IP Environmental Monitoring

Physical Threats to Mission Critical Facilities
Most organisations depend on the performance of their IT network to facilitate all of the required business processes for normal operations. This growth in the reliance of the IT infrastructure has created the need to protect the systems themselves, not only from internet attacks, but also from physical threats.

The i-BOX solution provides true plug and play, RFID Access Control, Intrusion and environmental monitoring, protecting the mission critical assets, thereby reducing downtime costs and ensuring maximum availability of systems.

Description of i-BOX
The i-BOX provides integration of an enterprise level access control, Security and Environmental monitoring, allowing for the convergence of Facilities/IT and Security remote site monitoring within a single small boxed solution.

Each i-BOX has a built in temperature, humidity, Light and incoming voltage sensor with further external connectors, for 2 x access control ports and 14 x smart sensors. The Access control ports are fitted with mini din sockets. Smart sensors are supplied with a 2.5 meter lead with 4 way FCC68 Jack.

Human Error & Negligence
The most common reason for network or automated business process failure is human error; this could be as simple as a patch cord being re-patched into the wrong socket or the incorrect power socket removal. The list of potential problems caused by free access to a cabinet or room is the greatest risk of downtime and the consequential business disruption.

For this reason, core to the i-BOX solution is an enterprise level access control element, external or internal cabinet enclosures are locked using the iC-Lock and Proximity Reader. The protected doors can only be opened with an authorised Smartcard or by a remote operator when connected to an i-BOX.

iC-Lock can function as a standalone unit when plugged directly into the supplied power supply, or on line when connected to an  i-BOX.

Intrusion or Sabotage
Many essential servers and network infrastructure components are located in shared locations. These shared locations typically have access control and intrusion protection for the main entrance to the room only, leaving departments or even Companies with no control or monitoring over their critical assets.

The iC-Lock solution has precision access control. Precision access control allows for maximum flexibility. The unique identifier built into the smartcard will allow or deny access to each of the doors connected to the system.
When connected to an i-BOX the transaction will be recorded, providing a date/time stamp of the access attempt.

Detailed reports of access attempts can be filtered by single or groups of doors, employee name, Company or department, individual date or date range. These reports can be printed or exported into a database or spreadsheet for analysis.

If a card is lost, the system has a replace wizard which automatically deletes the lost card and replaces the access privileges from the old card to the new. Ensuring that the facilities remain secure.

Each card holder has a photo identification record which allows the import of an image in jpg, bmp, or gif format; alternatively a USB camera can be connected to snap a live image of the person directly into the database. This photo image can be display each time the card is used on the main transaction screen. When network cameras are associated the live image on the network camera can be compared with the database photo image.

A range of plug and play smart sensors connected directly to the i-BOX monitor the Cabinet or perimeter for Intrusion.

Enviromental
Mission critical assets are typically contained within cabinet shared with many other cabinets in a protected room which may have environmental monitoring for the room only, this will offer protection against a major incident likely to effect the room, but could easily fail to provide early warning of a potential problem within a single cabinet enclosure.

i-BOX provides extensive environmental monitoring fit for rooms and cabinet enclosures, the scalability of the system reflects this. Using strategically placed Smart Sensors the system administrator has a clear picture of the condition within multiple parts of each enclosure. Temperature measurements can vary significantly. Concentration of equipment can produce varying. Temperatures within the enclosure.
i-BOX can measure the temperature between equipment providing early warning of an approaching problem. As the load on servers, switches, and routers varies so does the heat output. Monitoring both temperature and humidity within acceptable limits is vitally important. i-BOX monitors Temperature, Humidity, Flood, Smoke, and varying temperature within the enclosure preventing environmental conditions exceeding recommended thresholds, this in turn gives un-rivalled protection to sensitive IT equipment.

IT administrators require detailed information on environmental conditions within the cabinet. Careful environmental monitoring using the i-BOX will give you a clear picture coupled with alerts, the system will give you ample warning before conditions become critical or out of control. In addition essential remote network visability to environmental sensing equipment can be provided allowing the pro active management of critical business assets.

Each i-BOX has an onboard Temperature, Humidity, Light Level and internal voltage sensor, with 14 additional ports for plug and play connection of Smart Sensors.
i-PDU Power Monitoring
Several critical factors have converged to create today?s power Management challenges. The first is the dramatic increase in the number of servers deployed in most facilities. Worldwide, total server numbers have increased approximately 150 times in less than a decade. During that same period, average compute power per server has increased by a factor of 10, and smaller form factors have packed that power into much smaller volumes.

The i-PDU solution is a simple effective intelligent power bar, that directly connects to an i-BOX plug and play sensor port, this has the benefits of real time, bi-directional communications with each connected i-PDU, providing not only monitoring and recording of power consumption values, but to actively control the operation of the the PDU sockets themselves.

This not only provides switching capabilities to reboot equipment in remote possibly unmanned locations, but if spare sockets are switched off when the cabinet is populated, it ensures that no additional or unauthorised equipment is installed.

Reports
Data can be exported as an excel file with standard templates for
Daily/Monthly or between specific dates. Filters are provided for PDU owner dates high demand, low demand etc.

CCTV integration
Each card holder has a photo identification record which allows the import of an image in jpg, bmp, or gif format; alternatively a USB camera can be connected to snap a live image of the person directly into the database. This photo image can be display each time the card is used on the main transaction screen. When network cameras are associated the live image on the network camera can be compared with the database photo image.