Data Center Physical Security – The Essential Security Measure for Data Center Infrastructures

Data Center physical security is a type of physical or virtual infrastructure that mainly has enterprises application for accommodating different types of computers, servers, and networking systems along with components. The need for such setup stems from the increasing requirement for storing and processing high volumes of data for the convenience of the clients. An extensive backup power supply and cooling system are required datacenters. Due to the critical nature of data stored in the datacenter the maintenance of security of the data centers is of utmost importance to prevent damage caused due to various threats that can disrupt the business activities. Major security solutions, which are being deployed by enterprises for ensuring the physical security of Data Centers are through the means of video surveillance through cameras, access control systems, perimeter security among others.

The rising adoption of Data Center physical security devices is due to the growing number of data center facilities, research, and development in the technological advancements of devoices pertaining to the security of data centers. Moreover, setting up data centers by the Government and the utilization of data centers by the Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector too will fuel the growth of data center security devices. The growth of cloud computing, increasing adoption of virtual currency and Big Data analytics too has also led to the demand for Data Center physical security market.

Today’s ICT industry nictitates a healthy functioning data center.  Thus, its functioning encompasses data center storage solutions that generate gargantuan bytes of data each minute that needs data center storage solutions. Further, to reduce infrastructural burdens, many data centers and managed service providers (MSPs) have transitioned to a software-defined data center (SDDC) service model that puts the virtualization technologies to abstract processing hardware into software from. Plus, hybrid cloud deployment, edge computing, and artificial intelligence have altogether made the data center far more complex than the clichéd image of a room packed with servers. Thus, this complexity has given rise to an array of technologies and practices that are increasingly being used to protect a facility's physical infrastructure and network systems from external and internal threats. The simpler explanation of data center security is preventing unauthorized access. The data center security systems implementation is two-pronged. One aspect includes systems to be integrated like locked access points, surveillance systems, as well as security personnel and controls like access lists, policies and rules, and regulations that are put in place for effective management of the systems with which the data centers are managed. Here a few of the widely used systems that are installed in data centers will be visited and briefly familiarized with.

A Few Solutions Pertaining to Data Center Physical Security 

Video Surveillance

Among the various types of physical security technologies that have been known so far video surveillance is still the most widely known and implemented means of data center security. A full pan, tilt, and zoom enabled Closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) is capable of constantly monitoring the exterior access points, interior doors as well as data floor itself. The footage recorded by the cameras is digitally backed up and archived offsite to prevent any unauthorized tampering of the footage.  To this end, in February 2020, the renowned innovators in integrated video and access control cloud services, Arcules, announced that Arcules-XProtect Hybrid VMS Solution will be commercially made available in North America and Europe. The solution encompasses Arcules Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS), and Milestone XProtect Corporate on-premise video management software (VMS) integrated with each other. Thus, transforming it into a hybrid solution that is a feature-rich flexible solution that is best suited for organizations that intend to centralized their dispersed video surveillance operations. The availability of this product outside the North American and European markets is subjected to possibilities of the market conditioned by data center availability.

Monitoring Solutions

Network performance and security are essential in today’s business world just like the importance of a sound economic policy that keeps the country running, because of the simple fact that business is increasingly relying on IT infrastructure in order have that comparative edge in the market to deliver memorable consumer experience simultaneously ensuring repeat customers. Digital security measures like the basic firewall to measures like Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) are implemented by many data center administrators. In view of the above FortiGate 1800F Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) was launched by Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions. The firewalls are powered by NP7 the orientation seventh-generation network processor that enables the user to achieve unparalleled detection, enforcement capabilities, performance, and scale. This introduction is also in response to the extraordinary demands of data center security concomitantly enabling a Security-Driven Networking approach. Further, the development of hyper-scale architecture with enterprise-level data centers is emerging as a necessity due to the unprecedented scale, availability and application delivery requirement. Fortinet’s NP7 network processor is capable of enabling organizations the ability to develop and segment services, manage internal and external risks simultaneously preserve user experience. This addition to the Data Center physical security market has set a new yardstick for data center physical security devices.

The Sum of all Tiers

The large business and enterprise opt for data centers with Tier III or higher ranking to install their servers because of these data centers unlike the Tier I and II data centers, offer top quality redundancy i.e. in case of any unforeseen outages it will be still a business-as-usual day for them. Additionally, in recent years there have been drastic changes in the manner in which enterprise data centers are designed and implemented. Driven by the ever-growing business transaction, adoption of cloud computing and virtualization technologies, businesses around the world now can enable themselves with infrastructure scale and elasticity, among others that would ensure minimization of cost and faster deployment of services, which in turn will make the ICT industry even more competitive. Thus, with such conveniences comes to their own sets of threats that have necessitated the securing the data centers even more in the face of much-publicized fatal breaches and cyberattacks. To this end systems and solutions brought about by Data Center, the physical security sector is increasingly being adopted.