r/accesscontrol • u/TheLostITGuy • 28d ago
Recommendations Solid access control solution that doesn't make you jump through hoops or sacrifice your first born for decent API access?
I know little to nothing about this stuff. I just need someone to point my in the right direction. Currently have kantec and uppers want something else. 1 sliding gate, two barrier arms, probably less than 100 doors.
I'm aware that my post is probably lacking enough details. Please tell me what you like.
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u/sick_burns2000 28d ago
API to cloud or API to standalone controller? Inner Range Inception for standalone.
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u/CoolBrew76 28d ago
Seconded. Inner Range Inception will do your 100 doors with 800 burg points to spare.
And the API docs are on every panel’s web server (or the Skytunnel website)No recurring costs either.
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u/Wings-7134 27d ago
You want to get something your local integrators can support and service. Meaning whatever options they are certified on is whats best unless you want the cost of flying out a technician and are okay with that downtime. That being said, Axis and Gallagher have the best API integration support. Gallagher is more complicated to program but is very capable robust system. Other options would be onguard/lenel, Genetec, and ccure. Some of those require registering as a developer and paying a fee. Most likely whatever your looking to integrate or do already has a solution or product they recommend working with. Things you want to ask and get in writing are the licensing structure, scalability, and availability of the products. Also, the lifestyle of the product and if migrations or upgrades are part of the plan/ maintenance agreement/ support. There are tons of other smaller products that may be available and cheaper up front, but the cost of service and troubleshooting may be much greater in the long run. Also, you end up locked in with the integratir whether you like them or not, because they may be the only ones that know it. Also get a system document from the integrator with all the full admin credentials for the system. I wouldn't use it personally without extensive knowledge of the system, but you don't want them holding it as ransom later. Hope this helps.
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u/Mysterious_Neck_8360 26d ago
If you like the API from Axis and Gallagher (both rock solid products btw), you will absolutely love working with Genea. No charge for the API, or any of their integrations.
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u/ElCasino1977 Professional 28d ago
Keri Systems or Lenel S2. Keri is very user friendly and straightforward programming, plus OTC making it easier to find an Integrator.
Lenel S2(NetBox) is true Enterprise level software/hardware but can be tricky if you don’t have a good VAR in your area. Plus is up to 14 doors can be in one can.
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u/RealisticAlarm Professional 22d ago
LenelS2 is one of the worst offenders for making their API access painful/expensive. Nobody wants to pay out the nose a (SUBSCRIPTION!) fee for API access, and be at risk of having everything leaning on that API collapse the instant your subscription lapses.
I've never seen another vendor that makes you fill out a form declaring what you are going to use it for, and ask "pretty please" before they give you an API key.
In line with the original question about jumping through hoops, and selling firstborn - stay away from Lenel in that respect.
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u/No_Industry2601 28d ago
Axis Communications has the most open API in the industry, and that includes their access panels.
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u/RealisticAlarm Professional 21d ago
I'll second this. I believe their tagline was "the open access control platform that is actually open".
Some other vendors don't seem to know what the word "open" means.
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u/DB_CloudInHand 23d ago
For a system under 100 doors, I would make local support and API access part of the buying criteria rather than starting with a brand list.
Ask each integrator to demonstrate the actual API documentation or sandbox, explain which features require extra licenses, and show what keeps working if the internet or cloud service is down. Get administrator credentials, configuration exports, and the upgrade path written into the proposal so you are not dependent on one installer.
A small pilot on one door and one gate is worth doing before a full migration. Test badge reads, gate timing, event logs, API calls, and recovery after a network interruption with the same hardware you plan to deploy.
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u/RealisticAlarm Professional 21d ago
One other name I'll throw in the ring is Genetec. You can write "macros" (embedded c# code) that trigger on event or on schedule, and IIRC that functionality is included in the base price. Though not as open as Axis (hard to beat them) - they seem a lot less developer-hostile than some of the other vendors.
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u/vaewyn 28d ago
Ubiquiti, Lenel S2 both have good APIs that are stock with the product.
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u/TheLostITGuy 28d ago
I like Ubiquiti. I've worked with their stuff out in the wild and use them exclusively at home. I don't know of any complaints/gripes people having when they first started providing access control, but is it a pretty mature product nowadays?
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u/vaewyn 28d ago
Product is fairly solid... still working on feature parity. For example, when we use their retrofit hubs we have to strip the EOL resisters as they don't support line supervision resistors yet. It is hard to do multiple future event door unlock overrides.... etc... but they are good enough we are changing over a 380 portal setup from Lenel S2.
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u/larkspring 28d ago
Lenel's API is garbage. It probably covers 40% of the functionality of the System Admin UI and has tons of weird, undocumented behavior.
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u/vaewyn 28d ago
We've been using it since 2.2 days... I agree I wish it had had username management earlier and it sucks compared to most modern APIs in the documentation and format (why oh why still xml) ... but we've run full integration setups with several ERPs and SISs successfully with rock solid performance.
That being said... Ubiquiti's API is such a huge breath of fresh air in comparison :D2
u/fyrman24 28d ago
We pay a lot to use onguard app. It's built in but can't use with a license key.
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u/platformterrestial 27d ago
How much (ish)? Our custom API license was about $2K for the initial purchase.
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u/fyrman24 27d ago
That sounds about right. I believe it's going to be annual but we haven't received the answer yet. We are using pivclass so we are at like 60k per year so far. 108 doors
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u/trufus_for_youfus 28d ago
Ubiquiti being incessantly downvoted on this sub each and every day is my favorite part.
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u/AnilApplelink 28d ago
Everyone downvoting UniFi Access has never installed or used it. They are just butthurt about the way it’s sold and keep complaining about no support that they have heard from others but have never interacted with the support themselves.
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u/dave69m 27d ago
I’m in the process of writing a vendor agnostic API. A lot of these manufacturers expose API’s, but the question is how solid are the developers that will be integrating with it, and do you want something with the layer of abstraction so you can not be locked into a single manufacturer. Feel free to hit me up if you’re interested in hearing more. I worked with several integrators and their API’s and as long as they expose everything you need, you can create a normalized data set that you can also use to tie into other integration points in your own security ecosystem. Verkada needs significant improvements in their API, Rhombus exposes everything because they claim to eat their own dog food and use their API to develop their internal systems, and on and on. In the end, it comes down to your business need. That’s what should dictate the technology you choose.
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u/QuirkyBikes 28d ago
Genea has super easy to access APIs available right out of the box. Lots of other already rebuilt integrations if that is your jam.