This document outlines how colo clients can gain access to the Nexcess data center in Dearborn, Michigan (OTR). For additional information about Nexcess data center security and safety policies, refer to the DC Manual.
Identification policy
All visitors are required to wear visible RFID access cards or visitor badges during their entire visit. Anyone using a temporary visitor badge to gain access must relinquish their visitor badge at the end of their visit.
Escort and shared spaces
Unless noted otherwise in this document, team members are to escort visitors at all times when not in a shared space. Shared spaces are strictly defined as the lobby, bathrooms, and kitchen.
Access levels
Client
Clients are individuals with co-located equipment owned by the client and located in one or more Nexcess facilities. Clients have management-approved and assigned access cards that allow direct access to the facility. As long as they wear their access cards, they do not require escorts within the facility or sign in, although a Nexcess Team member will maintain line-of-sight with clients within the data center.
Clients without access cards can only gain access by using the procedure provided in the “Visitor access” section below.
Visitor
Visitors are defined as anyone that does not have an access card. Visitors must carry temporary non-RFID black badges that do not operate any doors, and must be escorted at all times outside of shared spaces by a Nexcess team member or authorized access-card-carrying client.
Client access
Clients, as defined in the above “Access levels” section, may enter the OTR data center unimpeded. Clients may remove equipment only after the DCOps Team verifies the hardware’s colo ID tag and description match their records.
Visitor access
The procedure below applies to all individuals without RFID access cards.
- Upon the visitor’s arrival, a DCOps or Facilities Team member greets the visitor, who enters the facility through the main entrance.
- The visitor presents government-issued photo ID, and the team member verifies the visitor’s given name and appearance match the ID. If the visitor is a colo client’s guest, the team member also cross references the guest’s identity with the ticket described in the “Guests of colo clients” section below.
- The visitor signs in using the Guest Sign-In System and receives a visitor’s badge. In the event there is a technical problem with the iPad, Facilities or DCOps sends an email to the Facilities Office Manager to input visitors name and company into the Envoy Guest sign-in system.
- The team member gives a visitor badge to the visitor, who wears it in a visible location.
- The team member escorts the visitor at all times when not in a shared space (defined above).
At the end of the visit, the visitor signs out of the Guest Sign-In System, relinquishes the visitor’s badge, and exits through the main entrance.
Guests of colo clients
Clients’ guests are considered visitors and are therefore subject to the procedure provided in the “Visitor access” section above. They are also subject to all visitor policies within the DC Manual, and visitors under the age of 18 are not permitted.
Clients should schedule their visits whenever possible, though exceptions are permissible. The procedure to do so is as follows:
ATTENTION: Unannounced guests are denied access until the Nexcess team calls the Superuser on the account, who must provide both verbal authorization and written authorization within a ticket.
- No fewer than 5 business days before the date of entry into the facility, the Superuser or DC User on the account submits a ticket to the Support Team with the following information:
- Visitor's full name
- Company name
- Facility location
- Date of visit
- Duration of visit
- Estimated time of arrival
- DCOps verifies the Superuser or DC User is in fact the party making the request, then secures approval from the Nexcess executive team.
- Upon approval, DCOps notifies the Superuser or DC User by replying to the original ticket.
- The visitor calls DCOps at 1 (248) 752-0441 at least 15 minutes before arrival.
Revision History
| Date | Name | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-July-14 | TWD | First Draft |
| 2016-Oct-10 | TWD | Changed title; overview now points to companion document |
| 2018-Jan-21 | TWD | Reordered Steps 1 - 4 in Guests of colo clients section |
| 2019-Apr-7 | TWD | Alternative added to Step 3 of Visitor Access section in case printer or Sign-In System fails |
Last reviewed April 2019 by A. Pace, C. Kowalski
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