Major UK Financial Institution Utilises RackANGEL To Manage Their Off-site Rack Security
When a major UK Financial Institution took up co-location space with an international multi-tenant Data Centre and managed services company they wanted to be certain that their off-site rack security was being fully managed and the risk of physical breaches was adequately mitigated. When moving into a multi-tenant co-location environment, they wanted to make sure that the racks were only being accessed by, not only its own authorised staff, but approved personnel from co-location operator, and other appointed third-party engineers. They also wanted to have a complete audit trail of when the racks were being accessed, by whom and for how long. They also needed to be alerted of any unauthorised access as soon as it happened.
The solution was RackANGEL from EDP Europe.
RackANGEL combines three rack security options into one package. At the heart of the solution is a leading rack access control platform: TZ Centurion infrastructure protection. TZ Centurion is a state-of-the-art rack security system that manages and controls access to IT racks. The system is incredibly flexible and can be retro-fitted to existing 19” cabinets. Mechanical swing handles are replaced with the TZ SlideHandle, an intelligent locking device that is controlled and monitored via the TZ Centurion Bridge. Users are configured on the TZ Bridge unit and given access rights to individual cabinet doors. The handles use a colour coded system to indicate the status of the lock: red indicates the cabinet is locked, amber indicates the cabinet door can be opened and green indicates that the door is unlocked and open. In situations where the mechanical swing handles cannot be replaced a secondary lock (PushLock) can be fitted to the top of the cabinet above each door (front & rear).
Racks are accessed through the use of any combination of RFID card, proximity, biometric, pin readers that are assigned to each user. For greater security and dual authentication, the use of a Biometric Reader allows the use of traditional swipe cards as well as the extra security gained through fingerprint recognision. The TZ Centurion Bridge logs events as they happen, be it an authorised or unauthorised event, to produce a full, downloadable, audit trail. This audit trail enabled this UK Financial Institution to meet their mandatory and corporate compliance requirements.
With 20 cabinets requiring to be managed, access to the system 24/7 was essential. The installed TZ Centurion Bridge 70, is accessed via a standard web browser and instantly provides an overview of the status of locks fitted to all 20 cabinets. The bridge unit also stores the audit trail they required and enabled them to set up alerts for unauthorised events. The capacity of the bridge unit was sufficient to allow future expansion of the system if so required.
To further protect the access to the racks, a second part of the RackANGEL system was installed – in-rack CCTV cameras. These cameras provide video evidence of who has accessed the racks, for how long, and records what they did, whether it be an authorised or unauthorised event. These recordings can also be accessed via a web browser and downloaded, with another option to view live footage.
With RackANGEL installed to manage their off-site rack security this financial institution now has the reassurance that their rack security is being proactively managed and monitored.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how EDP Europe can help improve your rack security please contact our sales department.
