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Configurations for complex use cases

In most cases, you'll have a configuration with 1 host interface component and 1 RFID interface component. However, there are use cases that can't be covered with this standard setup. Here's a list of special scenarios you may be confronted with, requiring multiple host interface or multiple RFID interface components.

Multiple reader types in the same project

You may have multiple reader types with different host protocols and/or different user feedback in the same project, e.g. BALTECH ACCESS200 readers for access control and BALTECH ID-engine readers for time and attendance.

In this case you need to configure the host interface per reader type. This works as follows:

  1. Keep the individual host interfaces components in separate files.
    There can only be 1 host interface component per configuration file.

  2. For the RFID interface, use the following workflow:

    1. Add the RFID interface component to each file.
      This approach is required for initial installation and when deploying a new version with an updated host interface component.

      Tip

      Add the RFID interface component to 1 configuration file. Then import the component into the other configuration file(s).

      Add the same RFID interface component to multiple BALTECH configurations with different host interface components each

    2. Keep the RFID interface component in a separate configuration file.
      This approach is required if the reader is already configured and you need to update only the RFID interface component, e.g. to exchange an encryption key. You only need 1 configuration file for all readers, which facilitates the update process.

      1 BALTECH configuration with RFID interface component plus 2 additional configurations with different host interface components each

Multiple card types

There may be more than 1 card type in your project, e.g. if you're managing the access control system of a company that has merged with another one, and all employees keep their original project cards.

In this case, create 1 RFID interface component per card type and add them all to the same configuration file.

  • The order of RFID components matters: The reader tries them from top to bottom, so the order may impact performance and functionality. You may e.g. want to have the RFID interface component for the more frequently used card type at the top. To change the order, right-click a component in BALTECH ConfigEditor and use the Up and Down options.
  • Deploy all RFID interface components as a whole: All RFID interface components must be included in 1 configuration file and deployed together.
1 BALTECH configuration with different RFID interface components for different card types

Exchanging a project key

When exchanging the encryption key on your project cards, it usually takes a while to reformat or exchange all project cards. To cater for this interim period, you'll need to reconfigure the reader twice:

  1. Add a second RFID interface component with the new key and deploy the configuration.
    The reader will then accept cards with the old key as well as cards with the new key. Leave this configuration in place until all cards have been reformatted or exchanged.

  2. Remove the old RFID interface component and deploy the configuration. Only cards with the new key will now be accepted.

  • The order of RFID components matters: The reader tries them from top to bottom, so the order may impact performance and functionality. You may e.g. want to have the RFID interface component for the more frequently used card type at the top. To change the order, right-click a component in BALTECH ConfigEditor and use the Up and Down options.
  • Deploy all RFID interface components as a whole: All RFID interface components must be included in 1 configuration file and deployed together.
Phases of exchanging an encryption key in a BALTECH configuration

Multiple companies in the same building

In an office building where each floor is used by a different company, you may have the following setup:

  • Each company has its own card type (i.e. card type, encryption keys, etc.) and its own host system.
  • The main entrance is used by all companies. Here, you have a simple (usually offline) reader that's only supposed to check if the card matches one of the company cards.

This is different from the site-code scenario

The multi-company scenario may also be solved with a site code: In that case, there's 1 host system for the entire building that grants access rights based on a site code that is part of the card number. For the site-code scenario, you only need a standard configuration with 1 RFID interface component (and 1 host interface component).

If you have multiple companies and multiple host systems, proceed as follows:

  1. Create 1 configuration file per floor containing the floor-specific RFID interface component (and a host interface component for that company's individual host systems).
  2. Create an additional configuration file for the main entrance with RFID interface components for all companies (and a host interface component for the main entrance; usually offline).
  • The order of RFID components matters: The reader tries them from top to bottom, so the order may impact performance and functionality. You may e.g. want to have the RFID interface component for the more frequently used card type at the top. To change the order, right-click a component in BALTECH ConfigEditor and use the Up and Down options.
  • Deploy all RFID interface components as a whole: All RFID interface components must be included in 1 configuration file and deployed together.
BALTECH configurations for an office building with various companies and a shared main entrance
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