Building Controls - Consistent Time
What time is it in your building right now?!?
You've got servers, desktops, laptops, printers, email systems, telephones...
But, you've also got a building control system, which could include:
fire panel connections, HVAC systems, lighting systems, surveillance systems, access card systems,
master and slave clocks, library systems, book inventory systems(barcode/RFID), vending machines,
phone systems, internal PA systems, safety vaults, shipping/receiving logs, gymnasium
clocks, parking systems, telephone systems (with a display on every desk!),
and more ...
Do your devices all have the SAME TIME? Is this important?
Do your devices all have the CORRECT TIME? Is this important too?
And ... how "correct" is CORRECT TIME? What is the REAL GOAL here?
ALL INTERCONNECTED DEVICES MUST HAVE THE SAME NOTION OF TIME
Synchronizing ALL devices to the same time is very important when event logs are generated
from many different sources. Re-creating a series of events becomes far easier if all time sources are consistent.
For example, cameras synchronized with the access control system will provide better identification of card presenters.
Additionally, if all devices are supposed to be in sync, and one device is no longer showing the time that it should,
this could be an indication of a failed device, or a failed communication pathway.
For more information about synchronizing time, see our soon-to-be-published whitepaper.
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