WEB AT WORK: TWO CLICKS AT A TIME

Jul 1, 2001 12:00 PM

The data center at DoubleClick's European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, was quiet early one recent morning, but the temperature was soaring. The cooling system had failed and no one noticed that the thermometer had reached 86 degrees and was still climbing. If the temperature was not brought under control soon, the computers might overheat and shut down — a major problem for an Internet-based business, such as DoubleClick.

Fortunately, DoubleClick's networked access control system includes a heat sensor alarm that was noted by a security officer in the company's New York headquarters. A few calls from New York to Dublin resulted in fans being brought in and windows opened in the data center. Quickly, the heat began to dissipate, the computers continued to operate without failure and DoubleClick's service to its customers was not interrupted.

DoubleClick is an Internet advertising company, providing about eight billion banner advertisements on the Internet each day. Combining state-of-the-art technology and media expertise, DoubleClick helps advertisers and publishers make Web advertising work by centralizing the planning, execution, control, tracking and reporting of media campaigns.

The company employs about 1,850 people in 32 offices around the world. Its New York headquarters also houses its main security office.

DoubleClick's security system combines both access control and video surveillance components. The system was designed and installed by ACI (Antarcom Inc.), a White Plains, N.Y.-based systems integrator. According to Isac Tabib, vice president of ACI, the system currently covers 13 DoubleClick offices, including locations in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Hong Kong, London, and Amsterdam.

Serving as the system backbone is the C•CURE 800 integrated security management system manufactured by Sensormatic Electronics Corp., Boca Raton, Fla. The first of the C•CURE 800 systems was installed in the summer of 2000. Tabib says each of DoubleClick's C•CURE 800 hot redundant servers contains three hard drives in a RAID Array configuration and a triple power supply to maintain operation through almost any emergency.

“We have designed this system to withstand almost any problems and continue to protect DoubleClick's facilities,” he says.

The various units are linked via DoubleClick's wide area network (WAN), enabling a security officer in any of the 13 connected offices to view happenings in any of the other system locations. Personnel at each office may determine who enters their building. But, according to Luis Pinto, DoubleClick's director of security, the access system is partitioned, allowing security personnel in each office to edit only their own office's records. System-wide changes must be made from the New York headquarters, he says.

All DoubleClick employees wear photo ID badges. There are four badge printers — located in Hong Kong, London, San Francisco and New York — to serve the 13 offices on the system. Photos are taken locally and immediately put on the C•CURE 800 servers in New York and the corporate WAN. If an employee visits another company office on the system, access can be granted immediately because security officers can match the photo with the one on the employee's badge.

Pinto says his office can add area and time/day restrictions on any or all ID badges, allowing access to be specific to an employee's work area and schedule. He said he has created a standard temporary clearance permitting building access only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday for vendors who need access to the offices.

DoubleClick also counts on the system to lock all public doors at 6 p.m. each weekday and then reopen them at 8 the following morning. Most activity takes place during normal business hours, but there are data center and technical support staff who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week in each office.

The security system is a powerful event generator, with all activities being noted on the host system. Should a door be held open, it is noted in the local office. If not investigated within a set time, the event is passed to security officers in another office. Still lacking a timely response, the event is sent as an email/page to six company officials to investigate. Each office has a security officer and/or facilities staff member to monitor the system at all times.

DoubleClick security officers carry a Nextel phone with email notification of events. The screen on the pager allows for detailed description of events, such as “The front door of the Chicago office is being held open.”

The access system includes 48 Sensormatic advanced process controllers (apC). The host computer downloads information into each controller's memory. If both hot redundant hosts were to fail, the system would still function to limit access to unauthorized personnel. The only temporary loss would be the recording of events, which would be stored on the apCs and uploaded to the host once communication had been re-established. There are nearly 300 card readers from Irvine, Calif.-based HID Corp. on the system. Tabib says ACI also installed a Universal Interface Board (UIB), from ITG, Oyster Bay, N.Y., as an additional protective measure.

The UIBs link field devices, such as electrified locks and the apCs. The boards, designed by ITG, use color-coded wires and plugs to simplify system installation and maintenance. A total of 21 LEDs on each board indicate the status of the various connections, while 24 fuses protect the apCs from damage during electrical spikes. Should damage be sustained to any of the system components, the UIB takes the device offline without shorting out the remainder of the system. Each board accommodates up to eight door ports, which can be configured as fail-safe, fail-secure or dry-contact in the event of a power outage. The dry contact setting can trip an event such as an elevator recall. The UIB gives DoubleClick uniform, consistent and timesaving installation and maintenance, and allows Pinto to provide troubleshooting support from New York to domestic and international sites.

DoubleClick's security system also includes video surveillance equipment. More than 150 fixed cameras from Silent Witness of Surrey, B. C., and a dozen dome cameras from Corvallis, Ore.-based Kalatel watch the doors and building perimeters. Video for each site is sent to the local security office, where it is recorded on digital and time-lapse recorders. The digital recorders by Integral Technologies, Indianapolis, can store two to four weeks of images, but Pinto said he archives the images to small digital back-up tapes every two days. Time-lapse videotapes, as secondary backup, are kept up to two months before being re-recorded.

From New York, using the corporate WAN, Pinto can monitor the video from the two offices in Colorado and those in London and Dublin. The San Mateo office is being added to the system. Eventually, he says, his office will be able to view video from all offices with cameras.

The video surveillance and access systems have been integrated. The C•CURE system automatically turns dome cameras to view public entrances once they are locked.

“The system has been incredibly easy to use and very effective for us,” Pinto said. “The networking capabilities make our jobs much easier. We plan to continue to add offices to the system until we have all of them covered.”

FOR THE RECORD

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

For information, please circle the appropriate Reader Service number (listed below) on one of the Reader Service cards in the issue or visit infoLINK at www.securitysolutions.com.

Antarcom Inc. (ACI)	30
HID Corp.	31
Integral Technologies	32
ITG	33
Kalatel	34
Sensormatic Electronics	35
Silent Witness	36

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© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

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