V-Lock security system from Siemon improves cabinet access control

Unplanned data centre downtime can cost the business thousands of dollars per minute. Whilst power outages and network failures range amongst the most common causes, industry reports show that data centre outages are often attributed to human error. In a colocation facility human error can be as simple as accidentally accessing the wrong cabinet for patching and maintenance work.

Friday, 20th September 2019 Posted 5 years ago in by Phil Alsop

With V-Lock™, global IT infrastructure expert Siemon offers a new data centre cabinet door security system that provides superior cabinet-level access control for improved security, administration and control in mission critical colocation and enterprise data centres.

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).

V-Lock comprises of a comprehensive and easy-to-setup hardware and software system and a wide range of secure door handles that eliminate the risk associated with the use of universal cabinet keys to open any cabinet. V-Lock security handles provide the flexibility to meet specific cabinet security needs including electronic, low-frequency card, high-frequency card, biometric fingerprint and PIN access.

To administer users, their cards and biometrics and to manage user and group permissions, V-Lock uses a server-based software platform that also provides real-time monitoring and maintains extensive logs of events for auditing and compliance regulations.

“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.