decentralised Sentry System for free-standing cabinets. V-Lock can also be pre-assembled onto customised preconfigured cabinet, such as Siemon’s V-Built along with pre-loaded connectivity, PDUs and accessories.
