I am looking for a secure server rack solution for a customer.
I have not sold a secure server rack before so I am looking for anyone who can recommend brand / model that they have worked with or sold.
It should be 42U standing rack, 1000mm deep, with biometrics on the front and rear door, and on the side panels if possible, but the side panels could just be sensors with alarms.
First prize would be something that comes with audit reporting - like this user opened at this time, this user then closed at this time, and maybe automatic alarms sent via SMTP if rack doors left open for longer than a specified time.
The client needs precisely 1 unit of this rack - and they are a small business, so we can’t propose a super expensive solution.
Further complicating matters, is the fact that we are in South Africa - so I may not have all the options available in the US.
I have a hard time believing there is truly a market for this requirement. Is securing the room really not an option? Can you give some background on the business requirement?
Hi Chris, securing the room was not an option - the walls being dry wall. The office was secured, but the requirement was to add layers of security in excess of the front door security. You could say, well, move to a more secure location, but the solution had to be provided with the existing premises in mind.
The cabinet would’ve housed an air gapped server with sensitive information, so securing physical access was step one. The client also wanted to know if anyone opened and closed the server rack to know who would have accessed the server data and for how long, hence the need for auditing. It is a firm of attorneys.
If someone can bust through the drywall what’s to stop them from removing the entire rack. Rack cabinet doors the weak point is the hinges. The cabinet locks are usually wafer cylinders (easily picked) They are there to just discourage unauthorized access. Lock the room and video record the cabinet area
Unfortunately I don’t have a good answer here in terms of the rack, but setting up a camera w/ person identification might be a good start, that way you can get an idea of if the person who is accessing the rack is authorized, as well as get alerts of any attempted tampering. Having recently looked a several racks (and being a bit of a physical security nerd), I noticed that most can be popped open fairly easily from the hinge side, even when locked. This being said, a simple lock upgrade likely wouldn’t do much in terms of security unless paired with robust sensors (contact alarms on all panels and doors, tilt sensors to avoid someone shifting the rack, etc.)
It looks like Martin Enclosures offers some pretty robust options (internally latches side panels, biometric locks, etc. Server Rack Security - Martin Enclosures
You might also consider going with a smaller rack to save weight and cost of shipping if they only need 1u and you need to source out of country.
Hope this helps!