Security at the edge

SECURITY

Security starts at the edge

As more and more devices are being added to your customers’ networks, many of which need to be ‘always-on’ so how can you ensure security?

In the era of digital transformation, security installers are required to consider a range of aspects. An installer can overcome challenges in managing security management systems for secure buildings, asset protection, personnel tracking and analytics of critical security data with an approach that centres on resilience. Whether it is the complicated access control of a government facility, new health-screening devices for a retail space or an advanced systems protecting high-cost assets; installers can bring resilience to their offering through edge computing.

Why edge computing?

According to Duncan Cooke, Business Development, Stratus Technologies: “No matter what functionality an installer is seeking, whether that is integrating software and hardware into a central management platform, or keeping critical assets always-on, an edge computing platform offers unparalleled flexibility and inherent resilience.”

As a result of the pandemic some security systems have had new devices added to the new infrastructure. Devices, for example, that can perform temperature checks, additional cameras to monitor movement within a site, two-factor authentication for critical areas, and perhaps even extra backup systems in case of power failures to ensure recording reliability. The addition of such devices can place extra strain on security systems and of course this means there’s also a need to manage more data. Large enterprise security systems collect data from all these devices and the associated control software, and then get to work with facial recognition, managing climate controls, recording data, switching power sources and the like. So, what happens if this critical control layer goes down?

“If your system is protecting high-cost equipment or critical infrastructure controls, it might only take a few seconds of downtime for hackers to access valuable data or create unsafe working conditions,” says Duncan. “The traditional solution to this issue was fail-over, whereby if one server fails a second takes its place by activating a physical or virtual standby server, recreating the previous environment, and then resuming operations. This approach requires a failure to trigger the recovery, so in that scenario there is always a finite amount of downtime and a gap in recorded data. Such The addition of new devices can place extra strain on security systems and of course this means there’s also a need to manage more data

SECURITY

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systems are often complex and require continuous availability of IT expertise to remain operational. They are at best cumbersome and at worst a point of weakness in the overall security operations of an organisation. It is here that an edge computing platform comes into its own for a security installer since, properly implemented, it can remove the downtime associated with a failure completely, and reduce the need for IT expertise.”

In the security industry, resilience will always be preferential to recovery. Installers should look for an edge computing platform that offers simple, protected, and autonomous operations. A strong, Fault Tolerant (FT) Edge Computing approach consists of two identical nodes [servers], running in a redundant pair for always-on availability. Such a system can monitor itself and manages workloads running in virtual machines, automatically moving computing power between the two nodes. For example, the right edge computing platform can use the CPU and storage in one node, and the memory and networking card in the other to ensure application availability in the event of a failure of any of those processes. This means security installers can deliver always-on peace of mind for their customers and offer ‘five nines’ ‘99.999%’ uptime performance.

This approach is perfect for secured facilities where all assets are in one location but, as many security installers know, it isn’t always that simple, and some disasters are unavoidable. Events such as fires or natural disasters can destroy an edge computing set up, even with a fully redundant configuration. Again, edge computing is the answer, with a suitable network connection in place these two nodes can be geographically separated. Security Installers can create a disaster recovery configuration and any applications that are running in one location can restart in another, instantly, and without any human intervention.

“An autonomous, zero-touch, fault tolerant platform protects end users from operational, financial, and reputational risks through alwayson availability. Integrating seamlessly with existing cyber defences with built-in cyber security capabilities, offering real peace of mind for customer and installer alike,” explains Duncan Cooke.

“Digital transformation is happening in every sector and security installers must be prepared to embrace that and consider the new challenges it brings”

How does it help?

Armed with edge computing in their repertoire, security installers can meet the needs of potential customers with one simple question; what does downtime cost your business? If the customer response is that applications must be always-on, then the business case has already been made. Discussions about efficiency improvements or faster decision making are only further benefits that improve the offering.

“Security Installers are methodical experts, avoiding the unknown for tried and tested methods and edge computing should be no different,” concludes Duncan. “Digital transformation is happening in every sector and security installers must be prepared to embrace that and consider the new challenges it brings. By adding edge computing to your offering, you can offer a fast and effective route to digitally transformed operations, future-proofed against the changing needs of customers.”

As more devices are added at the edge of the network, security installers can rest easy knowing the installed platform can handle new applications and increased data sources. The customer also has peace-of-mind knowing their critical applications will remain always-on –even (with the right set up) in the event of a natural disaster, all-important data is not lost, damaged or incomplete, and the security system remains active and operational.

The lives of installers and operators can be made easier through the implementation of the right edge computing platform. Simple to install, simple to use and manage across applications, and future proofed as needs scale – it is the best way to offer security resilience and peace of mind to customers.