CSE and SENS provides an enterprise-wide OnGuard card access security service for a coalition of entities around campus. The OnGuard card readers are programmed to read UB Cards. The system can be configured to automatically grant access to doors based on UB InfoSource affiliation rules specified by client departments.
This section provides answers to frequently-asked questions (FAQ).
- Glossary of Terms
- Do I have to pay annual software licensing and service fees to participate in the OnGuard service?
- How many card readers are installed on campus?
- Why does CSE and SENS run UB's enterprise-wide card access system?
- Who is UB's card access hardware vendor?
- What hardware components must I buy to secure my space?
- Lock Hardware
- My UB Card is lost or not working.
- I'm not authorized to enter spaces that I should be able to enter.
- A card reader denies me access when I swipe my card through it.
- How do I get the OnGuard client software on my PC?
- How many OnGuard system administration licenses do we have in our pool?
- How do I refresh my controller's local cardholders and access levels database?
- How do I synchronize my controller's clock with the server's clock?
- How to Create Holiday Rules to Temporarily Restrict Access
- How to Run Access and Event Reports
These are the people you may ask for help.
A few helpful URLs.
- Glossary of Terms
- Access Level. An authorization rule defining a set of spaces and timespans during which members are permitted to enter those spaces.
- Controller. A TCP/IP-networked electronic device that control one or more card readers.
- Card Reader. Electronic device that scans UB cards as cardholders swipe them through it, typically mounted at waist-level near a door.
- Cardholder. A person who possesses a personal UB Card.
- ISO Number. On a UB Card, the 16-digit identification number, beginning with the campus code, 5081 2803, that uniquely identifies a UB Card.
- Infosource. UB's institutional data store from which we programmatically draw classlists and departmental employee lists.
- Person Number. On a UB Card, the 8-digit personal identification number that uniquely identifies a Cardholder.
- Stanley/OnGuard. The external vendor that installs and maintains UB's card access hardware infrastructure.
- UB Card. The multi-purpose personal identification magnetic stripe card that every member of the UB community is entitled to carry.
- Do I have to pay annual software licensing and service fees to participate in the OnGuard service?
No. You can have a free-standing card reader installation that doesn't connect to the CSE BASIS server. You will be required to use a handheld compute device to manually upload your databases of users and access levels to your card reader(s).
But to use the CSE/SENS OnGuard server and take advantage of automated nightly user and access level updates, you must pay your share of the annual OnGuard license subscription fee.
OnGuard coalition members contribute to the cost of the annual OnGuard software license subscription fee and the cost of administering the system. We calculate each coalition member's share of the fee with this formula:
Member's Total Annual Fee = Member's Share of the Annual BASIS Software License + Member's Annual Service Fee
- Member's Share of the Annual OnGuard Software License = (Member's OnGuard card reader count / Total OnGuard card reader count) * annual OnGuard license fee
Each year, usual in July or August, the CSE/SENS Business Office sends Interdepartmental Invoices (IDIs) to OnGuard coalition members, requesting payment of licensing charges.
- How many card readers are installed on campus?
UB's academic and administrative areas have 1186 (as of July 2019) OnGuard card readers installed throughout UB's three campuses. They are all managed by CSE/SENS's OnGuard server.
University Residence Halls (URH) has about 200 OnGuard card readers installed throughout the residence halls. Some URH system administrator (?) manages this infrastructure with a dedicated URH OnGuard server.
Other UB departments independently manage a handful of non-OnGuard card readers.
- Why do CSE and SENS run UB's enterprise-wide card access system?
Because CIT, University Police, and University Facilities have all refused to run an enterprise-wide card access system. Each agency claims that card access is the responsibility of the other two agencies.
- Who is UB's official card access hardware vendor?
UB hasn't named an official institutional card access hardware vendor. But functionally, Stanley OnGuard comes closest to that designation. Stanley/Best has installed card access systems in most UB academic buildings, administrative buildings, residence halls.
Request new Stanley/OnGuard hardware installations by contacting the Stanley Security Service Center (contact information below). Stanley will schedule an on-site cost estimate or service call. Request maintenance of existing hardware by contacting Stanley's Service Center (below).
- What hardware components must I buy to secure my space?
You need at least one Controller and one or more Card Readers. The Controller is the TCP/IP networked device that governs one or more Card Readers. The Controller is typically installed in a CIT communications closet located near your Card Reader(s). The Controller must have its own dedicated static IP address. You or the Stanley Security rep must request a dedicated static IP address for your BASIS card access controller from CIT's IP Request email alias:
ipreq@buffalo.edu
The Card Reader is the electronic device that scans UB cards as cardholders swipe them through it, typically mounted at waist-level near a door.
- Lock Hardware. To secure a swipe card-accessible lock, verify that the physical lock mechanism has been set to the locked position with its passkey. If the physical lock mechanism is unlocked, swipe card security is bypassed (disabled).
- My UB Card is lost or not working.
The UB Card Office is the agency responsible for ensuring that you have a working UB Card.
The UB Card Office can help you with card problems such as:
- "I lost my UB card and need a replacement UB Card."
- "My UB Card is old and worn and I need a replacement UB Card."
- "My student or employee status has mistakenly been deactivated, and now my UB Card doesn't work."
- I'm not authorized to enter spaces that I should be able to enter.
If you suspect that you're not authorized to enter the proper set of space or an error is preventing you from accessing one of your authorized spaces, first check with your local BASIS Card Access node representative. Your node rep has the BASIS client software installed on his/her computer and can check whether you're assigned to the proper set of access levels.
If your node rep can't find a problem, he or she should email cse-consult@buffalo.edu for help. It will help us to diagnose the problem if you include this information:
- Full name
- UB Card Person Number
- UB Card ISO Number
- The space (building, room) that you wish to access
- A card reader denies me access when I swipe my card through it.
- Three beeps accompanied by a solid red light means 'Access Denied'. This can mean:
- The card reader read your card's magnetic stripe properly but a policy does not exist within the database to grant you access.
- The card reader couldn't read your card's magnetic stripe properly because your card is damaged.
- Try swiping your UB Card in a bottom-to-top rather than top-to-bottom direction. Some card reader models seem to prefer bottom-to-top swiping.
- Your UB Card's magnetic stripe might be worn from recurrent use or damaged by some acute accident (demagnetization, cracking the card, etc.). Visit the UB Card Office and request a replacement UB Card.
- How do I get the OnGuard client software on my PC?
Maria has documented a concise OnGuard client software installation procedure here:
https://wiki.cse.buffalo.edu/services/content/how-install-onguard-deskto...
You may download the installation software at your convenience. We don't provide installation media anymore.
- How many BASIS system administration licenses do we have in our pool?
Fourteen. As of April 2018, we have a pool of fourteen floating OnGuard system administration licenses. If more than fourteen UB OnGuard system administrators try to login to the OnGuard System Administration or Alarm Monitoring client software simultaneously, the applications trigger an error stating that the maximum number of client licenses has been reached. If you receive this error, send a friendly note to the UB OnGuard community politely asking people to log off so you can log in.
- How do I refresh my controller's local cardholders and access levels database?
- Open the OnGuard Alarm Monitoring console:
Start -> OnGuard -> Alarm Monitoring -> [login]
- Open a new system status window:
View -> System Status -> New System Status Window (third icon along the top nav menu).
- Select the Access Panel that governs your building or segment.
- Right-click, then select Download Database.
- As the OnGuard server synchronizes its central database with the Access Panel's local copy of that database, the Readers below the Access Panel will go offline and display red 'X' graphics. After a few moments, the 'X' graphics will change color to yellow. After a few more moments, the Readers will come back online.
- How do I synchronize My controller's clock with the server's clock?
Follow this procedure to synchronize your BASIS controllers' time settings with the BASIS server's time setting.
- Start -> OnGuard -> Alarm Monitoring
- Login
- Set Controller Clock(s)
- Set One Controller Clock
- Alarm Monitoring Window -> View -> System Status -> New System Status Window
- Select Allen Hall (Firmware Revision:3.120), right-click
- Set Controller Clock
- Set All Controller Clocks
- Alarm Monitoring Window -> Control -> Set All Controller Clocks
- How to Create Holiday Rules to Temporarily Restrict Access
- Open the OnGuard System Administration application:
Start -> OnGuard -> System Administration
- Open the Timezones interface:
[Menu] -> Access Control -> Timezones...
- Select the Holidays tab:
Holidays tab
- Add a new Holiday rule:
Click the 'Add' button
Select your Access Segment (The system will skip this step if your department is only one segment).
Assign a unique holiday 'Name' (Prefer to begin it with the name of the department. For example, 'CSE Memorial Day').
Select 'Types', numbered [1-8] (If no partial day is needed, checking Type 1 is sufficient for each Holiday created).
Select the 'Start Date' of the date range that this holiday rule will span.
Select the 'Duration' of dates that this holiday rule will span.
Click 'OK'
*PLEASE NOTE: Once a Holiday is created, the Holiday rule applies to all card readers/doors in the segment that is chosen. If the Access Levels
for any of these readers are set to anything other than "Always", even if the person swipes the reader with their UB card, the door will NOT open
on the specific holiday.
- Select the Timezones tab:
Timezones tab
- Add a new Timezone rule:
Click the 'Add' button
Select your Access Segment (Can choose multiple segments if it applies to your department).
Assign a unique Timezone name (Prefer to begin it with the name of the department and/or building name).
Under 'Interval 1', add the start and end time you would like the readers selected to remain unlocked for that period of time.
Check the days you want the times to apply
Click OK.
*Please note (Only applies if you are adding a Holiday rule under Step 4): If you want any of the Holidays created for your segment to take affect
during any of the intervals specified, H1-H8 MUST remain UN-CHECKED.
If you do NOT want the readers in your segment to be locked during the Holidays created then CHECK the appropriate H1-H8 box associated
with the type chosen while creating the Holiday.
- Select the Timezone/Reader Modes tab:
Timezone/Reader Modes tab
- Add a new Timezone/Reader Modes rule:
Click on 'Modify' (Even if creating a new rule under this tab, the 'Add' button is grayed out. So, for adding and modifying an existing rule,
ALWAYS click on the 'Modify' button).
Choose the 'Reader' by checking on the picture and a red check mark will appear next to it.
Choose the 'Timezone' you want to apply to the rule.
Choose the 'Start Reader Mode' (usually 'Unlocked' is chosen but it depends on the circumstances).
Choose the 'End Reader Mode' (usually 'Card Only' is chosen but it depends on the circumstances).
Click on the 'Assign ->' button
Click 'OK'.
Hint: The difficulty in managing holidays is their irregularity. The dates that many federal holidays fall on change from year to year (except for Christmas Day and New Year's Day), so you need to set them manually each year. Ugh.
The most likely use of the OnGuard holiday function at UB is to close UB administrative offices when all the administrators have the day off. The U.S. federal government's listing of federal holidays is the best source for canonical federal holiday dates:
http://www.opm.gov/operating_status_schedules/fedhol/
- How to Run Access and Event Reports
- Open the OnGuard System Administration application:
Start -> OnGuard -> System Administration
- Open the Reports interface:
[Menu] -> Administration -> Reports...
- Select the Reports tab:
Reader Reports tab
- Select a Report and its associated parameters:
Required: Select a Report (click the leftmost icon to replace it with a red checkmark icon)
Required: Select a Reader (click the leftmost icon to replace it with a red checkmark icon)
Required: Select a Date/Time Filter (click the leftmost icon to replace it with a red checkmark icon)
Optional: Select a Cardholder Filter (click the leftmost icon to replace it with a red checkmark icon)
- Run the report:
Click either the 'Preview' or 'Print' button
- Stanley Security Service Center: 1-877-899-0001
- John Ryan, Stanley/Best Sales Rep whose territory includes UB.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Lock_Corporation
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_stripe_card
- https://www.bestaccess.com/
- https://www.stanleysecurity.com//
- https://www.myubcard.com/ubcard/getting-started
