Mag-Stripe Devices for a LAN?

bugaloo2 writes "Is there such a thing? I'm looking for a magnetic stripe (magstripe) card reader of some kind that can connect directly to our network and read/write data to a SQL table. There are dozens of different serial, usb, and ps2 style card readers to connect to a PC, but none that I have seen can connect directly to a LAN. If such a ghost does not exist on the market today, how would you (cheaply) implement an access card security system for several buildings using existing network infrastructure and hardware if possible that reads/writes to a SQL table for security access?" We did a related question not too long ago.

Re:Magnetic Encoders are Expensive

[dead_penguin]

A somewhat cheaper alternative to *magnetic* cards would be optical bar-codes. I have little experience in this, but the reader part of it should be on-par with magnetic readers. For writing the barcodes, you have quite a few options-- a custom "printer" that prints right on a plastic card (similar to some newer driver's licenses), printing with a laser printer onto stickers and placing these onto cards, or just printing onto light cardboard stock and laminating it.

Of course this doesn't do much to answer the original question, but with more things to choose from, a usable solution may present itself more readily.

Something like...

[penguinboy]

this [computerwise.com], perhaps? Available with your choice of stripe reader/barcode reader and has a relay output that could control the door unlock mechanism. It doesn't sound like it would be too hard to write a little app that would check to see if the card had access to the door, and log the event.

Of course, I;m sure there are complete solutions available already that may or may not be cheaper than rolling your own.

Aside: why is it that people seem to be too lazy to spend a few minutesGoogle begofore sending in AskSlashdot questions?

tini board+serial mag reader?

[Bazzargh]

If this really is just a hobby thing and you're not looking at building thousands you might look at hooking up a tini board to a serial mag stripe reader.

There's instructions on the tini board website:
http://www.ibutton.com/TINI/applications/sertoet h/ index.html
showing serial-to-ethernet conversion. Unlike the embedded ethernet card someone else mentioned tini comes with a jvm onboard, javaComm and networking support.
Add to this a port-powered swipe reader eg
http://www.magtek.com/products/card_readers/card al l.htm

and you're off. The whole lot should cost you well under $300.

Havent tried this myself yet but a coworker has a tini on order I'm going to be programming for.

Perhaps roll your own?

[cr0sh]

Start with a serial mag-stripe reader (many can be gotten for cheap from surplus electronics outlets like All Electronics).

Add a Basic Stamp 2 from Parallax (or maybe your own PIC and extra EEPROM) and a MAX232 to communicate to the reader.

Connect that to one of these [embeddedether.net] boards.

Write your own custom code to do real basic IP stuff for the networking (have fun!)...

Should be able to do all this cheaply - less than $300. Hard part is the coding, getting a small IP stack written to fit, and comm protocol code as well. It is more than possible though...

Finally, when you have it all done, got the VC's lined up stuffin' your pockets with cash, and you bring it to market - think of me, and send me a check of appreciation... ;)

Worldcom [worldcom.com] - Generation Duh!

How about serial readers and a LAN connected...

[Ecks]

How about serial readers and a LAN connected Data capture computer. I'm assuming that you've got a work-type location with CAT-5 strung all over the place. With DB25/DB9 to RJ-45 connectors you can run serial communications on the CAT-5. I use these myself to get out-of-band access to computers on my LAN and to remotely locate a serial printer.

The pieces are:

• A set of Serial mag strip readers,
• DB9/DB25 to RJ-45 converters,
• A Linux or FreeBSD box, the data capture computer,

The data capture computer lives in your wiring closet where it's connected to the LAN. It has a multiport serial card. The serial communication is carried on CAT-5 and is cross connected to the data capture computer via your patch panel. This connection uses the appropriate physical media converter for your multiport serial card.

I would write a small C daemon which understood the protocol of the data collection devices. The daemon would be able to connect directly to a remotely located database over ethernet. When the data came in the daemon would read it compose the appropriate SQL query and hit the remote database. There would be one daemon per data collection device.

The advantages to this are:

• Cost: The serial mag stripe readers are cheaper because they don't need a lot of intelligent electronics to talk TCP/IP over ethernet.
• Reliablity: The magstripe readers don't need alot of bandwidth. You should have no trouble pumping bits at 9.6 ~ 19.2 kbaud.
• Lower network traffic depending on how you implement the database update daemon.

If you can write a little C you could probably build a proof-of-concept prototype in a couple of days.

Chris

Magnetic Encoders are Expensive

[intuition]

The real problem is that magnetic encoders typically cost in the 10,000 dollar range. Does anyone know where i can get one for cheaper?

Re:Magnetic Encoders are Expensive

[rasjani]

Again, i have to say that stuff we use at our lineup aint *that* expensive. We have Welch Allyn decoders set up in dump vt510 terminals and whole stuff (Magnetic card reader, barcode reader (pen AND "laserbox") and decoder to go with that costs around 500$ (last time i checked our prices)
--

Serial lan server and serial readers.

[rasjani]

If you dont find any good solution, you might consider buying a device that allows serial devices connected into lan. One example would be ex-Chaser's (now Perle) IOLAN [perle.com] products. With this kind of device you can hook up your serial magnetic card readers [currentdirections.com] to the normal wall outlets thats used for networks but ofcourse instead of hooking the stuff to the switch/hub you connect it to the iolan. Then the rest of the stuff is pretty much peanuts depending what kind of functionality you need but in anycase you will be doing the software implementation yourself for your own needs.

One more thing about iolan. Its pretty neat when you get it to work. All ports in the device are shown to the lan as socket ports. Say, i have (and i do have) bank of modems connected to the thingie and i want to use one of them from any machine to dial out. "telnet iolan 10001" does the trick and voilã, i have really dump terminal at my disposal. Ofcourse there's software to have these ports accessible as devices in unix fs but atleast on SCO environment that we have, it hasnt been working really well.

--

neat idea

[milgram]

MOre technology, more toys.

I've came across these in my research

[Squeezer]

I've read a little bit of the docs on this page and they have access control mechanisms and the like and I believe seom rj-45 TCP/IP access devices. It might be what your looking for. http://www.lares.com/products/inetaccess/index.htm l

How about ...

[John Jorsett]

This [instrument.com]? Description: LANpoint Pro is a fully compliant PC in a compact, rugged case. It has no moving parts and its drip-proof case is built to last in harsh industrial environments. With a built-in 10BaseT Ethernet adapter and barcode decoding it comes ready to solve a multitude of data collection needs. [snip] The LANpoint Pro has a built-in barcode decoder for plug-in compatibility with barcode wands and laser scanners. It also has support for magnetic stripe readers and barcode slot readers.

Re:Suggestion..

[Technician]

I am wondering if one of the two way stand alone print servers will work. They tout 2 way to support Win Printers and many of them support serial printers. A prime example is the Intel NetPort express 3 port. It has 2 par. ports and one 2 way serial port. Intel even has them on sale in their test drive program at about $150. A quick search on google for netport express will bring up the info. A small amount of scripting should talk to the "serial printer" device and put the data into SQL. It could be programed to print a confirmation time and date stamp on a reciept printer on the same print server!

Re:My College uses AT&T CampusWide

[sporktoast]

AT&T Campuswide readers plug directly into our LAN

Are you sure? The specs for the stripe readers listed at the second link [att.com] you provided describe the readers as communicating either throuch standard 9600bps serial or via RS-485 multidrop. RS-485 as a standard does not specify connector-type, and it is not uncommon to use twisted-pair cable and RJ-45 connectors for RS-485.

So your campus may have what LOOKS like a LAN connection for the stripe-reader, but is probably a separate circuit that goes direct to the VAX.

And a good thing, too. I could just imagine someone sniffing the traffic between the stripe-reading security system and the VAX ... spoofing card identities ... unlocking doors to restricted areas ... getting unlimited copies on the Xerox machine in the library ... adding large $ balances to their cards ...

Suggestion..

[cmowire]

I haven't heard of such a box and I'm not sure if anybody's made one yet. There are building security systems, but they generally require a whole specilized set of hardware.

On the other hand, there are options. The best one would be to get a USB or PS2 magstripe reader and attach it to an embeddable computer -- Check EMJ Embedded [emjembedded.com] for systems. It's $500-600 for a system with USB, Ethernet, serial ports, and a decently fast Pentium processor. That should get you exactly what you want.

My College uses AT&T CampusWide

[Wheel Of Fish]

AT&T Campuswide readers plug directly into our LAN and communicate with custom software on our VAX system. Not sure how much this helps, but it may be a jumping-off point.

The overview is here [att.com] and the product listing is here [att.com].

Good Luck!

Re:Magnetic Encoders are Expensive

[Rick the Red]

A somewhat cheaper alternative to *magnetic* cards would be optical bar-codes.

Yeah, but that's a two-edged sword. It's cheaper for you to make the card, but it's also cheaper (and easier) for someone to copy. All you need is access to a real card for long enough to photocopy the barcode and bingo! you're in the building.

Most secure buildings I've seen use magnetic proximity cards that you hold up to the reader, not pass through a slot. Where I work it's a separate card (ProxCard II by HID Corporation) that hangs behind the badge with our name and photo; where my wife works it's integrated into the badge itself. The badge has a mag stripe but I've never seen it used. The proximity cards are virtually impossible to pirate (it's far easier to use human engineering to get around this system -- you know, walk through the door behind a real employee).

You could also build a system perhaps more secure than that (cheaper, too) using an i-button [ibutton.com]. They even make rings that hold i-buttons for this very purpose. Not as convenient as the badge/card idea, but just as effective and far geekier! :-)

Re:Magnetic Encoders are Expensive

[pupsterCA]

Magtek [magtek.com] sells them for a lot less than that. Here's [magtek.com] a link to their product page-- they sell stand-alone and PC-controlled versions that can record on all 3 tracks on the stripe. Also, a lot of ID card printers have mag encoders built in, and they run somewhere around $2000--less if you find used ones. Fargo [fargo.com] makes several inexpensive ones that encode and print in one pass.

Re:My College uses AT&T CampusWide

[pupsterCA]

Actually, it's a combination of both. The (HP9000) server uses RS-232 to communicate with an RS-232/RS-485 converter, which then talks to the reader via Cat5 cable/RJ45.

As far as running the system over a LAN, sure you can, and lots of schools do, using terminal servers. However, the final connection between the RS-485 converter and the reader is hard-wired. Using terminal servers isn't the greatest idea, because when the Ethernet network goes down or traffic gets heavy, the readers go offline and stop working until communication is restored.

Almost all 'fraud' occurs when people lose cards, don't report them lost (leaving them activated), and others get the cards and use them. Sniffing traffic and spoofing is pretty much impossible, due to the way the readers authenticate and communicate with the server. (Hasn't happened anywhere yet that I've heard of, and the system's been around 10+ years.)

AT&T CampusWide - minor correction

[pupsterCA]

I'm a technician on a campus that uses the CampusWide system (Optim9000). AT&T actually sold off the CampusWide division to Blackboard.com late last year. This [blackboard.com] is the updated URL. The system runs on an HP-9000 server (HP-UX 10.x, soon 11.x), and uses its own proprietary network format and database (I think it's called Raima, but don't quote me.) It can run across a standard LAN, but for reliability, it's usually set up to run on its own separate network. CW is supposed to be releasing a piece of hardware that will allow readers to use IP addressing, but it hasn't materialized yet (they keep saying 'soon'). The system can handle point-of-sale, access control, digital photo-ID production/management(uses an Informix database and DataCard software/hardware to store pictures/print IDs) and scales upwards effortlessly. Our campus has well over 200 readers, 15,000+ cardholders, and 99%+ up-time. I know that USC, UCLA, Duke, Harvard, and around 400 other schools use this system. (Even Honda Motor Co. uses it at one of its plants.) It's not cheap, though. Hope this helps.