Patent ID: 7818783

Claim:
A global access control system, comprising: a plurality of access control devices, the plurality of access control devices including security token reading devices, each of the access control devices having a unique IPv6 address, at least one of the access control devices controlling access to a facility; a TCP/IP network provided for network communication among the plurality of access control devices; a plurality of servers in operable communication with the access control devices, the plurality of servers having the capability to calculate access control functions based on access control applications running on the plurality of servers, wherein the plurality of servers further comprise: a) means for auditing the status of a first subset of the access control devices; and b) means for modifying the status of a second subset of the access control devices responsive to a relationship among the status of members of the first subset; and a plurality of mass storage units in operable communication with the plurality of servers, the mass storage units having the capability of storing information about the plurality of access control devices, the plurality of servers further having the capability to formulate and transmit control signals derived from the access control functions.