ONVIF, the standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products, has published the Release Candidate for Profile D, a draft specification that covers interfaces for access control peripherals. This newest profile candidate is designed to provide ONVIF interoperability for peripheral devices such as locks, credential/biometric readers, PIN pads, license plate recognition cameras, door phones, sensors and displays.

“Profile D, together with access management profiles like ONVIF Profile A and C, and video profiles like ONVIF Profile T, will help users build modern and secure IP-based access control systems,” said Patrik Björling, chair of the ONVIF Profile D working group. “It will allow for the integration of products from different manufacturers and help further drive the adoption of ONVIF interfaces in the physical access control and video surveillance space.”

Using Profile D, a peripheral device can pass credential identifiers to a securely located Profile D conformant client, such as an access control unit or management software. The client or controller, which stores access rules, schedules and credentials, can then take the access decision and send a command back to the peripheral device to grant or deny access, display a message or request additional input such as a PIN code. Communications between the device and client are secured using ONVIF security protocols such as TLS.

Visit www.onvif.org for more information.