Let's See Some ID: A Walk Through The Security Layers Of A Data Center

When Dorothy and her friends finally made it to the gates of the Emerald City, all they had to do to meet the wizard was present a pair of ruby slippers. They're lucky those gates weren't operating like a modern data center, however: That would have required significantly more steps for them to enter.

“Data centers are mission-critical operations, which means they are going to have a lot more layers of security than most buildings,” said Brandy Byrd Chapman, a data center security expert for Ameristar Perimeter Security. “Think of a military base: You're going to go through several layers of security before you even reach the base.”

How many layers of security does a typical data center have? While there is no set-in-stone number, Tier IV facilities, which have an expected performance uptime of 99.995% and therefore can’t afford to be disturbed by trespassers, typically have six layers, Chapman said. ..

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RSK: Very interesting going through the layers of security at a data center. Take the tour.