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ATLANTA--Access control manufacturer Sielox tried to stir things up here on the ASIS
show floor by introducing its new AC-1700 access controller and calling it the “most
advanced controller in the industry.”
So, what’s new about it? Calling it a “true IP solutions,” Sielox president and CEO Karen
Evans said the AC-1700 is field programmable, meaning it can be upgraded from its 32-
bit processor to a faster one in the future to accommodate technology upgrades; it can
have as much as 8 GB of on-controller storage, so that manuals and notes can be right
on the controller for future use by service technicians; it has a Web server built-in, so
technicians can troubleshoot from anywhere with a browser; and it has a native Ethernet
adaptor, so you can “talk with 100 megabit speed directly to the processor.”
Thanks to that last feature, “Let’s say you had a controller with a 40,000-person database
that goes down,” said Evans. “You’ve got to download that back to the controller. On the
old communication speed, that might be hours. Now it’s minutes or seconds.”
With the field programmable technology, known as FPGA, developed by vice president of
engineering Mark Isaacson, “Now the problem of obsolescence goes away,” said
Isaacson, as integrators can simply swap in faster processors in the future to handle
future technology. “We do expect these to be functioning and supportable 20 years from
now.”
“We can’t afford to invest in a new product and only manufacture it for a few years,” said
Evans. “We can’t afford that and our partners can’t afford that.”
The new AC-1700 should be available for installation by the first quarter of 2009.
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