University upgrades to high-tech access control

Aug 1, 2001 12:00 PM, By GEORGE HERAGHTY

The Lenel Universal Interface Server application was used to drive a custom script that looked at the interim table every five minutes and made the necessary changes in the access control software.

The Card Reader interfaces in the dormitories are connected to an Intelligent System Controller (ISC) that acts as the communications interface.

The panic devices chosen were manufactured by Precision Hardware Inc. The devices use a multi-voltage output to the solenoids that make longer wire runs possible.

The State University of West Georgia wanted its next generation access control system to include high-tech features that would make its data and control functions available to all authorized campus users. The university also sought to reduce redundant data entry tasks by using unmodified data from its existing student information system.

In a recent system upgrade at the 394-acre campus near Carrollton, Ga., it was clear that the system would have to be fault-tolerant and flexible enough to allow computers with different operating systems to access the system without needing additional hardware. Although the system design was to be distributed-processing, fault-tolerant servers were chosen to ensure system availability.

The existing ID printers and workstations would have to be reused with the barest minimum of upgrading or replacement.

Also, the new system software would have to be modular, able to support multiple databases, and be supported by a software manufacturer whose business emphasis is software.

An additional requirement was that the magnetic stripes on the existing ID cards would be used in the library. The current ID card had a barcode that was scanned by a bar code reader. Bar codes were to be eliminated.

The previously installed locking equipment was poorly implemented using magnetic locks on college dormitories. The use of magnetic locks caused door damage by students who forgot their cards or were frustrated by system failures. The locking hardware would have to be changed to a centerline locking design with fail-secure locking devices. Damaged doors would have to be replaced and — since locking equipment would have to be changed — it would be an opportunity to extend the campus master-keying as well.

The selected vendor would have to be well versed in the software, electronic and mechanical components necessary to integrate the design into a working system, and it would have to be the lowest bidder.

COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION

Best Access Systems, Atlanta, was selected as the vendor after the company took the time to determine what the university's needs and expectations were and to develop a cost-effective solution to satisfy system requirements.

The university had already researched which software package was best suited for its needs — a product by Lenel Systems International that operates with multiple connection technologies, is modular in design, can work with multiple databases, supports terminal services, has an interface server available and has enough resellers in the area to allow competitive bidding.

The fault-tolerant server solution was built using identical Dell Poweredge servers with Vinca Co-Standby failover software, which satisfied the requirement for continuous availability. The Vinca Co-Standby software creates a virtual computer resource complete with its own IP address and shared disk by using the RAID disk array in each machine.

Upon failure detection, the stand-by server starts the necessary services and takes over the processing load. Since the stand-by machine has already mirrored the primary machine, the operation is automatic, without tape loading or need for manual intervention.

Out of all the failover tests performed, the only negative impact on users seemed to be the need to logout of the application and log back in — which served as a prompt for the IT department to go see what happened.

The operating system was Windows NT Terminal Services edition with Citrix Metaframe software to provide cross-platform capability. Citrix Metaframe is well known among IT professionals who require application deployment with hardware independence.

With the new system, the Apple machines and all the Windows variants can talk to the same application without deployment issues, thanks to the Citrix ICA client software.

Robin Mullinix, one of the many IT personnel on campus, deployed Citrix Nfuse to make the same application also available as a web page. Now there is no computer on campus that cannot access the system, assuming the user has the correct NTFS permissions.

SHARING DATA

And now for the hard part, how to make the databases talk?

The database administrator and systems security specialists at the university decided that making an ODBC connection to the Oracle database used by the Student Identification system (also known as BANNER) would be a security risk. They did not want select and update permissions to be given directly to the Lenel application, a complication that was even more demanding than indicated in the original specifications. The solution was for the database administrator to provide an interim table to be used as a buffer between the systems.

This table would be updated by a “chron job” run in Oracle every hour. This table would contain the data fields from the BANNER system best suited to match the data fields in the Lenel application. Since no modification of the original BANNER program was allowed, certain data fields in the BANNER program had now taken on multiple meanings to system users.

For example, an assigned dormitory in BANNER was now also the ACCESS LEVEL in Lenel. The Lenel Universal Interface Server application was used to drive a custom script that looked at this table every five minutes and made the necessary changes in the access control software.

The timing was agreed upon, thus making the data transfer as close to real-time as possible.

The use of this table was actually simplified by creating an additional field to mark a record as inactive (marked for deletion). The logic is simple: If it is not marked for deletion, it is either an add or a modify, if the record exists then this must be a modify.

APPLICATIONS IN THE FIELD

Now that the front-end issues had been addressed, the solution had to continue to the nuts and bolts in the field.

The library computers were equipped with a keyboard wedge that took the Clock and Data output from a magnetic stripe reader and converted them to keyboard scan codes. This strategy allowed the magnetic stripes on the card to be read into the library computers just as if they were typed on the keyboard.

The Card Reader interfaces in the dormitories are connected to an Intelligent System Controller (ISC) that acts as the communications interface via RS-232 and provides local memory. This configuration allows the system to be a distributed processing system, so that loss of connectivity to the host computer will not affect access decisions. The RS-232 output of the ICSs are attached to Lantronix Micro Serial Servers that allow connections to the campus-wide Local Area Network (LAN).

Since the output of the ICSs are RS-232, they could have been easily attached to other connectivity solutions such as landline modems, short-haul modems or fiber modems.

The Lenel OnGuard application can directly poll the controllers by IP address or by ISC address via a COM port on the server.

The Card Reader interfaces are configurable via the software to talk to different reader technologies. In this installation the existing magnetic stripe readers were reused.

As indicated in the specifications, the magnetic locks were to be removed and replaced with a centerline locking device. The specifications called for electric strikes but also indicated that door mullions must not be made permanent. The best way to resolve this issue was to use electrified panic devices where door mullions existed and use electric strikes everywhere else — all done with minimal or no wiring changes. The panic devices chosen were manufactured by Precision Hardware Inc., Romulus, Mich. The devices use a multi-voltage output to the solenoids that make longer wire runs possible. The devices are economical and a good choice over rewiring; however, they do require a special power supply.

The devices were equipped with their “signal switch” option to ensure a positive request-to-exit signal whenever the bar is pushed. It is important to note that resistance requirements must be met in order for the device to work; the wire cannot be too long.

Oftentimes resistance/grounding troubles occur in electrified hinges; therefore, the university decided not to use electrified hinges in the new installations.

They indicated that the maintenance on electric hinges was troublesome, and stocking several styles of electrified hinges (pivot, finishes and lengths, etc.) was impossible. The installation followed the university's specification and used transfer loops.

The transfer loops had to be the most durable and economical available; the choice was the Alarm Lock #271 with the cover fasteners replaced by security screws. The university's maintenance department could change the part if needed.

The electric strikes are manufactured by Hanchett Entry Systems. The HES 7000 series electric strike will operate under a pre-load without adjustment, thus avoiding service calls as the door position changes with age.

HES also manufactures the series 9600 electric strike that will surface-mount and was designed for panic devices.

As noted earlier, many doors were damaged by the top-line design used in magnetic locks. Whenever an angry or tired student could not gain access to a building, he would repeatedly pull on the doors, causing the bottoms of the doors to bow. Several exit doors were replaced during the project with the doors manufactured by Special-Lite, Decatur, Mich. Special-Lite SL-17 doors are extruded aluminum and are designed for the dormitory and school markets.

Also during this project, a local storefront contractor replaced several regular glass storefronts. These were then equipped with panic devices and/or strikes as outlined earlier.

End-users from different departments were trained and database segmentation was discussed, although, it has not presently been implemented.

All things considered, the project went very well and was made possible by the cooperation of all the staff on campus. The university now has a world class access system deserving of its design.

FOR THE RECORD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

George Heraghty, CPP, MCSE, of Best Access Systems, Atlanta, has been in the electronic security industry for more than 20 years. He holds the CPP designation from ASIS, and is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. He can be contacted at heraghtg@bestaccess.com.

Keihan Nahri of the facilities department and Robin Mullinix of the Business IT department of the State University of West Georgia helped to make this case study possible.

Best Access Systems	14
Hanchett Entry Systems	15
Lantronix	16
Lenel Systems International	17
Precision Hardware, Inc.	18
Special-Lite	19

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

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© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

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