Glossary of access management
The terms that appear on this website and in our offers, briefly explained. Product names such as BaseLink, SmartKit, MONOLITH, ControlHub and ControlApp are covered under Products and Software.
Barriers and access
- Barrier system
- Collective term for boom barrier, bollard, gate, door and turnstile: everything that physically blocks and releases an entrance or access. BarrierSystems controls barrier systems of all common types, independent of the manufacturer.
- Boom barrier
- Barrier system with an arm that rises and lowers. The most common barrier type at car parks and plant entrances.
- Bollard
- Vertical post that blocks passage. Retractable bollards sink into the ground to release; fixed bollards secure permanently.
- Access management
- Administration and control of all entrances of a site: who may pass which installation when and with which means of access, plus monitoring, evaluation and maintenance.
- Access permission
- The authorization for a vehicle or a person to pass a barrier system. In the ControlHub it is personalized, time-controlled and tied to individual installations or groups.
- Means of access
- What a vehicle or a person uses to identify itself at the installation: RFID token, license plate, QR code, phone number, app, radio or key switch.
- Passage
- A single pass through a barrier system. The ControlHub counts passages per installation, means of access and permission type.
- Zone
- An area between barrier systems for which the ControlHub balances the vehicles entering and leaving. Zone management shows how many vehicles are in an area.
- Time control
- Rule that opens, closes or releases a barrier system or a permission at defined times, such as delivery hours in a pedestrian zone.
- Installation group
- Several barrier systems managed together. A permission can apply to a single installation or to a group.
- Fault
- State in which an installation does not work as intended. The ControlHub detects faults remotely, reports them and allows manual remote access.
- Remote maintenance
- Administration and fault analysis of an installation over the internet, without a site visit. Requires an online connection of the controller.
- Retrofit
- An existing barrier system receives a controller such as SmartKit or BaseLink and becomes part of access management without replacing the installation.
- Control column
- Column at the entrance that carries operating elements, sensors and camera; at BarrierSystems the MONOLITH.
Means of access and sensors
- RFID
- Radio frequency identification: a token, card, chip or sticker is recognized contactlessly by the reader. Long-range readers recognize vehicles from several meters away.
- License plate recognition (ANPR)
- A camera reads the license plate of a vehicle; access management checks it against the permissions. No token needed, high convenience.
- AI-based vehicle recognition
- A video sensor recognizes the vehicle class or type, such as an ambulance or a truck, and releases accordingly. Complements or replaces the license plate as a means of access.
- QR code
- One-time or recurring code that is sent digitally and scanned at the reader; suitable for guests and suppliers.
- Call function (GSM)
- The installation opens after a call from a stored phone number. No token needed, but dependent on mobile coverage. The modules from BarrierSystems carry a German phone number.
- Public safety radio (BOS)
- Digital radio of the German authorities and organizations with security tasks. Emergency vehicles open barrier systems with it without stopping.
- Key switch
- Mechanical switch operated with a key. Robust and network-independent, but hard to block if the key is lost.
- Induction loop
- Loop laid in the ground that detects a vehicle standing above it. Ensures that a bollard does not rise under a vehicle and detects the direction of travel.
- Environmental sensor
- Sensor for ambient data such as noise or air quality whose values the ControlHub records alongside the movements.
- Multi-sensor technology
- Combination of several sensors at one entrance, such as camera, RFID and induction loop, that decide together.
Connection, form factor, operation
- Controller
- The device that drives the barrier system and connects it to the ControlHub; at BarrierSystems SmartKit or BaseLink.
- Digital potential-free inputs and outputs
- Switching contacts without their own voltage through which the controller issues opening commands and reads limit switches or error signals. The universal connection to existing installations.
- Modbus TCP
- Industrial protocol over Ethernet through which controller and installation control exchange states and commands.
- Wiegand-26
- Widespread interface between readers and controllers in access control; it allows existing readers to be reused.
- DIN rail
- Standard rail in the control cabinet onto which components such as the SmartKit are snapped.
- IP66
- Protection rating of a housing: dust-tight and protected against powerful water jets. The SmartKit is available in an IP66 box for use without a control cabinet.
- Cloud hosting
- Operating mode in which BarrierSystems provides and maintains the servers at a German premium host; access by browser or app from anywhere.
- On-premise
- Operating mode in which the server sits at the customer's site and is reachable only in the internal network; at BarrierSystems the NEXUS.
- Hybrid
- Mixed form: access to the ControlHub and the ControlApp stays in the internal network, the installations communicate with the server over the internet.
- Self-sufficient operation
- The controller keeps working without an online connection, with local fault detection and locally checked permissions.
- Health monitoring
- Continuous remote monitoring of the state of an installation with notification on failure and fault analysis.
- Multi-tenancy
- One system manages several organizations separately from each other, such as city, operator and service provider, each with its own roles and permissions.
- Maintenance record
- Digital history of an installation in the maintenance module: commissioning, inspections, repairs, replacements and deadlines.
- Documented API
- Described programming interface through which third-party systems such as visitor management or ERP are connected to access management; at BarrierSystems the CONTROL API.
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