Visual WebAccess®

The highest, accredited security, From key management to high security installations, Visual WebAccess® for all your security requirements.

Your advantages at a glance

• All current communication options can be integrated, e.g. Internet, Intranet, ISDN or GSM
• Scalable system performance parameters for unlimited system expansion
• Data security through the use of professional SQL databases, e.g. IBM DB2, Oracle, Microsoft SQL-Server, Borland InterBase
• Central application management – no Client installation
• Industry solutions with simple customisation through HTML
• Not tied into any single operating system or platform
• Global, secure Internet availability, 24/7
• High levels of data security with 128-bit SSL encryption
• No additional PC installation effort and minimum workstation hardware requirements
• Standard Internet communication with TCP/IP protocol. Every computer on the network can have full functional access

The ever-increasing demands placed on modern Access control systems call for permanent and innovative development work. The protection of people and property, the control of employee and visitor movements and Alarm and Facility Management are just some of the challenges that security technology has to face. Through careful and individual planning, flexible administration and a high level of operational security, the tailored Access control solution offered by Visual WebAccess® matches up to all possible requirements.

Visual WebAccess® is easy to operate, delivers a wide range of options, gives you security of investment and can result in significant savings. Simply put, Visual WebAccess® is future-safe.

Made-to-measure security

Since it can manage up to 250,000 employee records, Visual WebAccess® is a solution which grows with you and is equally well suited to small companies as it is to large concerns.

The Door controllers also demonstrate this same high level of flexibility. You can connect as many as you are likely to need and each of them can administer up to 128 different access levels or zones. In practical terms, this gives you limitless application options and the system itself imposes no constraints on the time and location-dependent access control that is available to you.

All identification standards are supported by, Visual WebAccess® starting from the still widely used magnetic stripe and inductive and infrared coding right up to chipcards and proximity and contactless technologies. As a high-tech company, primion also offers you biometric identification systems. All ID systems have one thing in common however; simplicity of use through the ease of application.

At primion we have paid a lot of attention to the security of the data in your Visual WebAccesssystem®. At the first level, each database user logs in using an individual login name, protected by a password defined by the user when he/she first accesses the data. This password can then be changed, again by the user, on a regular basis.

To offer further data security, selected areas of sensitive data within the database can be assigned a second password, giving so called dual-control protection and thereby virtually eliminating data misuse or abuse. Each database user is assigned an Authorisation Profile, which defines the modules he/she may access and within these modules, which actions he/she can carry out on the data, such as generate, delete, modify, etc.

Visual WebAccess® can be vertically integrated, for instance, in existing Facility and HR Management systems. It can also be horizontally integrated into SAP Host systems, for example.

You are guaranteed security of investment with Visual WebAccess®. Currently, the system can support some 45 different commonly used system components such as card technologies and card readers.

Access control with Visual WebAccess®

At the heart of the software, there is a standard SQL database, which supplies data to the user through an application server.

Currently, Visual WebAccess® has been optimised to work with IBM DB2 7.2, Oracle from version 8.i, MS-SQL Server 2000 and version 7.0 and InterBase databases.

In order to guarantee the platform-portability of the complete system, it was developed using Java. This ensures you of a future-safe software solution, which opens up unlimited further IT options to you. Communication tasks that were also developed using Java, create the data connections between the user interface and the external devices.

All communication standards based on TCP/IP are supported, allowing seamless and problem-free network integration. System operation has been built around globally used browser standards.

Visual WebAccess® has the power to support wide-ranging hardware structures. It offers, for instance, full client data separation over several hierarchical levels. It can be expanded modularly to handle many employees spread over many locations and currently supports some 45 different read technologies.

And to enhance Visual WebAccess®, we also offer Visual WebTime®, a powerful Time recording software.

The Visual WebAccess® desktop

The advantages of 3-tier software architecture:

• Clear delineation between User interface control and data presentation
• Separation of Clients and data storage
• Dynamic load distribution

Technical pre-requirements:

For the Server: Windows and Unix platforms

Recommend working memory >= 512 MB. The processor should be >= Pentium III with 1 GHz. The computer should have a fast-access fixed disc with 10Gb of space available for the application. The size of the database is directly dependant on the number of employee records and the period of time that transactions should be stored for. The database can be several hundred Mb.

For the clients: You need one of the following software browsers: Internet Explorer, version 5.5 or higher (recommended), including all service packs, Netscape, version 6.x or Mozilla, version 1.1. The Java Virtual Machine is also needed for various options. JVM must be activated. Usage in conjunction with Java Runtime Environment guarantees you full usage of the hardware performance.

Because of the new Web technology, there are no additional special requirements for the client PCs.

Badge data and other employee data are entered and stored through the Employee Data module

Zones are assigned to employees through the Employee Data module. Zones contain both location and time parameters. They define when access is allowed at specified readers at defined times.

Access authorisations and rights

Access control involves the permanent monitoring of entrances, exits and areas, with information about which people are currently where. Badge data and other important access data are entered in the Employee Data module. Further data screens, such as Company data, Personal data, etc. can be accessed through their corresponding menu points.

Amongst the additional modules that the system offers are Visitor Administration, Airlock Control and the so-called Porter Module, which enables the remote control of doors. Transaction data is stored in the database for 12 months, which if required, can be extended to 36 months. This gives you the big picture and makes your Access control more cost-effective.

Zones and Zone Groups

Zones are used to define when access is allowed at a given door or doors and in order to facilitate the multiple assignment of Zones, you can group them together into Zone Groups.

These individual Zones or Zone Groups are then assigned to the employees to give them their individual access rights. A further element is Automatic Zones, which you can use to automate functions like the opening and closing of a car-park barrier at defined times to allow general access or activating the requirement for PINcode input at evenings and weekends, for example.

Reports

The General Reports option, offers you an integrated Report Generator that gives you access to all the data in the database for the definition, design and generation of customised reports. Certain standard lists are installed with the system. The data can be output to screen or in HTML, PDF or Excel formats.

The Access Loggings Report allows you to produce reports based on all the Access control transactions that are stored in the database. The data that you select is displayed chronologically on the screen and additionally, it can be printed in HTML or PDF format.

You can select the data based on the following criteria:

- a specified time period, identified by date and time

- all or specified employees

- all or selected employee groupings

- all or selected doors

- all or selected readers

- all or selected events

Devices

The initial definition and input of Door, Reader and Keypad data is done when the system is installed. Certain parameters and fields can however be modified through Visual WebAccess®.

Extensive Relay Control functions

In order to take advantage of these functions, an IDT 6 Door controller has to be connected to and driven by the software. You can then assign these control functions to certain employees who simply, as a result of making their access bookings, can trigger other Building management functions.

For example, the first employee to make a valid Relay control access booking in the morning could at the same time, deactivate the intruder alarm, turn the lights and air conditioning on, activate surveillance cameras, etc. Conversely at the end of the day, the last employee to leave, doesn't have to remember to turn the lights off any more. The system will do it automatically, along with reversing all the other actions carried out at the start of the day.

Options

The Visitor Module provides the special tasks required for Visitor Administration. Any employee who, through their Authorisation profile, has the corresponding rights, can register in advance that a visitor is expected on a given day. In this case, when the visitor arrives, the receptionist only has to issue the corresponding badge. All other data is already present.

The Visitor book logs all transactions made for or by visitor badges and provides a history of all visitor movements. The issuing and the return of visitor badges are logged in the database so if, for example, a badge is unaccounted for, it is very easy to see who it was last issued to.

The Extended Event Control module, with its integrated Graphical Visualisation can be used to connect one or more actions to specified events. Using logical links and cached marker values you can trigger alarms and other similar actions. If, for instance, you have web cams integrated into your system, particular events can be used to activate these cameras and store the resulting images.

This module extends the functionality of the Alarm Management, handles additional monitoring and control tasks and can be used to open interfaces to transfer information on to external systems. The various actions that can be triggered through the Event control module include:

– Relay control

– File output

– Graphics visualisation display

– Printed output

– Camera activation

– Controlling doors

– Marker value modification

– Alarm system user notification

– Sending of e-mails, with photo file as attachment

Employee card designs can be generated and printed using the Card Designer module. The various designs are then assigned to the employees and can include a photograph, defined through the Company Data module, within the Employee Data record. The system supports card printers, which have a Windows driver.

Performance characteristics at a glance

• Browser-based user interface, not dependant on the operating system
• Full functionality using Internet Explorer, >= version 5.5 or Netscape, version 6.x or Mozilla 1.1
• Fully platform-independent
• No Client installation; browser software is enough
• Location-independent User settings
• Language control based on login
• Consistent JAVA solution
• 3-layer model/3-Tier architecture giving optimisation for the User through the separation of User, Business and Data storage into individual layers or tiers
• Full data tractability
• Integrated employee information system
• All significant reports available on screen, PDF, HTML or as E-mail
• Unlimited multi-user capability
• Full client data separation for up to 999 Clients
• Unlimited TCP/IP communications module
• Connection possibilities for up to 999 Door controllers
• Central password management on an LDAP basis
• Unlimited* number of passwords in unlimited* User groups with different Authorisation and Transaction profile assignments; dual-control** data access
• Manages up to 65,000 Zones (Access levels) with a maximum of 128 at any one Door controller
• Permanent communication and fast transaction reaction time through multi-tasking
• Data tracing and correction for up to 36 months
• PIN and/or Door code control, with automatic generation
• 99 Holiday calendars
• Departments and 9,999 Cost centres
• Different access rules for entry and exit at the same door
• Door status display control
• Global anti-pass back
• Timed anti-pass back
• Duress booking management
• Airlock control
• Entry and exit counter
• Client data management
• Extensive on-board report generator

* “unlimited” = 2

** Dual-control data access means that a second password must be entered in order to access specific modules

Software Options

Visitor Administration, Badge history and Badge creation, Extended Event Control, Alarm management, Import/Export generator for interfacing to third-party softwares, Interfaces to GEMOS Building Management system, WINMAG system from effeff and Witos from ITENOS, Central password management on an LDAP basis, Report generator (for the generation of lists and reports in Excel, HTML and PDF)

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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Primion Technology AG,