Data Center: Security and Operations Transformed

Today’s data centers not only store applications and data but also control production lines, communication systems, support remote work, manage security, including access control and building systems like air conditioning. According to the latest Commercial Victimization Survey (2022, October 2023), theft is the most common crime at 15%, followed by burglary and vandalism at 9%. While most companies have backup systems, physical theft and vandalism can undermine these measures, especially if servers are kept inhouse. Balancing failover and redundancy is crucial, despite the costs of downtime and preparation for all failure scenarios.

A leading Hyperscale Tier IV Data Center solution provider ensures 100% uptime to meet SLAs and maintain its reputation, as any downtime can lead to lost productivity and severe reputational damage. The company prioritizes security along with building the best data center by deploying 3000+ cameras, alarms, and access controls, covering every corner of the facility. Despite this extensive coverage, some incidents are logged due to the impracticality of real-time manual monitoring of each camera. Company can not be more careful as, if an intruder can get as far as the data center, they are already in a position to cause vandalism and disruptions, underscoring the need for robust security measure.

Awiros partnered with a leading Hyperscale Data Center Solution Provider to bolster security operations. Understanding the pivotal role of maximizing data center uptime, Awiros along with data center team identified potential causes of downtime, which are depicted in the below diagram:

1. Fire & Smoke: Can lead to equipment damage and service interruptions.
2. Lack of Access Control: Unauthorized access may compromise security protocols and disrupt operations.
3. Physical Security Breach: Results in data/asset theft.
4. Temperature Instability: Equipment Overheating can cause system failures.

During the session, Awiros and the data center team identified physical security breaches and access control as the primary concern across four listed causes of downtime. From existing incidents logged, it is observed that 80% reduction in overall incidents can be achieved by improving access control measures and addressing physical breaches.
Upon further deep-dive onto physical security breaches and access control issues the four essential security zones is identified for any data center which include: cabinet rooms, computer room control, facility control, and perimeter security.

For each security zone, specific strategies have been devised:
1. Advanced intrusion & trip wire in complete perimeter of data center premises. Unauthorized access monitoring, off-hour compliance monitoring, crowd monitoring & real-time alerting for all critical areas in facility
2. Asset location monitoring in computer room controls
3. Server door rack monitoring in server rooms

Additionally, the session revealed that traditional methods of video monitoring through CCTV cameras & placing security guards to enforce above identified strategies are insufficient and thus highlighting the need for:
1. Minimizing human involvement in premise monitoring.
2. Real-time detection and alerting of potential issues at command center.
3. Real-time alert resolution
4. Alert escalation methodology

This concludes the need of automated system which captures all the identified high-risk security points & automatically sends real-time alert to relevant stakeholder for swift resolution.

After identifying key strategies, the path forward was clear: deploy a solution integrating Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Video Analytics along with Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC) system to enhance security, theft prevention, perimeter monitoring & efficiency.
To provide an end-to-end solution, Awiros integrated with a Video Management System (VMS) partner to facilitate the transmission of alerts to the Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC) system. This integration empowers operators to take real-time actions in response to incidents. All incidents and alerts are to be reported directly to the ICCC, where they can be tracked via live video feeds, thereby enhancing system utility and responsiveness. This comprehensive approach ensures swift and effective management of security and operational incidents within the data center environment.

This integrated solution provides the customer with:
‍
1. Enhanced Data Security and Privacy Measures
2. Complete Control Over Software and Hardware
3. Improved Monitoring and Response Capabilities

Parallelly, Awiros collected field videos and images to develop applications for data processing and analysis. Team built models to detect security violations, monitor asset placement, and manage crowd dynamics in specific areas. Awiros Video AI Applications included intrusion detection, person collapse, dwell time monitoring, crowd counting, and rack door monitoring to prevent theft and ensure the security of hardware. After following rigorous testing to ensure accuracy and reliability solution was deployed on field for 6 month.

This helped in following:
1. Achieving 99.87% uptime with real-time alerts.
2. 15X more observations with 24/7 video analysis, reducing reliance on human observers across 3000+ video feeds.
3. Hardware failures are prevented by promptly detecting changes through automated temperature monitoring.
4. Over a span of 3 months, automated alerts for unauthorized access and loitering resulted in a 68% decrease in incidents.
5. 80% reduction in rack door open cases through real-time monitoring.
6. Improved incident management with 100% alert escalation and resolution

The implemented solution directly improves the monitoring of all high risk areas and assets which in-turns allows management to take proactive data based actions to secure all four critical security zones for data center.