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The following table lists the differences between a hardware zone, a virtual zone, and an I/O zone, and can help you decide which type of zone you need to create.
| Characteristics | Hardware zone | Virtual zone | I/O zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended use | Hardware zones are recommended when quick responses and offline operations are crucial for your security system. | Virtual zones are recommended when flexibility is required, and when access control units are not available. | I/O zones are recommended when quick responses, offline operation, and I/O linking across multiple units are required. |
| Role | Access Manager | Zone Manager | Access Manager |
| Required unit type | HID or Synergis™ unit | Any type of unit with inputs and outputs1 | Synergis™ units2 |
| Unit operation mode | Online and Offline | Online | Online and Offline |
| I/O linking execution | Access control unit | Zone Manager | Master unit3 |
| I/O linking (inputs) | All inputs must be from the same unit | Can combine inputs from any unit of any type | Can combine inputs from any unit |
| Logical operator (inputs) | OR/AND | OR/AND | OR |
| I/O linking (outputs) | All outputs must be from the same unit as the inputs | Can trigger outputs on any unit of any type | Can trigger outputs on any unit |
| I/O linking configuration | Zone configuration + event-to-actions | Zone configuration + event-to-actions | Zone configuration alone |
| Peer-to-peer | No | No | Yes4 |
| Arm/disarm from Security Desk | No | Yes | Yes5 |
| Arm/disarm using actions | No | Yes | Yes5 |
| Arm/disarm using key switch | Yes6 | No | No |
| Arm/disarm on schedule | Yes7 | Yes8 | Yes9 |
| Arming delay | OFF/ON (mm:ss) | OFF/ON (mm:ss) | No |
| Entry delay | OFF/ON (mm:ss) | OFF/ON (mm:ss) | No |
| Maintenance mode | No | No | Yes |
1 Using zones to monitor the inputs of intrusion detection units is not recommended.
2 Requires Synergis™ Softwire 10.2 and later.
3 The master unit is the Synergis™ unit that you select to do I/O linking.
4 Up to 15 Synergis™ units can communicate directly with each other, as long as they are all under the same Access Manager.
5 The master unit must be online.
6 The key switch must be wired to an input on the same access control unit.
7 Only one schedule at a time, and cannot be combined with the key switch approach.
8 Supports multiple schedules.
9 Supports multiple schedules, including exception schedules.
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