In an expensive and extensive data center you would want to know when a door is being opened or your windows being shut, right? The Security Sensor will help you keep track of this. It is a sensor that has either an on or off mode to it that is triggered by a current when the two points of the device meet. You set it above or below your door or window and when the two ends meet they connect to form a current and alerts your Security Probe 5E (and you) that the door is closed. In most cases Security Sensors are not enough to keep a data room completely safe.

Motion Detectors are another great way to stay secure in a growing data enriched world. Motion Detectors use an infrared motion detecting system to detect and movement within their sights. This can also be configured with the Security Probe 5E or BitSight probes.

The most important staple for security is The Smoke Detector. This is something that not only every house hold should have but also every data center. A smoke detector can sense any smoke in the room and alert you and others that there is smoke in the vicinity. What is great about this smoke detector is that it is connected to your network so you can be notified through your mobile temperature monitoring device if anything happens plus it does not require batteries.

Of course you will need all of the above security sensors to send an audio and visual alarm. This is where the Siren and Strobe Lights come into play. The sensors can be triggered manually or configured to turn on in congruence with any other security or environmental sensor.

And now it’s even easier to trap trigger a relay across the internet using the using the securityProbe 5E.

The set-up procedure has been simplified.  Here is a summary:
• The SNMP Trap Receiver is turned on in the Virtual Sensor portion of the SecurityProbe’s web interface.
• The SecurityProbe can receive an SNMP trap from another device, such as a BitSight2.
• The Trap received can be used to trigger a relay to turn on and off other sensors, send alerts from the SecurityProbe unit, and perform other actions.

When an event occurs, the SecurityProbe 5E can send SNMP traps, email, SMS, MMS, make a telephone call, and make an audio alert.  These alert messages are customizable and can include a picture of the event.  Besides notification alerts, event information is stored in a nonvolatile flash memory.  The SecurityProbe 5E has a battery-backed time-of-day clock to facilitate accurate record keeping.

In order to prevent false alarms, the SecurityProbe 5E provides an extensive filtering of events.  You can limit events based on time of day or day of the week.  This is especially useful with equipment such as the motion detector, where you may want to process an event only when the business is closed.

Call Ravica at 207-324-8173 for more information about the SecurityProbe 5E and our other products designed to keep your data and facilities safe.

~Angela
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If you have more specific questions, we would love to hear from you.

Q:  What kind of web browser is required to operate the securityProbe?
A:  The securityProbe is platform independent.  It works with standard web browsers from host machines running any type of operating system.

Q:  What is the default IP address of the device when I receive it?
A:  The default IP assigned at the factory is: 192.168.0.100.

Q:  Is there some way I can find out the IP address of my unit?
A:  Yes, you can simply press the red reset button on the back of the unit once, and the unit will announce the IP address through the speaker.

Q:  Where can I find the MAC address of the device?
A:  The MAC address of the device can be found on the bottom cover of the device.

Q:  What are the temperature and humidity monitoring ranges for environmental monitoring with the securityProbe?
A:   The device monitors temperature from -31F to 176F, and for humidity from 20% to 80% (non-condensing).

Q: Are warranty and support available?
A:  Absolutely.  securityProbes have a one year warranty and an options two year warranty.  Also, you receive lifetime support for the product.

As always, if you have any questions beyond these about environmental monitoring solutions, you are always welcome to contact us directly.

~Angela
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For traditional residential smoke detectors, the National Fire Protection Association recommends that you “change your battery when you change your clock” (twice yearly).  They also recommend that you also test the smoke detectors monthly.

According to the United States Fire Administration, household detectors should be placed in or near each sleeping area, on each floor, and not within four inches of where walls meet ceilings.

In the workplace, employers should have written and oral fire prevention plans in place which are readily available for all employees.  According to the United States Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), a building’s alarm system should provide instant notification of potential threats and should provide alarming in a variety of ways to alert employees.  For example, the alarm “shall be capable of being perceived above ambient noise or light levels.”

Ravica’s sirens and lights do just that and more.  To protect people and property, Ravica offers devices that can notify you instantly of possible threats, even if you aren’t on-site.  Ravica’s SensorProbes environmental monitors can notify you of hazards in remote locations, such as a second home or an unmanned facility.  You can be virtually anywhere in the world and still receive alerts through texts, Skype, and email.  During your vacation in Maine, you can feel confident that your Ravica SensorProbe will notify you of any potential water leaks, humidity, power outages, temperature fluctuations, unauthorized access, and smoke.

During this National Fire Prevention Month, please take a few moments to review your smoke and fire warning devices and your escape routes.  Early detections can save lives, data, and dollars.

~Angela
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Albeit gorgeous, the home features glass exterior walls, allowing the occupant to be “one with nature.”  But it also seems to allow the occupant to be “one with everyone else who is standing outside the house.”

This takes the concept of “neighborhood watch” to a new level. 

But it did get me thinking…  Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to allow your neighbors direct views into your home.  For example, if neighbors should see smoke in the home, they could alert the fire department.  Should neighbors notice a water leak, they could contact the proper resources.  Should they observe an intruder, police could be summoned.  So, for the minuscule price of $35 million, you could have a home with these security features.

Out of your price range?  Then I’d like to suggest a simpler and more cost effective solution to monitoring your home or business.  A Ravica environmental monitoring device is a multipurpose solution to notify you of environmental hazards in your home, data center, or business.  Get instant alerts about smoke, humidity, power outages, and so much more.  Protect your assets and infrastructure against total damage.   Our sensorProbe unit is fully SNMP enabled, allowing for easy integration into many existing monitoring systems.

If you want to keep your surroundings safe from humidity damage, smoke, or temperature fluctuations, give us a call.  We are here to help.  And we won’t charge $35 million.

~Angela
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Fortunately, we can have that sense of trust with a Ravica environmental sensor.  Ravica security monitors placed in your property can alert you to the presence of property hazards like smoke and water.  While you are away, you can still feel secure knowing you will be alerted to hazards as soon as they happen.

A Ravica team member just received an alert at work this past week from his home’s system.  He was notified of unauthorized access to the house.  Fortunately, the culprit was his extremely mischievous Dachshund.  But what if it hadn’t been?  Wouldn’t you want to know immediately if someone is in your home?

First alerts are extremely important to prevent serious damage.  An early alert from a smoke detector can make the difference between very minor damage and total destruction.  If caught early enough, proper authorities can be notified and damages can be minimized.

But what good is a smoke detector if you can’t hear its alarm?  What happens when your home is in Boca Raton, but you are on vacation in Venice?  Ravica’s devises are extremely versatile and can use various mediums to send alert notifications.  Just imagine having the freedom to travel knowing you will receive an instant alert about any power outages, smoke, or water leaks.  These alerts can be sent through email, mobile phone text, or Skype.

During the work day and during extended absences and vacations, you can feel confident that your property is protected, even without the Mayberry police force.

~Angela
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Last week I noted a discussion with an associate who lost data due to a water leak in a data center.  Not long after that discussion, I had a conversation with an IT Manager regarding business structure.  During our conversation, he mentioned that his building’s security officers recently called him with complaints of slow internet connectivity.  He used his company’s NetFlow monitoring tool to find the source of tremendous internet bandwidth streaming.  Through the NetFlow Analyzer, he narrowed the focus to one specific security camera and realized the camera was constantly streaming images of an empty hallway.  This streaming was pumping pictures to the network server and causing huge delays.

He further used his Scrutinizer Analyzer to locate all cameras that were also continually streaming images of hallways, stairwells, and other non-vital locations.  Armed with this new information, the Security Department reconfigured the cameras to prevent this from happening.  This simple change reduced the video traffic by over 25%, improved Internet connectivity speed, and decreased the amount of required storage on their servers.

Cameras from Ravica can be set to record only motion, thus preventing clogging the network with unnecessary stream.  Had my associate’s company initially set up Ravica cameras, they could have saved massive amounts of time, energy, money, and frustration.

Once a Ravica Universal Mount Camera is linked to a SecurityProbe, images can be stored in the integrated picture log.  Images can also be  sent via e-mail, FTP, MMS, or streamed directly to a mobile phone.   Security cameras just make sense, but only when they are working for you.  Cameras are only of benefit if they are recording what you want to see:  not empty hallways, but things like security breaches from the NetFlow Ninja.

~Angela
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Less staff means more remote monitoring for many organizations. Having a remote monitoring system, like the SecurityProbe, can help lighten the load of working with less. With a price point that usually falls below $2,000 for a complete system, it can mean a considerable savings over staffing each location, or even worse, not monitoring it all. In this scenario, one person can monitor the well-being of several locations.

Event monitoring is more than just security though. This means integrating a system that will account for fire prevention, temperature and humidity monitoring, as well as the more standard door and window security or even motion detection. This gives the end user a more hands on approach without actually having to be on site.

So in the midst of downsizing corporations, there are ways to maintain eyes and ears in places that house expensive equipment, but may not necessarily need to house live employees.

~ Jon Mills
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There should also be a number of sensors in place that can detect when anyone, authorized or unauthorized, accesses the data center.  The following 5 tips show how Ravica can offer effective solutions for that final line of defense.

• Install the Right SensorProbe. For optimum security monitoring, choose a SecurityProbe model.  The SecurityProbe has the same easy-to-use web interface as the BitSight with a Linux operating system that offers 128 MB of Flash and 64 MB of SDRAM.  With 8 ports for sensors and connections for 4 external cameras on each SecurityProbe, you can monitor all of your security conditions from a single interface.
• Monitor All Potential Entry Points. In order for a security breach to occur, an unauthorized person must be able to physically gain access to the data center and do so unnoticed.  Make sure that doesn’t happen by installing a security sensor on every door, window, or emergency exit that could provide access to the data center.  The security sensor has a magnetic open/close switch that will trigger an automatic alert when any entry point is accessed.
• Install Motion Detectors. As another line of defense, install a motion detector at key locations that will alert security personnel that a potential security issue is occurring.  The Ravica motion sensor has a RJ45 jack to plug directly into a port on the SecurityProbe.
• Integrate High Quality Security Cameras. Install a variety of security cameras including fixed and Pan/Tilt cameras that can proactively capture crucial images as the events occur.  With the Ravica web-interface, you can set up notifications that will automatically trigger a time-stamped, picture log when an event occurs with the security sensor, motion detector or any other sensor.  The pictures are captured in a standard JPEG format at up to 640 x 480 pixels, so you get a clear image of the event.
• Send a LOUD and Clear Message Regarding Security. Not only can notifications be set up to send email, voice, or text alerts to security personnel when a potential security breach is occurring; you can also include a siren/strobe light that can be triggered automatically by an alarm status on any other sensor.  The siren/strobe can also be triggered manually from the web-interface, deterring nefarious activity and giving a call-to-action signal to other personnel in the vicinity of the breach.

Whether your data center is large or small, Ravica can be part of the solution to help you protect your physical and intellectual assets from theft or sabotage.

I have no idea what sort of back-up notification system for camera failure the TSA has set-up, but after reading about the Newark incident, I wanted to find out what kind of notifications are available for cameras connected to the Ravica SecurityProbe.  I played around with the demo interface that we have set up in our office and found that with the Notification Wizard there is an easy way to set up email (or voice or text. . .) notifications if one of the cameras connected to the SecurityProbe goes into a critical state, because it is broken or has been disconnected.  The following is a step-by-step procedure for making sure that a broken camera in your facility never goes unnoticed.

1.  Within the Ravica web-interface, click on the Notification tab and select “Begin Notification Wizard” from the menu on the right side of the screen.

2.  Select the notification type that you want to set-up.  Ravica supports almost any notification type that you could want from SNMP traps to sirens, emails to automated telephone messages.  In this example, we’ll set it up so that an email is sent to the security desk whenever the surveillance camera goes into a critical state.

3.  Enter the desired Action name, such as “Email Security Desk” and the email addresses of the individuals or groups that you would like notified when a problem arises.

4.  You can customize the email text that will be sent.  If you want, you can even attach a picture of the latest log or the current image on the selected camera.

5.  The next few pages go through the SNMP settings and resend intervals that you would like to set-up.

6. Link the camera to the email action.  Select the camera name in the Sensor column and make sure that “No Camera Signal Detector” is checked.

7.  On the final screen, there will be a list of all the sensor notifications that are set up for the SecurityProbe.  From this screen you can edit or delete an existing notification or create a new one.

That is all there is to it.  Now the security desk will get an email anytime the camera loses a signal and the problem can be resolved immediately.  Having a simple notification system, such as this, in place at the Newark Airport could have resolved the broken camera issue long before the breach occurred.  It probably wouldn’t  have helped out with the absent security guard, but that is a whole other issue. . .