This document highlights important steps in the initial configuration of a simple BlueWave system. It assumes that you have followed the steps to install the BlueView Software. If you have not installed the BlueView Software, please follow the Installation Guide first. Most of this information is available in separate articles on our support portal.
• BlueView Software Architecture
• System Overview
• Setting Up Your System
• Programming Doors
BlueView Software Architecture
The BlueView access control software is used for the administration, monitoring and operation of the system using Windows PCs. The software uses a common, central Microsoft SQL database located on the network.
System Overview
A BlueWave access control system consists of NetGen door controllers and the BlueView access control software. At each door with a NetGen door controller, the NetGen controller is installed to physically open the electronic lock, monitor the door sensor and read user credentials using an attached card reader or pin pad. The BlueView access control software is used to configure, administer and monitor the NetGen door controllers through an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network.
Modules
There are three main components of the application:
BlueView Windows Application: The administration module is used to configure and manage people, groups, shifts (time zones), badges, special events and reports.
Microsoft SQL Express Database: A Microsoft SQL Server Express database is used to store all BlueWave information
Bluelink Network Service: The Bluelink Network Service, a Windows service, manages communication with the NetGen door controller at each door, sending updated access control lists to the door controllers and downloading audit events for storage in the central database.
System Logins / Roles
The BlueView software comes with three built-in access level logins:
Full Administrator: The Administrator user has full administration rights to all features of the software
Username:admin
Password:a1
Operations Administrator: The Operations user cannot change system configuration information, but can execute door operations
Username:operations
Password : o1
Monitor Station: The Monitor user can only view the system overview screen to monitor door events as they occur
Username: Monitor
Password: m1
To create additional logins or change the passwords for the default ones, use our Login Administration Guide.
Tables
There are seven main tables, or lists, stored in a central database used to configure the BlueView software:
Sites: Sites are simply names used to organize and identify physical locations for this BlueWave system. Sites are typically used to identify a particular facility such as "San Diego Sales Office" or "Store 78290" or "Chemistry Building." There can be multiple Sites within a BlueWave system associated with the Company Name. Permissions can be granted on a Site basis. The system comes configured with a default Site named "My Site."
Areas: Sites are subdivided into Areas. Areas are simply names used to organize specific groups of doors. Areas can be physical names such as "1st floor" or logical names such as "Chemistry Department." There can be multiple Areas within each site. Permissions can be granted on an Area basis. The system comes configured with a default Area named "My Area."
Doors: Each door in the BlueWave system must be assigned to an Area. Each door must be given a name and a static IP address. Each door represents a NetGen door controller. Permissions can be granted on a Door basis.
Card Holders: Card Holders are people in the BlueWave system that have been assigned a proximity card credential (facility code and badge number) or PIN credentials (facility code and PIN). Card Holders must be assigned to a group to become active in the system.
Groups: A group is simply a name used to identify a group of people, such as Staff or Management or Janitorial.
Shifts: Shifts, or time zones, are weekly or daily schedules used to limit access to certain time periods for each day of the week. Shifts can be applied to groups, or used to lock or unlock doors at specific times. The system comes configured with a default Shift named "24x7."
Permissions: Groups and shifts are associated with specific sites, areas or doors to control who and at what times certain people can come and go through a given door or opening.
Network Overview
Bluelink Network Service is the application that directly communicates with the door controllers. BlueLink Network Service writes significant events to the database. BlueView watches the database for new records. When it finds new records, it retrieves them and displays the information. When BlueView needs to send information to one of the door controllers, it does so by calling a remotable function in BlueLink Network Service. This service in turn processes the request and sends the relevant commands to the desired controller(s).
Location of Software
BlueView can be installed on the same machine as Microsoft SQL Server, or they can be installed on separate machines. If SQL Server is on a different machine than BlueView, it will need to be configured for remote access, as described below.
Sharing the Database
Microsoft SQL Server can be configured for remote access but the default installation does not allow this. Please consult the document Configuring BlueView for Remote Client Access in the BlueView Documentation directory for instructions on how to configure it to allow remote connections. You must always have a Server install of BlueView before you can add Client installations. Once you have the BlueView server installed and the SQL Server configured for remote access you can install client versions and configure them to communicate with the server install (subject to software licensing). Clients are installed using the same installation package used to install BlueView server.
System Overview Screen
The default screen in the BlueView application is the system overview. This screen shows a tree-view of the system on the left and an audit trail of events on the right. New systems come with your company name and a default site of "My Site" and area of "My Area."
From here you can view all of the sites, areas and doors under your Company via the Treeview on the left-hand side. Events from the past 24 hours are shown in the listview to the right. You can select only those events of interest via the drop-down box at the top right. To learn more about Event Types, check out our Guide to Events.
The System Overview button on the top bar will bring up the main screen again if it is closed for any reason.
The Start/Stop button allows you to control the Bluelink Network Service and see its status at any time. If the service is running it will show a green icon and give you the option to stop. If the service is not running it will show a red icon and give you the option to start.
If you get an Unauthorized Entry/Extended Open alarm you can click the Cancel the Alarm button to clear the alarm state.
If you want to execute override commands, select a node from the treeview and click either the Normal, Lockdown or Unlock button in the toolbar. Note that If you want to execute an operational admit, you must select a Door as you cannot do so to more than one door at a time.
Setting Up Your System
Configure Sites
The Site screen displays all of the Sites in the system. By clicking on a Site you can see all of the areas defined within that site.
To change the name of the default site name, click on the Configure menu and select Site. Click on the "My Site" default entry in the Display Site column. In the Site text box on the menu bar, enter the desired name for the Site. Click the "Apply" button to save the new Site name.Enter as many Sites as needed. Click the "Close"button to exit the dialog.
To add a new site, enter the name into the Site box at the top and click Add.
To delete a site click on its name then click Delete at the top. Click Yes to confirm.
To update a site click on its name, edit the name in the Site box and click Save at the top.
Configure Areas
The Area screen displays all of the Areas in the system. By clicking on an Area you can see all of the doors assigned to that Area.
To change the name of the default Area, click on the Configure menu and select Area. Click on the "MyArea" default entry in the Display Area column. In the Area text box on the menu bar, enter the desired name for the Area. Click the "Apply" button to save the new Area name. Enter as many Areas as needed. Click the "Close" button to exit the dialog.
To add a new Area, enter the name into the Area box at the top and click Add.
To delete an Area click on its name then click Delete at the top. Click Yes to confirm.
To update an Area click on its name, edit the name in the Area box and click Save at the top.
Configure Doors
The Door list shows the doors that are currently defined in the system, their current Version and Status. By clicking on an Area you can see all of the doors assigned to that Area.
To add a door, enter its Name and IP Address. You can change the port from 10001, if needed. The port should only be changed if you have already changed the port in the Lantronix module on the controller. Select the appropriate Site, Area, Model, Authentication Type, Reader Type, Number of Readers, and Timezone from the drop-down boxes, then click Add.
To change a door you can click on it in the grid, edit the fields as appropriate then click Apply. To delete a door, click on its name, then Delete then Yes to confirm. For Advanced Configuration, see our Configuration Guide.
Configure Cardholders
From the Configure menu, select Card Holder. This is where you define a person and their assigned credentials.
To define a Card Holder, enter their first name, last name, optionally enter Employee ID, Email, Cell Phone and select an image, then click Add. To delete a Card Holder click on their name then Delete, click Yes to confirm. To update a Card Holder click on their name, edit the fields as appropriate and click Save. By selecting a Card Holder you can see all of the cards assigned to them.
Configure Credentials
To enter a new credential for a Cardholder, select them from the list and click Add/Search Credential. To edit an existing credential, double click on it in the list of credentials.
Once here, you can fill out the information for the new credential, then click Add.
To see more information about Card Holders and Credentials, see our Configuration Guide.
Programming Doors
From the Configure menu, select Card Holder Permissions.
Configuration
When setting up a simple system, the 24x7 shift, the All group and the Company target may be sufficient to allow all card holders to have access through all doors at all times. However, if access needs to be restricted to ANY door in the system, the permission 24x7/All/Company should not be used, as it will override any other permissions. When creating permissions, be sure that your sites, areas, and doors are all organized in a way that allows easy separation of access.
Creating permissions on this table is telling the system WHO(Group) has access to WHERE(Company/Site/Area/Door) and WHEN(Shift). Using the drop-down menus at the top of the dialog, select a Shift, Group, and Target. Click the Add button to add to the List of Permissions. Once you have entered all of the permissions, you can update the door controllers by clicking the Activation tab. If you have programmed exceptions to the normal shift patterns you must choose which doors to apply them to using the Exceptions tab.
Note: If you select a Shift that is of type Unlock then you will not be able to select a Group as cards are not relevant for this type of shift. The dropdown box will be disabled when creating the permission.
Exceptions
To define an exception permission, select an exception and a target set of controllers, then click Add. To delete an exception permission click on its name then Delete and confirm. To update an exception permission click on it then select different values as appropriate and click Save.
Review our Exceptions Guide for more information.
Once you have entered all of the exception permissions, you can update the door controllers by clicking the Activation tab.
Activation
From here you can update your door controllers with the latest permissions you have added. Before you activate your permissions please ensure you have configured all the required permissions for a controller.
To activate the card holder permissions for a door, click the checkbox next to a door, and then click on Activate Now. You can select multiple doors or use the Select All checkbox to update the full list. The rows for each selected door controller will change to orange with a Door Status of Queued. The programming of the controllers is complete when the rows of all selected doors turn green, with a status of Successful. This can take anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes, depending on the number of credentials in your system and the speed of your network. In our most recent version of BlueView, your system will be able to update multiple controllers at once, speeding up this process.
To view the credentials that have been sent to each door, select the appropriate row on the left side of the screen, and the credentials sent to that door will appear in the middle Permissions Sent pane on the right.
Cardholder permissions activations are handled in the background by Bluelink Network Services, so you do not need to leave the Permissions Activation screen open while they are being processed.
Now you are ready to test the door controllers.
Have a valid card holder open the door using a proximity card or PIN. The door should unlock and the event should be logged in the Event log on the System Overview Screen.
The BlueWave access control system is now operational. The system can be further customized with more sites, areas, doors, card holders, groups, shifts and permission rules.