Glossary

Access control

The Access control task is the administration task for configuring your access control entities, which include roles, units, cardholders, credentials, and access rules.

access rule

An access rule entity defines a list of cardholders to whom access is either granted or denied based on a schedule. Access rules can be applied to secured areas and doors for entries and exits, or to intrusion detection areas for arming and disarming.

active alarm

An active alarm is an alarm that has not yet been acknowledged.

alarm

An alarm entity informs users of a situation that requires immediate attention and provides details on how it can be handled in Security Center. For example, an alarm can indicate which entities (usually cameras and doors) best describe the situation, who must be notified, how it must be displayed to the user, and so on.

alarm acknowledgment

An alarm acknowledgment is the final user response to an alarm that ends its lifecycle and removes it from the active alarm list.

antipassback

Antipassback is an access restriction placed on a secured area that prevents a cardholder from entering an area that they have not yet exited from, and vice versa.

bookmark

A bookmark is an indicator of an event or incident that is used to mark a specific point in time in a recorded video sequence. A bookmark also contains a short text description that can be used to search for and review the video sequences at a later time.

camera

A camera entity represents a single video source in the system. The video source can either be an IP camera, or an analog camera that connects to the video encoder of a video unit. Multiple video streams can be generated from the same video source.

cardholder

A cardholder entity represents a person who can enter and exit secured areas by virtue of their credentials (typically access cards) and whose activities can be tracked.

cardholder group

A cardholder group is an entity that defines the common access rights of a group of cardholders.

Config Tool

Config Tool is the Security Center administrative application used to manage all Security Center users and to configure all Security Center entities such as areas, cameras, doors, schedules, cardholders, patrol vehicles, ALPR units, and hardware devices.

credential

A credential entity represents a proximity card, a biometrics template, or a PIN required to gain access to a secured area. A credential can only be assigned to one cardholder at a time.

custom event

A custom event is an event added after the initial system installation. Events defined at system installation are called system events. Custom events can be user-defined or automatically added through plugin installations. Unlike system events, custom events can be renamed and deleted.

door

A door entity represents a physical barrier. Often, this is an actual door but it could also be a gate, a turnstile, or any other controllable barrier. Each door has two sides, named In and Out by default. Each side is an access point (entrance or exit) to a secured area.

door contact

A door contact monitors the state of a door, whether it is open or closed. It can also be used to detect an improper state, such as door open too long.

door side

Every door has two sides, named In and Out by default. Each side is an access point to an area. For example, passing through one side leads into an area, and passing through the other side leads out of that area. For the purposes of access management, the credentials that are required to pass through a door in one direction are not necessarily the same that are required to pass through in the opposite direction.

entity

An entity represents anything in your system that requires configuration. This can be a physical device, such as a camera or a door, or an abstract concept, such as an alarm, a schedule, a user, a role, a plugin, or an add-on.

event

An event is a record of an activity or incident that occurred in the system. Security personnel can monitor events in real time and investigate them later. Events can also trigger automations in the system.

event-to-action

An event-to-action links an action to an event. For example, you can configure an alarm to trigger when a door is forced open.

failover

Failover is a backup operational mode in which a role (system function) is automatically transferred from its primary server to a secondary server that is on standby. This transfer between servers occurs only if the primary server becomes unavailable, either through failure or through scheduled downtime.

Federation™

Federation™ joins multiple, independent Genetec™ security systems into a single virtual system. With this feature, users on a central system, called the Federation host, can view and control entities that belong to remote systems.

Federation™ host

The Federation™ host is the Security Center or Security Center SaaS system that runs Federation™ roles. Users on the Federation™ host can view entities that belong to federated systems and control the entities directly from their system.

incident category

An incident category is an entity that represents a grouping of incident types that have similar characteristics.

identity provider

An identity provider is a trusted, external system that administers user accounts, and is responsible for providing user authentication and identity information to relying applications over a distributed network.

Genetec Configuration

Genetec™ Configuration is the Security Center SaaS administrative application used to manage all Security Center SaaS users and to configure all Security Center SaaS entities such as areas, cameras, doors, schedules, cardholders, and hardware devices.

Genetec Operation

Genetec™ Operation is the unified user interface of Security Center SaaS. It provides consistent operator flow across all Security Center SaaS main systems. The unique task-based design of Genetec Operation lets operators efficiently control and monitor multiple security and public safety applications.

map

A map entity is a two-dimensional diagram that enables you to interact with your security equipment, while providing a reference to their physical locations and statuses.

map link

A map link is a map object that brings you to another map with a single click.

map object

Map objects graphically represent entities, cities, highways, and other geographical features on maps. Using map objects, you can interact with your system without leaving the map.

map preset

A map preset is a saved map view. Every map has at least one preset, called the default view, that is displayed when a user opens the map.

Maps

The Maps task is an operation task that heightens your situational awareness by providing the context of a map to your security monitoring and control activities.

Media Router

The Media Router is the central role that handles all audio and video stream requests in Security Center or Security Center SaaS. It establishes streaming sessions between the stream source, such as a camera or an Archiver role, and the client applications that request the sessions. The location and transmission capabilities of each party determine the routing decisions.

People counting

The People counting task is an operation task that keeps count in real-time of the number of cardholders in all secured areas of your system.

privacy protection

In Security Center, privacy protection is software that anonymizes or masks parts of a video stream where movement is detected. The identity of individuals or moving objects is protected, without obscuring movements and actions or preventing monitoring.

redirector

A redirector is a server assigned to host a redirector agent created by the Media Router role.

redirector agent

A redirector agent is an agent created by the Media Router role to redirect data streams from one IP endpoint to another.

Reports

The Reports task enables users to generate customized queries about entities, activities, and events for investigation or maintenance purposes.

reverse tunnel

A reverse tunnel is a private communication channel open between a server inside a secured LAN and a client outside. In the Security Center implementation, certificate authentication is used to protect against manipulator-in-the-middle attacks.

Reverse Tunnel

The Reverse Tunnel role is used on the federated system to connect to the Federation™ host residing in the cloud. The connection is established using a keyfile generated from the cloud system. The keyfile can only be used once to ensure maximum security.

Reverse Tunnel Server

The Reverse Tunnel Server role is used on the Federation™ host to manage reverse tunnels. Reverse tunnels are created using this role, but must be opened from the federated sites using the Reverse Tunnel roles.

reverse tunneling

Reverse tunneling is a method of securing communication between clients and servers that are behind a firewall. This technique enhances security and simplifies firewall management. When using a reverse tunnel, the server initiates a connection to the client. This tunnel connection is secured by a previously shared keyfile that contains an identity certificate. When established, the reverse tunnel allows bidirectional communication without opening inbound firewall ports.

role

A role is a software component that performs a specific job within Security Center or Security Center SaaS.

Security Center

Security Center is a truly unified platform that blends IP video surveillance, access control, automatic license plate recognition, intrusion detection, and communications within one intuitive and modular solution. By taking advantage of a unified approach to security, your organization becomes more efficient, makes better decisions, and responds to situations and threats with greater confidence.

Security Center Federation™

The Security Center Federation™ role connects the local system to an independent remote Security Center system. After connecting to the remote system, your local system acts as the Federation™ host and you can view federated entities and events locally.

Security Center SaaS

Security Center SaaS is a unified hybrid-cloud solution offering physical security as a service. It integrates advanced security capabilities, emphasizes cybersecurity and privacy, and manages complex security tasks on premises, in the cloud, or both. With the flexibility of Security Center SaaS, organizations can efficiently monitor and respond to security threats from one place.

task

A task is a customizable user interface designed to handle a specific aspect of your work. For example, you can employ a monitoring task to observe real-time system events, an investigation task to identify suspicious activity, or an administration task to configure system settings.

third-party authentication

Third-party authentication uses a trusted, external identity provider to validate user credentials before granting access to one or more IT systems. The authentication process returns identifying information, such as a username and group membership, that is used to authorize or deny the requested access.

threat level

A threat level warns system users of changing security conditions, such as a fire or a shooting, in a specific area or the entire system. Specific handling procedures can be automatically applied when a threat level is raised or canceled.

tile

A tile is an individual window within the canvas, used to display a single entity. The entity displayed is typically the video from a camera, a map, or anything of a graphical nature. The look and feel of the tile depends on the displayed entity.

tile ID

The tile ID is the number displayed at the upper left corner of the tile. This number uniquely identifies each tile within the canvas.

tile pattern

The tile pattern is the arrangement of tiles within the canvas.

user

A user entity is an account with access to the system. System administrators create user entities and configure their rights and privileges on the system.

user group

A user group is an entity that defines a group of users who share common properties and privileges. By becoming member of a group, a user automatically inherits all the properties of the group. A user can be a member of multiple user groups. User groups can also be nested.

zone

A zone is an entity that monitors a set of inputs and triggers events based on their combined states. These events can be used to control output relays.