Card Formats

1. Wiegand technology

The reader's recognized format can be programmed by selecting the reader and choosing the required badge format from under the Miscellaneous tab. The sensor controllers can read up to a 66-bit Wiegand string from the input data, which may include card code, site code, and parity bits depending on the selected format. The controllers recognize several pre-defined formats, and Table 1.1 provides a description of these formats. Additionally, users can program other formats.

Note: each reader may have a different format

1.1 Pre-defined formats

Table 1.1 illustrates the pre-defined formats recognized by the controllers, with each Wiegand string being able to include up to 66 bits represented as b65………b0, where b represents the less significant bit. For each format, the card code and possible site code, along with their corresponding bit position in the Wiegand string, are indicated.

When jumpers JP4/6,7,8 or DS1/6,7,8 are set to on,off,off, the controller verifies if the card is read correctly by ensuring that the number of bits received and the parity bits correspond to the format defined at the reader. Refer to Table 1.1 for further details.

On the other hand, when jumpers JP4/6,7,8 or DS1/6,7,8 are set to off,on,off, the controller does not check the card reading, which is not recommended.

The pre-defined format is transmitted to the controller using Mess 03 (as mentioned in paragraph 3), where byte 2 represents the format number (with bit 7 set to 0).

Multi-format reading:

Starting from version 01/11/09, when different formats are defined for readers, each reader now supports the three other formats defined at the other readers. This feature works as follows:

If a specific format (other than the 'Hexadecimal' format) is defined at a reader and a card passed at this reader doesn't have the expected number of bits for this format (refer to Table 1.1), the system will check if the number of bits received from the card corresponds to the format defined on any of the three other readers. If yes, it will use this format for the card.

However, if none of the other readers have a matching format, the card will not be read except if ALL the readers have the same format. In this case, the card read will be in that format. For example, if the decimal format 01 is applicable to cards with more than 26 bits, the same format 01 must be defined for all the controller readers.

This multi-format feature is only active if card verification is set (JP4-DS1/6,7,8=on,off,off). If card verification is not enabled (JP4/7 or DS1/7 on), the controller will read the card only according to the format defined at the reader in use.

For instance:

If formats 1, 5, 15, and 17 are defined at readers 1, 2, 3, and 4, these four formats will be recognized at each reader.

If format 1 and 17 are defined at readers 1 and 2, and the format for readers 3 and 4 is 'hexadecimal', format 1 and 17 will only be recognized at readers 1 and 2.

The "Total bit length" column in Table 1.1 indicates the number of bits (Data+parity) that can be included in the Wiegand string. This information serves three purposes.

Firstly, if jumpers JP4/6,7,8 (or DS1/6,7,8) are set to on,off,off, the controller verifies that it has received the correct number of bits indicated in this column for formats with an asterisk. This is in addition to verifying the parity bits for card code integrity. When the switches are set to off,on,off, the controller accepts any card code length. If the total bit length is shown as "**", the controller always checks that it has received the correct number of bits, regardless of the switch position.

Secondly, when multi-formats are used for the four readers of a single controller, the controller selects the format to use at each reader based on the number of bits read. The format chosen is the one with the same total bit length as the number of bits read. However, this feature cannot be used for formats with a total bit length indicated as "up to."

Lastly, some biometric readers may add a 4-bit error code to the card code if the biometric test fails, such as using the wrong finger with a fingerprint reader. In this case, the controller uses the total bit length to detect if it has received the expected total bit length plus 4 bits, which indicates the presence of an error code before the card code.

Notes on card verification:

When jumpers JP4/6,7,8 (or DS1/6,7,8) are in position on,off,off, the controller checks that the card has been correctly read either by checking that the number of bits received corresponds to the number expected (shown on table 1.1) , or by checking the parity bits (see hereunder the parity bits the calculation), or both.

If these switches are in position off,on,off, the controllers doesn’t check the card reading (not recommended).

1: The parity bits are the first (b0) and the last bit (b) received as follows:

- bn is the Even Parity of the half H.S. bits (i.e. bn47 to b if 48 data bits)
- b0 is the odd parity of the half L.S. bits

(i.e. b23 to b024 if 48 data bits)

If odd number of data bits, the middle bit is used for both parity.

For example: for 35 bits of data, E is the even Parity of the fir st 18 bits (b to b17), O is the odd parity of the last 18 bits (b17 to b).

For HID cards, it is recommended to use the Sensor format  ‘D10302.CDF’ which is defined as followsL

37 bits as follows : Eb34bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb170bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb0O

Bit E: Even parity for bits bb34 to b17, Bit O: Odd parity for bits b Bits b34b33b32 fixed for all the cards to value 101 Bits b31 to b00 to b0: 8 BCD digits (32 bits) printed out on the card.

2: The 4 parity bits b3b2b1b0 are the XOR of the 10 hexa data digits (40 bit data b)

3: The 4 parity bits b3b2b1b0 are the XOR of the 8 hexa data digits (32 bit data b)

4: The parity bit b0 is the odd parity bit over the 36 bits of data b

5: The 3 bits b31b30b29 = fixed value 101 and the 2 parity bits b136, b as follows:

b1=Even parity of the odd bits (b29,b27,…b1), b0 to b01= Odd parity of the even bits (b)28….b….b28,b26,…b0

6: HID format ‘Corporate 1000-35’: The data bits and the 3 parity bits b34b33 and b0 are computed as follows:

P are 3 parity bits: ‘E’ is an even parity, ‘O’ is an odd parity calculation. ‘X’ indicates the bit positions used in the parity calculation.

AA…A is a 12 bits site (converted in decimal) code and BB..B is a 20 bits card code (converted in decimal).

For this format, if dip switches JP4 or DS1/6,7,8 = off,on,off, the system will not check the parity bits but will check that the card get 35 bits.

To program such a format at reader No.1 using Mess 03 with programmable format (see par. 3), with a site code of 1234, the message to send is: 03 01 81 94 15 8C 00 00 00 00 12 34 00 22 00 00 00 00

7. From version 25/11/13
8. From version 01/01/14
9. From version 03/04/14

Created to bypass a bug on Suprema fingerprint readers (read only 32 or 16 bits and discard an eventual wrong FC code introduced in the Wiegand string)

10. From version 12/09/14. Format used for technical support to analyze the whole Wiegand string received by the controller: b39…b0 are the 40 Low Significant Bits received on the Wiegand string and n7..n are the total bit length (the total number of bits received).

To program such a format at reader No.1 using Mess 03 with programmable format (see par. 3), with a site code of 1234, the message to send is: 03 01 81 94 15 8C 00 00 00 00 12 34 00 22 00 00 00 00

7. From version 25/11/13
8. From version 01/01/14
9. From version 03/04/14

Created to bypass a bug on Suprema fingerprint readers (read only 32 or 16 bits and discard an eventual wrong FC code introduced in the Wiegand string)

10. From version 12/09/14. Format used for technical support to analyze the whole Wiegand string received by the controller: b39…b0 are the 40 Low Significant Bits received on the Wiegand string and n7..n

are the total bit length (the total number of bits received).

1.2 Format ‘32’: Customized format

Format ‘32’ is dedicated to customised format and depends on the firmware version as follows:

Firmware from 25/11/13:

The card code is the 6 L.S.Digits of the decimal value of bits b

1.3 User defined format (On controllers with firmware version from 2008 only) 31…b0

Mess 03 with bit 7 of byte 2=1 (see Par. 3) allows to define the position of the Card code and the Site code, the size of these codes and if they must be read in hexadecimal or converted in decimal.

If the card verification is set (JP4 or DS1/6,7,8 = on,off,off), the verification is done according to the first and last bits read, which are the parity bits, are described in previous note 1.

Example : to read a card code of 24 bits from position 01 without site code, use Mess 03 with bytes 2,3,4,5=81,18,00,00.  A 32 bits data string (i.e. bits b32….b) 80AB689F will give a card code = AB689F.

If the 24 bits card code from position 01 must be converted in decimal (Mess 03, bytes 2,3,4,5=81,98,00,00), the same 32 bits data string will give a card code = 11233439.

1.4 Serial readers

Sensor Controllers can support serial readers via their serial Port2.

They are programmed as follows:

- On firmware’s 2012: programming is done via the ‘format number’ as follows:

Format No.20: Aperio readers (polling mode); Format No.21: Sensor serial readers (polling mode)

Format No.22: Sensor serial readers (event mode)

On firmwares from 2013, the programming is done via bytes 11,12 of Mess 03 (see par.3 and 4) and any Wiegand format may be used.

2- Magnetic ISO1 / ISO2 (‘Clock and Data’) and Bar Codes Technology 

Sensor controllers may read any magnetic card coded into the ISO 1 or 2 standard (track 1 or 2) and any bar code cards in standard 39 and 2/5 interleave. Among all the digits encoded in the card, the controller may identify two codes:

Card Code and the Customer Code

- The Card Code is a code unique to each card. Its place on the data track is user programmable.

• The Customer or Site Code is a code common to all cards pertaining to a same organisation

When defined, controllers will accept only cards with the same Site Code.

This code can have up to 8 digits. Its size, value, and place on the data track are programmable by the user. These user programmable informations are called the system card format which defines the following information: 

- The position of the card code (between 00 and 37),  the size of the card code (between 04 and 20), the position of the customer code (between 00 and 37), the size of the customer code (between 01 and 08), and the value of the customer code as shown in the example in figure 1:

Figure 1: Magnetic track 2  format exemple

This format is user programmable. Therefore, users can use already existing cards by programming the controller with the format of the cards they already use.

Notes:

1- The first digit is in position is '0' (and not '1'), the second digit in position '1' etc.

2- If Customer Code length = 00, the Customer code is not checked.