Area configuration tabs

Area - Identity tab

In the Identity tab, you configure the purpose of the area (whether or not it is used for access control), in addition to the standard entity information (name, description, logical ID, and so on).

Access control:
Set to ON to show the Properties and Advanced configuration tabs.
NOTE: This switch is only visible when Synergis™ is enabled as feature.

Area - Properties tab

In the Properties tab, you define who has access to the area and through its perimeter doors.

NOTE: This tab is only visible when Synergis™ is enabled as a feature, and Access control is set to ON in the Identity tab of the area.

Access rules:
Define who has access to the area and when. Each rule can be applied to one or both sides of the doors.
- Access rules:
  Add access rules to grant (or deny) access (entrance, exit, or both) to the area to cardholders and cardholder groups based on a schedule.
- Cardholders, cardholder groups:
  Add cardholders and cardholder groups to define who have access to the area at all times.
  NOTE: Only grant access directly to cardholders for temporary situations or exceptions. If a group of cardholders should be allowed to access the area at all times as a regular setup, define an access rule with the Always schedule.
Doors:
Define both the Perimeter and Captive doors of the area. Perimeter doors are used to enter and exit an area, and help to control access. Captive doors are doors inside the area. By correctly setting the door sides, people counting and antipassback are properly tracked. A door’s Entrance and Exit sides are relative to the area being configured.
NOTE: Access rules assigned to the area apply to all perimeter doors of the area. If each perimeter door must be governed by its own set of rules, configure the access rules on each door.

Area - Advanced tab

In the Advanced tab, you define the advanced access control behaviors for the area.

NOTE: This tab is only visible when Synergis™ is enabled in your license, and Access control is set to ON in the Identity tab of the area. Moreover, some of these properties might not be visible, depending on your license options.

Antipassback:
Antipassback is the access restriction placed on a secured area that prevents the same cardholder from entering an area they have not yet exited, and vice versa.
- Status:
  Turn the antipassback feature on or off.
- Schedule:
  Select Always if you want antipassback to be applied at all times.
- Type:
  Type of antipassback to apply.
  Soft:
  Soft antipassback only logs the passback events in the database. It does not restrict the door from being unlocked due to a passback event.
  
  Hard:
  Hard antipassback logs an entry in the database and prevents the door from being unlocked due to a passback event.
- Presence timeout:
  Set how many minutes a cardholder’s presence in the area is remembered for the purpose of passback detection (not used for counting people). Past that period, a cardholder who never left the area can re-enter without triggering a passback event. The default value of zero (0) minutes means that a cardholder's presence never times out.
  NOTE: When global antipassback is enabled, the presence of a cardholder in an area is forgotten after seven days if no entry or exit from this area is reported for that cardholder during that period. This means that cardholders can re-enter an area that they never left, or leave an area they never entered, without triggering a passback event if no movement was registered for these cardholders on that area for seven days. This applies even if the Presence timeout is set to infinite (=0).
- Strict:
  Turn this option on to generate passback events for both types of access violations: when cardholders try to re-enter an area that they never left, and when cardholders try to exit an area that they never entered. Otherwise, the default is set to OFF and antipassback logic is only verified on area entrances, and passback events are only generated when cardholders try to re-enter an area that they never left.
  BEST PRACTICE: If you choose to enable strict and hard antipassback on an area that is not controlled with turnstiles or similar devices that only allow one person through at a time, grant the Forgive antipassback violation privilege to the operators responsible for monitoring this area.
  
  NOTE: With strict antipassback turned off, you can have Card-In/REX-out perimeter doors, but the Presence timeout parameter must be configured (> 0). With strict antipassback turned on, all perimeter doors must be configured as Card-In/Card-Out, Presence timeout must be set to infinite (= 0), and no REX can be configured.
Max occupancy:
The Max occupancy feature monitors the number of people in an area, up to a configured limit. Once the limit is reached, the rule will either deny access to additional cardholders (if set to Hard) or trigger events while allowing further access (Soft) .
- Status:
  Set it to ON to enable the max occupancy feature. Enabling a Max occupancy limit on an area generates the following events:
  
  Max occupancy reached when the area reaches the configured limit. This event sends the area into a warning state.
  
  Max occupancy exceeded when additional cardholders enter the area.
  
  Below max occupancy when the number of occupants drops below the configured limit.
- Type:
  Select from the following:
  
  Hard: When the max occupancy limit is reached, it will deny the next access request on the area's perimeter door.
  
  Soft: Will not deny subsequent access requests.
- Max occupancy limit:
  Enter the number of people the area can hold before triggering the limit.
Interlock:
Security Center supports the interlocking of the perimeter doors for an area by allowing only one perimeter door to be open at one time.
- Status:
  Turn the interlock feature on or off. When this feature is on, only one perimeter door of the area can be open at any given time. To open a door, all others must be closed.
- Priority:
  When both the override and lockdown inputs are configured, select which one has priority when both inputs are active.
- Override:
  Select the input that is wired to the override key switch or flip switch. When the switch in on, the interlock feature is disabled.
- Lockdown:
  Select the input that is wired to the lockdown key switch or flip switch. When the switch is on, all perimeter doors remain locked until the switch is back to its normal position.
First-person-in rule:
The first-person-in rule is the access restriction placed on a secured area that prevents anyone from entering the area unless a supervisory cardholder is on site. The first-person-in rule can be enforced on door unlock schedules, access rules, or both.
- Enforce on door unlock schedules:
  Set to ON to ignore all door unlock schedules until a supervisor is granted access to the area. The first-person-in rule has no effect on elevator unlock schedules.
- Enforce on access rules:
  Set to ON to ignore access rules until a supervisor is present in the area. You specify when the first-person-in rule applies with a schedule.
- Supervisors:
  List of cardholders who can act as area supervisors.
- Exemption list:
  List of cardholders who continue to follow the access rules even when the first-person-in rule is in effect.
Visitor escort rule:
The visitor escort rule is the additional access restriction placed on a secured area that requires visitors to be escorted by a cardholder during their stay. Visitors who have a host are not granted access through access points until both they and their assigned host (cardholder) present their credentials within a certain delay.
NOTE: The actual hosts are configured in the Visitor management task. The maximum delay granted to the host to present their credential after the visitor has presented theirs is configured individually for each door.
- Enforce visitor escort rule:
  Set to ON to require the host to present their credential after the visitor, if the visitor has a mandatory host assigned.
Duress PIN:
The Duress PIN function lets a cardholder who is being coerced into unlocking a door trigger a Duress PIN entered event without alerting the intruder, thereby helping to ensure the cardholder's safety.

Area - Threats tab

In the Threats tab, you configure specific actions to be executed by the system when a threat level is activated or deactivated for this area.

NOTE: This tab is only visible when the Threat level license option is enabled, and at least one threat level is configured in your system.