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Connecting the hardware

This chapter covers wiring an HID Aero controller (the X1100 family) to Protequ and getting the two to talk. The controller stores its own list of who may enter and decides access on its own, even when the network is down. Protequ sends it people and permissions, and receives the events it reports (card reads, door and input states, alarms).

How Protequ reaches it

Protequ opens the connection to the controller over your network. The controller waits for that connection as a server and listens on TCP port 3001. So the controller needs a fixed address on the network, and that port must be reachable from the Protequ adapter (open it on any firewall in between). Once connected, the link can be encrypted with TLS, which the two sides turn on automatically when both support it.

Before you start

  • The controller is mounted, powered, and on the same network Protequ can reach.
  • You know the controller's network address (or can set it) and that TCP port 3001 is open end to end.
  • You can open the controller's built-in web configuration page from a browser on that network.
  • If the site uses encrypted RS-485 wiring to the expansion modules (X100 / X200 / X300), you have the AES key that will be used for it.

On the equipment

Do these on the controller's own web configuration page, then in Protequ.

  1. Set the controller's network address. Open its web configuration page in a browser and give it a fixed IP address (a static address is recommended so Protequ always finds it). Note the address down; you enter it in Protequ later.
  2. Enable the host connection. Open the Host Comm section and set:
  3. Connection Type: IP Server
  4. Data Security: TLS if Available
  5. Port number: 3001

Click Accept, then go to Apply Settings and click Apply Settings, Reboot. The controller reboots and is then ready for Protequ to connect. 3. Encryption keys. The host link is secured by TLS, which turns on automatically with the TLS if Available setting above, so there is no key to type on the controller for that. A separate AES key is only needed if you encrypt the RS-485 wiring to the expansion modules; that key is entered in Protequ (see below), not on the controller's web page.

In Protequ

On the controller's configuration page, fill in these fields. They must match what you set on the equipment.

Protequ field What to enter
Controller host or IP The controller's network address from step 1.
TCP communication port 3001 (matches the port set in Host Comm).
Connection mode Server — Protequ connects to the controller (its IP Server setting).
TLS mode Optional — use TLS when available (matches TLS if Available).
Logon password Only if the controller is set to require a logon password; enter the same.
Serial number Optional. If entered, Protequ checks it against the controller and warns on a mismatch.
RS-485 master key Only for encrypted expansion-module wiring: the AES key as 32 hexadecimal characters. Turn on encryption per module where used.

Confirm it works

This controller is not auto-discovered, so you confirm the link by watching it come online and produce events.

  1. Save the configuration. Protequ connects and runs its start-up handshake with the controller.
  2. Check that the controller shows as connected (online) in Protequ. If it stays offline, see below.
  3. Present a card at a reader, or trigger an input. A matching event should appear in Protequ (for example an access-granted or access-denied event, or a door or input state change). That confirms the controller is reporting to Protequ.

If it does not connect

  • No connection at all: confirm the controller's address is correct and reachable from Protequ, and that TCP port 3001 is open on every firewall between them.
  • Controller reachable but still offline: re-check the Host Comm settings — Connection Type IP Server, port 3001 — and make sure you ran Apply Settings, Reboot so the changes took effect.
  • Connects then drops: if a logon password is set on the controller, make sure the same password is entered in Protequ.
  • Connects but no events after a card read: check that the reader is wired to the controller and that the door and reader are modelled in Protequ.
  • Expansion modules (X100 / X200 / X300) not reporting: if their RS-485 wiring is encrypted, confirm the RS-485 master key in Protequ matches and that encryption is turned on for those modules.