Short answer: The station arrives open, with no master key and no operators. Setting it up means, connecting the reader, creating the master key, enrolling fingerprints on the first operator's card, and then registering the operator from that card. From then on the station is locked to operator sign-in, and every card enrolled at it is bound to the master key.
Before you start
- Decide where the station will be stored and used – a supervised desk in a controlled room, with somewhere lockable to store it between sessions. See: Enrolment station trust model.
- Decide who can operate the station. Each operator signs in with their own operator card, which you create on the station during setup.
- Decide where the master key will be kept. The station can generate it, or you can enter a key from your own key management system. It is a 32-character hexadecimal key, and it must be recorded in your organisation's key management system either way
- The key binds the card to enrolment station, the card cannot be re-enrolled or deactivated from any other station.
- Have cards ready for the operators, and a test card.
Set up the station
- Set up the tablet and reader on a flat, stable surface. The tablet comes with a stand. Place the reader where the cardholder can reach it comfortably, and connect it to the tablet through the adapter, so the reader and the charger can be connected at the same time. There is no pairing – the reader powers on automatically. During enrolment the card is inserted into the reader, leaving the fingerprint sensor exposed.
- Power on. With no master key or operators yet, the station starts in setup.
- Create the master key. Either generate it on the station and record it in your key management system, or enter a key you have prepared in advance. Cards enrolled at this station are bound to this key, and the station cannot manage cards issued under at a different one.
- Enrol fingerprints on the first operator's card. This is the operator's own card, enrolled like any other.
- Create the operator. This is a separate step, done after the fingerprints are enrolled: it registers that card as an operator card. Once the first operator exists, the station locks itself and requires operator sign-in from then on.
- Add further operators the same way, signed in as an existing operator. Operator cards are usually the first cards you set up.
- Run one full test enrolment on the test card and confirm the station reports success. There is no demo mode – verifying the station requires a real card.
Verify before first use
- On every power-on the station starts locked, full screen
- Operator sign-in works with each operator card
- Try a test card enrolment to verify the complete end to end process
- Check that the master key is recorded in your key management system
- The station should be stored away in a locked location
The screen switches off after a few minutes of inactivity. Press the power button on the side of the tablet to wake it, and the station returns to the operator sign-in.
If the station does not behave as described
Once set up, you should never see ordinary tablet screens or a status bar. If you do – or if the station reports that it needs to be set up again – stop and contact IDEX. A station in this state should not be used for card issuance.
What not to change
The station is a dedicated appliance, and once set up it is locked so that nothing can be installed or changed. Do not attempt to work around that. There is also nothing for you to update: updates and repairs are handled by IDEX.
Before you issue to users
Everyone who will operate the station should know the issuance flow and the ground rules. See: Enrolment station trust model and Operating the enrolment station.