Access Control Terms B

Badge: To use a card key in a reader to gain access to protected areas; a card key itself, especially one with a photo I.D.

Badge Reader: A reader used to read and interpret data encoded in an identification badge. See Card Reader.

Badging Software: Security software that is capable of creating Photo Identification badges.

Bar Code: A method of encoding information using lines and blank spaces of varying size and thickness to represent alphanumeric characters.

Bar Code Card: An access control card with identification information encoded in Bar Code format.

Bar Code Reader: A reader capable of reading and interpreting cards using bar codes to encode data.

Barium Ferrite Card: An access control card with identification information encoded in the card via magnetic material embedded in the card.

Barium Ferrite Reader: A reader capable of reading and interpreting cards using barium ferrite to encode data.

Batch Programming: A method for processing data or performing tasks in which a number of commands are collected and then processed by a controller all at one time.

Battery Backup: A secondary energy source used to power devices in the event the primary energy source fails. Battery Backup typically provides power for a short period of time, allowing for immediate action, system protection, and system shutdown before the battery reaches a drained state.

Baud: The unit of data signal transmission speed, typically expressed in bits per second.

Bell Transformer: A small transformer used to reduce power line voltage to the level required by low power devices (i.e. card readers)

Binary Coded Decimal (BCD): The decimal numbers 0 through 9 expressed in a 4-bit binary format.

Biometrics: A general term for the verification of individuals using unique biological characteristics (i.e. fingerprints, hand geometry, voice analysis, the retinal pattern in the eye).

Biometric Access Control: Access control where the identification process is made through biometric parameters. See Access Control, Biometrics.

Bit:An abbreviation for "binary digit" in the binary number system. A bit will have the value of either 0 or 1.

Break Before Make: A type of switch in which one set of contacts open before another set of contacts closes.

Bus: 1) In power systems, a solid metal or uninsulated wire connector from which a universal type of power or ground connection is made. 2) In computer or data transmission systems, the principal channel through which all major sections communicate.

Buffer Capacity: Refers to the amount of information the system can store, this may include the users, time of day and specific door.

Byte: A group of eight binary data bits.