Missing Data Link Prompts Professional Services to Uncover Access Control Problem

An integrator was seeking assistance with the conversion of an existing access control system, consisting of 12 different locations, 19 controllers, 170 doors and over 800 personnel records. The Professional Services team from Open Options was tasked with assisting in gathering as  much data as possible to build the system in-house before going on-site to install DNA Fusion and test the system. But they quickly identified a problem that was unknown to the customer. 

While looking over the data, the Open Options Professional Services team uncovered that there wasn't a direct link between the access levels and the personnel records. Without this information, users who had a card would not have access to any doors, as there would not be any access levels assigned to their cards.   

Michael Digby, Professional Services & Sales Engineer, Open Options, explained what needed to be done: “Import files had to be made for each door and time schedule along with adding that access level within DNA Fusion. Once that was done using OpenDX, the import files were processed, and any errors were corrected. These steps made sure the data being import was consistent and accurate. Once all the files were imported, another database was spun up and the import process repeated to ensure everything worked correctly.” 

The final step was to use a back-up tool to extract the data from specific tables, so they could be used manually to create the access levels and associate them to the correct door and time schedule. When all of the files were ready, they were zipped up and sent off to the Professional Services team member that was on site working with the integrator replacing the existing access control with Mercury panels. As each facility was brought online, they were able to import the data for that specific facility and test the system on the spot.