Trying Edge with the simulator

Every Edge connector contains a simulator: software controllers that behave like TrackBase002 controllers. They hold a configuration of up to 2,000 cards, decide badge reads with exactly the rules a controller uses, keep an event memory of 32,000 events, report door states and open doors. Everything in Edge works end to end with them, which makes them the way to try, demonstrate and train on Edge before the hardware is there.

What you get

• Two simulated controllers, offered by Find controllers:

  Address	Serial	Doors
  127.0.0.1:9001	SIM-0001	Two doors, one reader each
  127.0.0.1:9002	SIM-0002	One door with entry and exit readers

  Their model is Edge Simulator (TrackBase002-compatible). A simulated controller added at any other host:port is created on first use.

• A simulator page at http://127.0.0.1:9199/ on the connector computer, to present cards, force doors and switch controllers off.

Set up a trial

1. Install a connector on any Windows computer, following Connectors. It does not need to reach any hardware.
2. Controllers → Add controller, pick the connector, set Controller type to Simulator (no hardware) and choose Find controllers. Pick SIM-0001, name it (e.g. Office), choose Add controller. Repeat for SIM-0002 if you want the entry/exit door.
3. Continue with Getting started from step 3: schedule, access group, a cardholder with a Wiegand card, for example facility code 12, number 3456 (the simulator page's default; card number 0000789888 in Edge).
4. Wait until the controller's Configuration is In sync.

The simulator page

Open http://127.0.0.1:9199/ in a browser on the connector computer. Each simulated controller shows its doors, its configuration version and card count, and its latest events. For each controller:

• Present card: pick the Reader (channel), the Card type (Wiegand 26 with Facility code and Card number, or iButton with the iButton id) and present it. The controller decides with its configuration and shows the result (for example Access granted, or Access denied with the reason); a granted card unlocks the door for its unlock time.
• Force door 1: records a Door forced open alarm.
• Power off / Power on: the controller stops answering, as if it lost power. Edge shows it Offline; configurations sent meanwhile fail with controller_unreachable and are delivered after Power on.

The same events appear in Edge's Live monitor within a second or two.

Things to try

Try	You see
Present the card inside the schedule	Access granted with the person's name
Present it outside the schedule, or on a door the group does not have	Access denied — outside the schedule / no access to this door
Add today as a holiday, then present it	Access denied — holiday (unless the schedule has holiday windows)
Block the card in Edge, wait for In sync, present it	Unknown card
Open door in Edge	Opened remotely by you; the door shows Unlocked, then Locked
Power off the controller, present cards, Power on	Controller offline, then Controller online and the badge events recorded meanwhile, in order
Take the connector computer off the Internet, badge on the simulator page, reconnect	The connector shows Offline; after reconnecting, the events arrive in order, once each

Limits and settings

• The simulated controllers live in the connector's memory. Restarting the connector resets their event memory; the connector sends each one its last configuration again when it starts.

• The simulator does not raise Door held open, Door closed or Tamper alarm events.

• The page has no password, so it only listens on the loopback address. EDGE_SIM_ADDR changes its address (127.0.0.1:<port>), and EDGE_SIM_ADDR=off switches it off. For the Windows service, set it as a service environment variable and restart the service:

  reg add HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EdgeConnector /v Environment /t REG_MULTI_SZ /d EDGE_SIM_ADDR=off /f
  sc stop EdgeConnector
  sc start EdgeConnector

See also Edge connector.