S2 Security Corporation, headquartered in Wellesley, Mass.,
is an innovator in the development of network-based
integrated physical security solutions. These systems provide
key security functionality including access control, alarm
monitoring, temperature monitoring, video and intercom.
S2’s first product, S2 NetBox
™
is a network appliance that is
literally a “security management system in a box” allowing
facilities of all sizes to manage their physical security needs
from anywhere over IP networks using a simple browser
interface.
Security systems users typically have had to suffer the lows
and highs of security systems: inflexible low-end systems
or over-featured, expensive high-end systems. S2 NetBox
changes that paradigm. Designed from the ground up to
be a cost-effective, complete solution, NetBox scales down
to fit in a single small office and scales up to handle a large
facility with complex security needs.
At the heart of the solution is the S2’s embedded, Linux-based
Network Controller and its associated application-specific
network modules. The Network Controller requires no
installed software other than a web browser. It auto-discovers
attached application modules making the system truly plug-
and-play. By employing network appliance architecture,
S2’s product line is cost-effective enough for use at a single
location yet scalable enough to accommodate the largest
wide-area security networks.
S2 Security Corporation Develops
Breakthrough Security Appliance with
Embedded
MySQL
“MySQL allowed us to create
a breakthrough product by
combining a full-featured data-
base with our physical security
management network appli-
ance at an affordable price.”
John L. Moss
President and CEO
S2 Security Corporation
Behind the Scenes with MySQL
The S2 solution is much more
cost-effective than any competi-
tive product because S2 has
been able to embed full data-
base functionality into its prod-
uct at a significantly lower cost.
According to John Moss, CEO
of S2, “We had three primary
considerations in selecting a
database to embed in our sys-
tem: cost, footprint, and func-
tionality. The main reason we
chose open source and MySQL
was cost. We’re delivering an
embedded product and needed
a well-featured and reliable,
yet low-cost database to be
competitive.
“The database needed to have
a small footprint since it has to
run from memory only – there
is no moving storage in our
Network Controller. In addition
to footprint, we required that
the database be full-featured
and ODBC compliant. We
considered Oracle and
Microsoft SQL Server but
neither of them would meet
the small footprint demands.”
MySQL was the only choice to
meet all three criteria. However,
S2 did not have much prior
experience with open source
software. Nevertheless, the
development team liked the
idea of using Linux and MySQL.
An open source approach gave
S2 access to high performance
tools while providing greater
platform flexibility without
hardware or software lock-in.
The development of the S2
NetBox took only 15 months
from initial design to first
customer ship. This is a very
compressed timeframe for the
design and delivery of a com-
plete hardware and software
solution with full reporting
and data retrieval capabilities.
Behind the Scenes with MySQL S2 Security Corporation
Embedded Database
“Had we chosen a proprietary
database, we would have
been limited to the platform on
which the product is available.
Here we have complete
freedom to support the
platform of our choice.”
John Moss
CEO
S2 Security Corporation
S2 NetBox’s powerful prede-
fined and ad-hoc reporting is
one differentiator for the prod-
uct. Its proprietary English-
based free-form report language
makes the otherwise complex
retrieval of specific historical
information easy even for
inexperienced users. Other
reports are easy to specify
and run with an easy-to-use
graphical browser interface.
NetBox can even forward a
report automatically by email,
keeping the user informed
about events at the facility
regardless of where the user is.
Using the MySQL ODBC driver,
S2 Security can interface with
other third-party tools such
as Crystal Reports to create
even more customized reports.
Although this type of function-
ality is typically not data
intensive, tables can grow
to hundreds of thousands of
records for activity logs. With
SQL compliance, it is easy to
develop reports and fit into
the increasingly converging
world of security systems in
the Enterprise.
Moss says, “In the largest
systems, we achieve true scala-
bility by connecting multiple S2
NetBox units to a centralized
management system. MySQL
is essential for doing this.”
The key database features that
NetBox with MySQL provides
are:
◆
Online database of person-
nel, contractors, and visitors,
their security credentials,
and vehicle information
◆
Historical audit record of all
security transactions
◆
Real time database recall by
name, card, or vehicle tag
◆
Periodic database backup
to internal flash ROM and
optional network attached
storage
Technical Environment
Designed for High
Performance
The S2 development team
ported MySQL to Lineo, which
is a real-time embedded Linux
operating system. The applica-
tion was written in C for fast
performance, calling directly
into the MySQL C API. Samba,
also open source, is used by
S2 to access network attached
storage.
MySQL is running on an ARM
Core IXP 425 chip (533 MHz),
with SSL encryption on the
chip. Because security data are
sensitive data, the SSL security
protects browser communica-
tions. Having the encryption
performed on the chip signifi-
cantly improves performance.
Since footprint is so critical, the
MySQL multiple storage engine
architecture allows S2 to use
the MyISAM storage engine
which required very little space.
MySQL Meets Stringent Requirements
“MySQL allowed us to create an
embedded application based on
solid, three-tier architecture.”
John Moss
CEO
S2 Security Corporation
Macintosh II
LAN (Ethernet)
Web Browser
S2 NetBox
w/ Embedded
MySQL
Database
S2
Access
Control
Network
Node(s)
VolP
Intercom
IP Video
Cameras
North America Headquarters
2510 Fairview Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98102 USA
+1-425-743-5635 P
+1-425-671-0771 F
France
+33-(0)1-43-077-099
Germany, Austria, Switzerland
+49-(0)7022-9256-30
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Sweden
+46-730-234-111 Sales
Spain, Portugal, Latin America
+1-425-373-3434
Finland
+358-(0)-9-2517-5553
MySQL Worldwide Offices
The S2 NetBox runs as a zero
footprint application, requiring
no installed client side software
other than a common web
browser – a major competitive
advantage. This capability is an
important part of the network
appliance strategy: any user can
use the product from anywhere
on any computer.
Another key competitive advan-
tage of NetBox is the depth of
the implementation of the
MySQL database in the prod-
uct. MySQL is used to store
everything from reports, user
information, customized fea-
tures, facility diagrams, and
more.
In the future, S2 plans to use
MySQL’s replication to help
consolidate multiple S2
NetBoxes running in a campus
environment and aggregate the
information to a central server.
The full relational capabilities
of MySQL are essential for
getting the job done.
About MySQL
MySQL AB develops, markets,
and supports the MySQL data-
base server, the world's most
popular open source database.
With over five million active
installations, MySQL has
quickly become the core of
many high-volume, business-
critical applications.
Companies embedding MySQL
into their hardware and soft-
ware systems include Adobe
Systems, Blue World Communi-
cations, CoreSense, Motorola,
NetIQ, Novell, NEC, S2
Security Corporation, SAS, SS8
Networks, Sterling Commerce,
and Virage. MySQL is available
under the free software/Open
Source GNU general public
license (GPL) or a non-GPL
commercial license.
Why Industry Leaders Depend on MySQL
The World’s Most Popular Open Source Database
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