Glossary

Term	Description
Anti-Passback	A means of preventing the sharing of an access control credential. Anti-Passback can be based upon disabling a credential for a period of time after it is used, or by remembering the credential-holder’s in/out status.
Audit Trail	A means of recording and saving access control event history for later review.
Biometrics	The measurement of a physical trait that is unique, such as a fingerprint, hand geometry or iris pattern. Can be used as credentials to identify authorized users and to grant or deny access.
Break	To open an electrical circuit.
Brownout	Low line voltage that can cause misoperation of and possible damage to equipment. For example a motor that tries to start at low voltage can actually be in a lock-rotor condition and can overheat.
Cardholder	A person who by possession of a credential can gain access to a controlled facility.
CAT 5	A common cable type that consists of several twisted pairs in an overall protective jacket. Used for network cabling and many access control data functions.
Circuit	The path through which electrical energy flows.
Closure	The point at which two contacts meet to complete a circuit.
Concurrent Workstations	The number of Workstations connected or logged on to the Server at the same time.
Conductor	Material with the ability to carry electric current. The term is also used for an electric wire.
Conduit	A tube or trough for protecting wires and cables. It may be a solid or flexible tube in which insulated electrical wires are run.
Connector	Generally, any device used to provide rapid connect/disconnect service for electrical cable and wire terminations.
Contacts	Electrically conductive points used to make or break an electrical circuit mechanically.
Credential	A credential is a physical/tangible object, a piece of knowledge, or a facet of a person's physical being, that enables an individual access to a given physical facility or computer-based information system. Typically, credentials can be something you know (such as number or PIN), something you have (such as an access badge), something you are (such as a biometric feature) or some combination of these items. The typical credential is an access card, key fob, or other key.
Current	The flow of electrons through an electrical conductor. Current is measured in amperes.
Daughterboard	A small PCB that when connected to an RTU converts from one communication protocol to another to allow the rtu to communicate with the host.
De-energize	To remove power.
Direct Current (DC)	Electrical current that travels only in one direction and has negative and positive polarity. It may or may not have an AC ripple component. DC sources that are unfiltered should be referred to as full-wave or half-wave rectified circuits.
DNS	DNS is an abbreviation for Domain Name System, a system for naming computers and network services that is organized into a hierarchy of domains. DNS naming is used in TCP/IP networks, such as the Internet, to locate computers and services through user-friendly names. When a user enters a DNS name in an application, DNS services can resolve the name to other information associated with the name, such as an IP address.