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( by Mr. Henry Pang, Product Development Manager ) |
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FingerTec offers various methods of managing FingerTec terminals depending upon the requirement of a particular client(s). By default, a FingerTec terminal only requires a copy of TCMS V2 software to work perfectly but in a few complicated circumstances and environment, a combination of FRIS, MySQL database and TCMS V2 work best. This article discusses how FRIS 2 Server, FRIS 2 Client, MySQL database and TCMS v2 work together in a single system. |
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| In this article, you will get to learn: |
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How FRIS 2 server works |
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How FRIS 2 client works with the FRIS 2 server |
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How FRIS 2 server manages data |
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How TCMS works with the MySQL database |
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To gain a better clarification for easy understanding of the subject |
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| Introduction |
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| The FRIS 2 Server |
| The FRIS 2 server has 2 major functions: |
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| 1. To carry out online fingerprint verification for terminals upgraded with FRIS function. |
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To be able to carry out online fingerprint verification, the FingerTec terminals must link up to the IP address of the FRIS server (Authentication Server IP). After establishing the connection between the FingerTec terminals and the server, the terminal can capture the fingerprint data and send the data to the FRIS 2 server for verification. The FRIS 2 server then records the date and time of fingerprint verification as transaction logs, and sends the result to the terminal to alert the user. Under this design, FingerTec terminals are working as: |
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Capturing station to capture fingerprints and send the templates to FRIS 2 server for verification |
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Notification station to notify users with the result of verification (pass or fail) |
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Door access station to grant access to verified user |
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| Terminals must be upgraded with a particular firmware, which could be obtained upon request to support@fingertec.com in order to add the following features: |
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Authentication IP addresses to signal the location of the FRIS 2 for fingerprint verification |
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Authentication mode to signal the terminals from where should the fingerprint verification takes place first, FRIS 2 server or terminal local memory |
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| 2. To manage and monitor FingerTec terminals that have not been updated with the particular firmware mentioned in to carry out online verification with FRIS 2 server) |
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| In cases customer does not want to add the features mentioned in (1a), FRIS 2 server could link up to FingerTec terminals to operate the following: |
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To manage user information - The User module in FRIS 2 server can transfer user information i.e. user ID, fingerprints, card ID etc among terminals. |
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To download transaction logs from terminals and store them into database - A terminal will normally verify users using its internal local memory and then save the records into an internal memory. These logs can then be downloaded into the FRIS 2 server and stored into the MySQL (or MSSQL) database. |
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To monitor user activity occurring in each terminal - The Monitoring module in FRIS 2 server allows you to see who is verifying at any terminal and the door status of each terminal. With this, the FRIS 2 becomes a monitoring station to trace users’ movement. |
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| The FRIS 2 Client |
| The FRIS 2 client is bundled with your FRIS 2 server installation package. This is a free tool to be installed into any PC to turn it into an enrollment and verification station. How to do it? Here are the steps: |
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You need to have a PC or several PCs connected with LAN to the FRIS 2 server. Do not install FRIS 2 client into the PC/Server that is acting as the FRIS 2 server |
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Install the FRIS 2 client tool and OFIS scanner driver to the PC. These tools are complimentary and you can install them in multiple PCs. |
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Plug the OFIS scanner into the PC using a USB port. |
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From PC/Server with the FRIS 2 server, make sure that the FRIS 2 starts its service, or that it is online |
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In the FRIS 2 client, insert the IP address of the FRIS 2 server |
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Click Enroll on FRIS 2 server, insert the administrator’s password to start enrolling users’ fingerprints. These fingerprints are saved directly into the FRIS 2 server. |
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Click on Verify before asking the user to place his finger on the OFIS scanner for fingerprint verification. |
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| Now you can turn a normal PC to an enrollment station for new users, without having to use FingerTec terminals. The same PC also could work as a time reporting station to capture the attendance of users. All transaction logs are saved into the FRIS 2 server database. |
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| The Database (MySQL or MSSQL) |
| The FRIS 2 server stores data into MySQL or MSSQL database. By default, the database is in MySQL format, and MSSQL format is available upon request. The MySQL database stores user information (ID, name, fingerprints, password, card ID, authority etc) and transaction logs. These are useful information to generate reports, to process payroll or human resource evaluations. However the FRIS 2 server does not include any reporting module, which disallows you to generate reports directly. You can choose to use a 3rd party software, or self-developed software to be linked to the database, to manage and to process the data. |
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| You can also choose to use FingerTec’s TCMS v2 to link to the database. You can prepare reports from the TCMS v2 to evaluate users’ attendance or movement. |
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The FingerTec TCMS V2
In the interconnectivity between FRIS 2, MySQL Database, and TCMS V2, TCMS V2 works as back-end software to download information from a MySQL database (or MSSQL). You can use the TCMS v2 to download the following from MySQL database: |
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User information including user ID and name but not fingerprints, password, card ID, face templates and authority. This is because you only need to have the user ID and name to be paired with the attendance records to generate reports. You are not able to use the TCMS v2 to manage terminals or users. |
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Terminal information including serial number and model. You will need to insert a product key and an activation key of the terminals into the TCMS software to activate them. As you purchase FingerTec terminals, each terminal comes with its unique TCMS product key and activation key. Use the information to add and activate your terminal into TCMS. If you fail to activate your terminal, you will be unable to process the transaction logs in TCMS. If you are using FRIS 2 client with FRIS 2 server, the OFIS scanner serial number can be downloaded into the TCMS. The OFIS scanner does not come together with the TCMS product key and activation key, but you can always purchase additional OFIS TA license for the OFIS scanner. One OFIS scanner requires one OFIS TA license to activate in TCMS. |
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| After you have obtained the terminal information, user information and transaction logs into the TCMS, you can perform the following steps: |
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Setup of working schedules and groups
You can create working groups according to different working schedules and clocking rules. Then you can assign users to follow the working group. You can create a maximum of 1000 different working groups. |
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View attendance records in the Attendance Sheet.
TCMS processes transaction logs according to the working group settings, and then publishes attendance records in Attendance Sheet. You can edit the Attendance Sheet if you want to amend the data. |
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Prepare reports in digital format
Prepare time attendance reports and access control reports and save it into a digital format. |
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Export attendance records into digital format
Export attendance records into a digital format (XLS, TXT or ODBC) for payroll processing. |
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