The HW lock will override any SW tools in any event. You will need to have access, and there should be someone who can give it to you. To be frank, if there is no admin on-site, then there is a huge problem.
If you don't have access to the systems, then you can't do much. If you aren't authorised to unlock the front panel, then you probably aren't authorised to make any server admin changes either.
If you can't access the systems physically, you also can't make a FW interface between two of them; right?
It takes all of 30 seconds with a small hex or Torx-15 screwdriver to unset the lock. You don't have to open the system, or remove it from a cage. You only need to access the front bezel, insert a hex key or T15 driver into the slot, and turn it off.
If you are the on-site server administrator, then you should request your own keycard. If someone else is the on-site server administrator with the keycard, you should set aside a few moments to explain what you would like to do with him, and see if he approves.
If I was the admin there, and someone fiddled with the network in any way without my approval, I would be sure to have them fired, or suspended, or penalised, for not going through the correct channels. Even if what you want to do is an improvement, there is always the possibility of it causing havoc with something else that you may not be aware exists.
Let me explain why: If you are a proper admin, or SysOp, and someone else does something to muddle a network, either in hardware or in software, they aren't the ones who have to fix it, and if you were to allow something like that to happen, you jeopardise your position as an administrator.
I am the HW and SW admin at two locations. I am the only one with root access on any system, and one of only two or three people with admin login privileges for any one machine. (That narrows the scope of determining the cause of any possible problem.)
I keep a digest on paper of every authentication protcol, code, password, login, etc., in case i ever need to hand it over to anyone else. I do not keep digital records of any of that kind of material.
SysOps and Admins are generally very paranoid about allowing high-level access, and usually rightly so. it takes but one damaged file to take down an entire array of servers. We also don't want anyone else getting their hands on the equipment, as any changes someone else makes won't be documented, and when we need to go and do something, the unknown changes can waste hours of time.
I would need to know a lot more about your work procedures, who is the proper adminstrator, and who has access to the HW before I would ever document any kind of bypass. It's simple ethics.
That said, I will repeat, the lock is a hardware lock. It triggers hardware lockouts (or firmware lockouts, I'm not 100% certain which) that prevent a lot of things from happening. Any software that you run will not bypass a low-level change in the system state. That is why you have such a locking mechanism on this kind of machine.
I'm not saying that anything you are trying to do is evil, but if you do not own the network, and work for those who do, you need to either go through the proper channels to gain direct access, or meet with the admin and discuss your ideas. If what you suggest is actually going to increase network performance, he will probably be happy to permit it, or to do it directly. He may have some reason not to do it, which you should hear in full before questioning it.
On the other hand, if you are the top-level administrator, you need HW access to do your job, and should request an entry key and code from the owner of the business.
