platform sdk access control

About access control

In Security Center, access control is a policy-and-hardware system that decides who can go where, when, and through which doors. The Platform SDK exposes it as four conceptual layers:

• Identity: Cardholder (the person), CardholderGroup (logical grouping), Credential (the token: card, PIN, biometric, mobile).
• Locations: Door (a barrier with two sides), Area (a logical space containing doors and other entities), Elevator and its Floor collection, plus AccessPoint for the per-side reader and sensor wiring.
• Policy: AccessRule ties cardholders or groups to a Schedule and a set of access points.
• Hardware: an access control unit (the SDK class is Unit) hosts InterfaceModule boards. Each interface module wires physical readers, REX buttons, door sensors, and door locks to the door's logical access points.

Deny rules at an access point take precedence over grant rules at the same point. Outside a rule's schedule, the rule does not grant access. A temporary access rule (AccessRuleType.Temporary) adds a StartTime/EndTime activation window and grants no access outside it; a permanent rule is governed by its schedule alone.

Where to go next

• Cardholder and credential lifecycle, status methods, builder workflow, credential requests: see About cardholders and credentials.
• Doors, areas, elevators, and per-access-point wiring: see About doors, areas, elevators, and access points.
• Access-rule creation, member management, schedule construction, twilight coverage: see About access rules and schedules.
• Access control units, interface modules, and peripheral types: see About access control units and interface modules.
• Reusable door configuration applied to many doors at once: see Door templates.
• Active and archived visitors, recreation of returning visitors: see Visitors.
• Mobile credentials: see Mobile credentials.

What if checks without the hardware

Credential.HasAccess(Door.DoorSide, DateTime) and Credential.HasAccess(Floor, DateTime) return an AccessResult reporting whether the credential's configured access rights grant access at a door side or an elevator floor at a given moment. Use them to validate rule setup, credential status, and schedule coverage without involving the reader.

The result reflects configuration, not the cardholder's current position in the system. Where antipassback is enforced, a result of Granted means the configuration allows access, not that the reader will grant it on the next presentation.

See also

• About cardholders and credentials: Cardholder and credential lifecycle in depth.
• About doors, areas, elevators, and access points: The location entities and their per-access-point wiring.
• About access rules and schedules: The policy and time-coverage layer.
• About access control units and interface modules: Unit and interface-module construction.
• Door templates: Reusable door configuration projected across many doors.
• Visitors: Active and archived visitor lifecycle.
• Mobile credentials: Mobile credential issuance and lifecycle.
• Privileges: Operator permissions and the privilege model.