Auto enrollment for configuring access control systems

1. A system comprises:

at least one ingress card reader; and

an auto-enrollment type of access controller having a panel supporting a switch, a controller board, a terminal block for connecting at least the one ingress card reader to the auto-enrollment type controller board and to connect the auto-enrollment type controller to door locks, and a mounting plate, with the auto-enrollment type controller being configured by a user according to operational requirements of a facility by the user asserting the switch for a defined period of time, and with the auto-enrollment type of access controller upon assertion of the switch being configured to:

send an enroll broadcast message to a server computer, the broadcast message being broadcast periodically for a predefined period of time; and

receive an enrollment confirmation that indicates the auto-enrollment type access controller's credentials have been assigned to a controller table structure by the server computer.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein upon enrollment of the auto-enrollment type of access controller, an action performed upon assertion of the switch is determined according to the state of the auto-enrollment type controller, which actions include in addition to initiation of auto-enrollment of the auto-enrollment type access controller, establishing a connection to a remote system to report information to the remote system.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein upon enrollment of the auto-enrollment type of access controller, an action performed upon assertion of the switch is determined according to the state of the auto-enrollment type controller and depending on the duration of the button being pressed.

4. An auto-enrollment type access controller comprises:

a front panel having a switch;

a controller board;

a terminal block for connecting at least one card reader and door locks to the auto-enrollment type controller board;

a mounting plate; and

with the controller board comprising a processor and memory, with the processor configured to execute an auto-enrollment process upon an assertion of the switch for a predefined period of time and upon assertion of the switch, the processor being configured to:

send an enroll broadcast message to a server computer, the broadcast message being broadcast periodically for a predefined period of time; and

receive an enrollment confirmation that indicates the auto-enrollment type access controller's credentials have been assigned to a controller table structure by the server computer.

5. The controller of claim 4 wherein the action performed by the controller upon assertion of the switch is determined according to the state of the auto-enrollment type controller and/or duration of assertion of the switch, which actions include in addition to initiation of auto-enrollment of the auto-enrollment type access controller, establishing a connection to a remote system to report information to the remote system.

6. The controller of claim 4 wherein the action performed by the controller upon assertion of the switch is determined according to at least one of:

enrollment of the auto-enrollment type access controller as a master over an IP connection;

enrollment of the auto-enrollment type access controller as a master over an IP connection over a wide area network using a call home protocol;

enrollment as a slave auto-enrollment type access controller over an IP connection;

enrollment as slave auto-enrollment type access controller over an IP connection without call home;

enrollment as a slave auto-enrollment type access controller over an IP connection without operator assistance; and

enrollment as a slave auto-enrollment type access controller over an RS-485 connection without an operator.

7. The controller of claim 4 wherein the controller board includes a processor and memory, and the processor is configured to;

enroll the auto-enrollment type access controller as a master over an IP connection over a wide area network using a call home protocol;

send upon assertion of the switch for a specified duration, enroll broadcast messages periodically for a period of time with the broadcast messages including an IP/Hostname and an IP Address and a Subnet Mask, the model, serial number and MAC address of the controller.

8. The controller of claim 4 wherein auto-enrollment comprises the processor configured to:

automatically send credentials to a server without writing of the access controller model, serial number and MAC address when the controller is in factory default mode.

9. A method of enrolling auto-enrollment type access controller for access control, the method comprising:

asserting a switch on the auto-enrollment type access controller for a specified duration to enter an auto-enrollment process;

entering by the auto-enrollment type access controller an enroll mode that transmits to a gateway an enroll broadcast to cause the gateway to add the auto-enrollment type access controller's credentials to an unassigned controller table;

receiving an enrollment confirmation from the gateway;

acknowledging reception of the confirmation receipt by the auto-enrollment type controller;

receiving via the gateway assignment information including IP configuration information designating the controller as a master controller.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the auto-enrollment type access controller upon receiving the IP configuration, the method further comprises:

rebooting by the auto-enrollment type access controller; and

connecting by the auto-enrollment type access controller to the gateway to place the auto-enrollment type access controller on-line.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the auto-enrollment type access controller enrolls as a master access controller, further comprising:

transmitting periodically by the auto-enrollment type access controller a network message prior to the enrollment message; and

transmitting periodically by the auto-enrollment type access controller the network message after enrollment confirmation.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the auto-enrollment type access controller is enrolled as a master controller and enrolls another access controller as a slave controller when connected to a gateway, by enrolling the another access controller through the master controller.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the auto-enrollment type of access controller is an enrolled access controller, and system includes at least one additional auto-enrollment type of access controller that is enrolled through the enrolled access controller.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the assertion of the switch is a first assertion, and the auto enrollment type of access controller upon a second assertion of the switch is configured to:

receive broadcast messages from the at least one additional auto-enrollment type of access controller;

forward credentials corresponding to the at least one additional auto-enrollment type of access controller to the server computer; and

receive an enrollment confirmation for the at least one additional auto-enrollment type access controller, which indicates that the forwarded credentials have been assigned to the controller table structure by the server computer.