Commercial Alarm System selection

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OmniouS

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#240365 4-Sep-2018 12:16

Hi there, we're looking at replacing an older commercial alarm system and starting to look at what's available.

Just wondering if we have a sane wish list, and if there are any recommended systems/installers in Wellington?

Here are the features that we'd like:
- IP based system - covering two floors
- Arm and disarm alarm via HID Prox cards (Pyramid card compatibility would be nice to have as well)
- Web page where a limited access user can update user and card information (and/or API that allows us this control)
- Automatic arming of the alarm every hour between 6pm and 5am daily
- Automatic daylight savings time adjustment
- Ability for a limited user to easily stop auto-arm on a certain floor if we have a client event that runs into the night (and/or API that allows us this control)
- Email alerting/webhooks etc
- Access logs
- Ability to be monitored. Our current monitoring provider is Monitor NZ
- Ability to monitor alarm status, e.g. sensor connectivity, battery levels via API/SNMP etc

Nice to haves:
- Milestone XProtect integration
- 3/4G backup
- Future requirement - door access control
- Support for other sensor types, e.g. Water, Smoke
- Allow management via secure protocols only (we could firewall if necessary)

andgor

43 posts

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#2083771 4-Sep-2018 12:48

Your list of features doesn't look overly insane for a modern system. Something like an ICT Protege WX (https://www.ict.co/Protege-WX) would probably do the job, or its bigger sibling (the GX) if it doesn't. We use a Gallagher/Cardax system (https://security.gallagher.com/) at work which could certainly do all that you want, for $$$$$$$.

mdf

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#2083816 4-Sep-2018 13:12

Gavin at St Just Electrical is great to deal with; he did a residential alarm for me and a commercial one for my brother's business.

http://stjustservices.co.nz/

OmniouS

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#2085270 6-Sep-2018 22:21

Thanks guys. I actually made contact with ICT regarding their system last year. At that time there was no straightforward way to delay auto-arming for an evening event. It will be worth asking again though

andgor

43 posts

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#2085430 7-Sep-2018 11:01

Well I did say probably :-).

I've had a bit of a play on the Cardax/Gallagher system at work this morning and I don't know if there's an official way of doing it but I was able to hack up something that seems to work fairly easily using a couple of virtual outputs and a logic block. The actual alarm zone is then controlled by the logic block (using the "Key Switch" control mode) instead of directly by the schedule. You can still control the zone manually as well. Just adds an extra alarm zone (probably not needed with the "new" T20 arming terminals as I'm pretty sure you can control outputs from them, you can't with the old RATs that we have), disarm that and the schedule is ignored, re-arm it and the schedule takes affect again (including exit delays if configured). You can configure what alarm zones each "cardholder" (the system started out as an access control system and then added intruder detection on afterwards is my understanding) has access to via cardholder groups. But yeah $$$$$. With the right stuff enabled in your licence file ($$$) you could control it via an APIs too.

I'm pretty sure I saw something similar to logic blocks in the ICT documentation, otherwise you could probably do it with physical outputs and inputs. They might have just not considered other ways to achieve what you were wanting.

rphenix

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#2085517 7-Sep-2018 11:16

We used to run ICT Protege Le (same as WX really just no web interface but you need to run the desktop client to manage) - I also have one at home. The auto arming is usually set by a timing trigger I'm fairly sure you should be able to make it check a condition before arming - such as the status of a relay that would set the time schedule to invalid or valid depending on your logic.

If nothing else - have a long exit delay on the auto arming, tell people the time it auto-arms and they can cancel it by going up to the reader head and disabling the arming sequence with their swipe card while its still in exit delay.

andgor

43 posts

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#2085540 7-Sep-2018 12:04

Found an even easier way with Cardax/Gallagher (while reading the instructions). Just stick the "schedule override"/delay alarm zone into the Dependencies box on the actual alarm zone and the actual alarm zone will only arm on schedule if the override one is armed. So disarm the override one when you want to delay the scheduled arming, re-arm it when done and you want the actual alarm zone to go back to schedule.

NZSpides

155 posts

Master Geek

#2085598 7-Sep-2018 12:49

lol, something I can answer.

I work at Gallagher.

Everything you ask for can be done with the Gallagher Product.

Some of it will require a customisation, but you may not need some of the functionality as a lot of it is built in to Command Centre.

I can put you in touch with a local Business Development Agent who can answer all your questions.

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OmniouS

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#2087176 10-Sep-2018 21:38

Thanks all for taking the time to reply. It's great to hear that there are products that will do what we want. Hopefully we can get close to what we want within budget :)

@NZSpides thanks, I'd be interested to speak to a local BDM. I'll PM you my contact details.

Cheers

sparkz25

750 posts

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#2087183 10-Sep-2018 22:03

OmniouS:

Hi there, we're looking at replacing an older commercial alarm system and starting to look at what's available.

Just wondering if we have a sane wish list, and if there are any recommended systems/installers in Wellington?

Here are the features that we'd like:
- IP based system - covering two floors
- Arm and disarm alarm via HID Prox cards (Pyramid card compatibility would be nice to have as well)
- Web page where a limited access user can update user and card information (and/or API that allows us this control)
- Automatic arming of the alarm every hour between 6pm and 5am daily
- Automatic daylight savings time adjustment
- Ability for a limited user to easily stop auto-arm on a certain floor if we have a client event that runs into the night (and/or API that allows us this control)
- Email alerting/webhooks etc
- Access logs
- Ability to be monitored. Our current monitoring provider is Monitor NZ
- Ability to monitor alarm status, e.g. sensor connectivity, battery levels via API/SNMP etc

Nice to haves:
- Milestone XProtect integration
- 3/4G backup
- Future requirement - door access control
- Support for other sensor types, e.g. Water, Smoke
- Allow management via secure protocols only (we could firewall if necessary)

that can all be done in the cardax/gallagher easy as pie, just programing, for the 3g/4g back up we use permaconn's as this works on almost any PSTN Dialler, only down side is the licensing costs, a mile stone license is at least 3k from memory