Glossary

A
Access Level	An Access Level is a list of Portal Readers and Floor Stops, each with an associated Schedule. Access Levels are assigned to People records and indicate what Portal Readers or Floor Stops may be accessed, and on what Schedule.
Access Schedule	An Access Schedule defines time slices for every day of the week and Holidays. Schedules are associated with Portal Readers or Floor Stops in Access Levels to indicate when a Person shall be granted access, and are associated with Portal Readers or Floor Stops directly to indicate when the Portal or Floor Stop shall be locked and unlocked.
Access Rights	An Access Right indicates whether the Person shall have access to the Portal or Floor Stop, and the time-of-day when such access shall be granted.
Alarm	An Alarms is an "event of interest". Events can become alarms based on a Schedule or whether the source is armed or disarmed.

B
Badge	A Badge is a printed credential that serves to identify the owner.
Badge Template	A Badge Template is a layout for a Badge. It indicates what data and graphics shall be printed on the badge, and where.
BluBØX	BluBØX Security, Inc. (BluBØX for short), is the provider of the cloud-based BluSKY software and the BluCHIP hardware that are installed by independent Security System integrators to form a Security System.
BluBUY	BluBUY is BluBØX’s e-commerce web-site.
BluCARE	BluCARE is BluBØX’s support, professional services and training service.
BluCHIP	BLUSHIP is BluBØX’s security system hardware.
BluSKY	BluSKY is BluBØX’s cloud-based security software product.

C
Card	A "Card" is a credit-card-sized item that can usually be printed-on to form a Badge. Typically, it is also encoded with data that can be read at a card reader. When the card is presented to a reader, its data is transferred to a security system controller where a decision is made whether to admit or not based on the person's Access Level.
Card Upload	This term describes the uploading of a list of card numbers into BluSKY from a spreadsheet. The upload process registers the card numbers and the card formats in BluSKY to insure against duplicates and so the numbers can be validated at the time of issuance.
Check In	Visitors and Vendors are checked in to indicate that they are currently in the building.
Command	A Command is a custom defined system Output event.
Control Point	Control Points are configured to provide information on configured Ouputs in BluSKY.
Controller	A Controller is a Mercury board that is able to communicate with BluSKY over an IP channel and with other Mercury boards or devices over an RS-485 Chain.
Customer	A Customer is the organization (usually an integrator) who has purchased BluCHIP hardware, BluSKY software, or BluCARE services from BluBØX. This is not to be confused with the end-user customer of a BluBØX integrator who has purchased these items from a security system integrator.

D
Delegate Point	Delegating a Portal Reader or a Floor Stop of an access control system to a person (usually a BluSKY Administrator) allows that person to include that Reader or Floor Stop in an Access Level or in an Access Right for assignment to any of the people over whom the person has jurisdiction in BluSKY. A common use is for a Property Manager to delegate certain base-building points (such as main entry, turnstiles and floor stops), to Tenant Administrators so they can assign access to those points to their people as they wish.
Destination Keypad	A Destination Keypad is an element of a Destination Dispatch elevator system that people use to request an elevator for travel to the floor they specify: usually, the Destination Keypad includes a small screen that posts the elevator number that the elevator system assigns for travel to the requested floor. Destination Keypads are often equipped with a Card Reader to limit requests to the floors to which a user has access.

D

Delegate Point

Delegating a Portal Reader or a Floor Stop of an access control system to a person (usually a BluSKY Administrator) allows that person to include that Reader or Floor Stop in an Access Level or in an Access Right for assignment to any of the people over whom the person has jurisdiction in BluSKY. A common use is for a Property Manager to delegate certain base-building points (such as main entry, turnstiles and floor stops), to Tenant Administrators so they can assign access to those points to their people as they wish.

Destination Keypad

A Destination Keypad is an element of a Destination Dispatch elevator system that people use to request an elevator for travel to the floor they specify: usually, the Destination Keypad includes a small screen that posts the elevator number that the elevator system assigns for travel to the requested floor. Destination Keypads are often equipped with a Card Reader to limit requests to the floors to which a user has access.

E
Elevator	A means of transporting people to the floors of a Facility.
Elevator Hardware	Elevator Hardware describes the Security System’s devices that are serve to control people’s access to the floors. Certain elements of the Elevator Hardware interface with the Elevator System, to deliver the Access Control element of the overall Elevator System.
Elevator SIO Board	Elevator SIO Boards are Mercury boards that are used to interface with the Elevator System to implement the access control element of the overall Elevator System.
Event	An Event is an "occurrence of interest" in the Security System such as a card read, the opening of a door, the granting or denial of access, an alarm condition, a database record transaction, and many more. Each such occurrence is logged in BluSKY as an "Event" and can be made to appear in a BluSKY activity report.

F
Facility	A "Facility" is the BluSKY term for a physical building.
Floor Stop	A Floor Stop can be thought of as a floor-call button inside an elevator. If six elevators serve a particular floor, there are six floors-call buttons in the elevator system: one in each elevator, and hence, six Floor Stops. If an elevator has a front and a rear door that open independently, on say Floor B1, then there shall be two buttons for B1 in that elevator: B1 Front and B1 Rear. Therefore, there are also two Floor Stops for that elevator on B1: B1 Front and B1 Rear.
Floor Matrix	The Floor Matrix is a chart that is part of the configuration of a Destination Dispatch elevator system. It serves to indicate the floors that shall be accessible without presenting a credential from each Elevator Keypad in the elevator system. For instance, the Matrix can specify that only the Lobby, and Floors 6 and 7 shall be accessible from a certain keypad. The Matrix can go on to specify a schedule for each accessible floor (Example: Floor 6 shall be accessible only during Business Hours).

G
Guided System Configuration	The is the end to end configuration mechanism.

H
Holiday	A Holiday is a day that would normally be a working day but is not. Holidays need to be identified by date in BluSKY so the security system can assume the behavior specified in the "Holidays" line of each Schedule. See "Schedules" and "Holiday Schedule" below for more information.
Holiday Schedule	The Holiday Schedule refers to the line labeled Holidays. It holds the Secure/Unsecure time periods for days that have been designated as Holidays.

I
Input	Inputs are simple circuits that are used to provide information to the System.
IPS	Intution Prevention System, a system that is used to deter intruders.
IPS Group	An IPS Group is a grouping of security points,"the IPS Points", usually Portals equipped with door contacts and sometimes Readers, but also motion detectors and other such devices), that form an "Intrusion Zone". Intrusion Zones can be armed and disarmed, either manually or automatically. When armed, any qualifying event among the IPS points shall be reported as an Alarm.
IPS Point	An IPS Point is a security point (usually a Portal equipped with a door contact and sometimes a reader, but also a motion detector or other such device), that is part of an "Intrusion Zone".

J

K
Keypad	A Keypad is a device that allows manual entry of a Personal Identification Number (PIN). Keypads may feature physical buttons or may be in the form of a touchscreen.

L
Location	A Location is a geographical point in 3 dimensions: it may therefore be a particular spot on a floor of a Facility (for instance the IDF Closet on Floor 5 of the ABC Facility).

M
Maps	A Map is a graphical depiction of an environment. Can be a Street Map or a Floor Map. Maps provide a depiction of the environment they cover and can be superimposed with Location target (such as a Flag or a blinking icon).
Monitoring Point	Monitoring Points are Inputs that have been configured to have an application layer.
Mercury	is the provider of the Mercury hardware consisting mainly of Controllers and SIO boards. Mercury is the most widely installed open platform access control hardware in the marketplace.

N

O
Occupancy	In BluSKY, an Occupancy is an organizational group such as a Company or Department, or Service inside a Facility. For instance, a Tenant Company in a multi-tenancy office building, or a medical department inside a hospital.
Occupant	An Occupant is a Person that is affiliated with an Occupancy.

P
People	designates the people for whom a "People" record exists in BluSKY.
Persistent	Changes are retained.
Person	A Person is the singular expression for People. In BluSKY a person is one for whom a "People" record exists in the databases.
Person Reader	The Person Reader is BluBØX's biometric entry device: It consists of a camera and sophisticated software. It is typically installed by a Portal (door, turnstile); it recognizes people as they walk-up and gives access by reference to the person’s Access Rights.
Personnel Import	is a process whereby a list of people’s names card #s, photos, e-mail addresses, access rights, roles and other such attribute, is imported from a spreadsheet into BluSKY.
Portals	A portal is a passageway, typically, a door, a roll-up gate, or a turnstile that has been equipped with a security device (door contact, card reader or other such device).
Procedures	A Procedure is a collection of Commands that are run when a specific event occurs.

Q
Quick System Setup

R
Reader	A Reader is any device that reads the data from a credential and typically transmits the data for validation.
Remote Server	A Remote Server in a BluBØX system designates a computer that is installed locally to perform a special function. Examples are video recorders or Destination Dispatch interface computers.
Reports	A Report is an extraction of Events from BluSKY. BluSKY records many types of occurrences when a security system is active and stores them as date & time-stamped events in it databases. This Events database can be queried by selecting a particular Report in BluSKY, and setting the appropriate criteria and filters.
Rex	Request-to-Exit. REX devices are typically installed on the protected side of a Portal to provide a credential-free means of egress.
Roles	A Role is a list of Permissions (see "Permissions" for more information). Many different Roles can be configured in BluSKY and given a name. Roles are assigned to people in their Person record. Roles control what a person may do once logged into BluSKY. Note that many users of a BluBØX security system never need to log-into BluSKY and therefore do not need to be assigned any Role.

S
System	A System is the root structure of a BluSKY access control system. Systems usually belong to Customers (and customers may each have more than one System). A system can support more than one Facility. The judicious designation of Systems and Facilities is a key component to the configuration of effective enterprise-level security systems.
Schedules	A "Schedule" in BluSKY lists every day of the week. There can be as many Schedules as needed, and each is given its own name. Each Schedule defines "Secure / Unsecure" time periods for each day of the week, independently. For instance, a Schedule may specify that things shall be unsecure from 7am to 7pm on Monday, the same for every other business day of the week, but only from 8am to 12pm on Saturday, and never on Sunday. Schedules must also indicate Secure/Unsecure time periods for Holidays: so there is an eighth day in every Schedule labeled "Holidays" to hold this information.
SIO	Secure Identity Object. A technology independent data model for indentity information.
SIO Board	A Serial Input Output Board, is a Mercury board that allows the connection of input devices and output device to the security system.
System Group	Systems can be grouped into a System Group. One System can be a member of more than one System Group. System Group are useful in giving certain People scope over several Systems.

T
Trigger	A Trigger is a defined Event in a System that can be used to begin a Procedure. For instance, a Trigger might say that, if a specific card # is used at a certain reader, a certain ISP Group shall be disarmed.

U
UDF	Stands for "User Defined Field ". In many BluSKY records, users (with proper permissions) can create additional fields to capture specific information for which there I not a standard field.

V
Visitor	A Visitor is somebody who is not an Occupant of the Facility, but is invited into the Facility for a period of time (presumably to meet with or do work for an Occupant).
VMS	Stands for Visitor Management System, but also, unfortunately, for Video Management System. Context usually differentiates.

W
Wiegand	A standard communication protocol between Readers, Controllers and SIO Boards.

X

Y

Z