The following guide provides steps to set up regions using controller groups, access levels, and personnel templates in the Symphony AC Software. Use this guide as a quick reference. Please contact Senstar Corporation for questions. Considerations Prior to Setup This guide is created by Senstar Corporation to assist in the management of the global system by completing the following:

  1. Set up controller groups
  2. Set up access levels for each controller group
  3. Add new personnel records with access levels and associating records with the controller groups

The example below will set up controller groups for 3 regions: North America (NA), Europe (EU), and Asia. You may name your regions and create as many regions as necessary. I. Setting Up Controller Groups in Symphony AC Note: By default, all controllers will be assigned to Controller Group 1 when adding the controller via auto setup or manually. However, you can specify other controller groups when adding a controller. If an access level is not assigned at the time the record is created, the record will automatically be assigned to Controller Group 1 to avoid unassociated records. If a record was originally created in Controller Group 1 but moved to another Controller Group (e.g. Controller Group 2) and then later has the access level removed, the operator will still see the record in Controller Group 1 when the access level is not assigned. A. Naming Controller Groups To set up controller groups, complete the following:

  1. In Symphony AC, click on “Settings” and click on “Controller Groups” to view the Controller Groups menu.
  1. Next, assign the bespoke nomenclature to the controller groups by clicking on the “Pencil” icon located at the top of the controller group pane. In this scenario, we will have 3 custom controller groups. The first 3 controller groups will have the following names: NA, EU, and Asia to represent the 3 different regions.  
  1. Assuming the controllers have been added already to Symphony AC, you will have to move the existing controller groups as needed. To move existing controllers from one controller group to another, complete the following:
    • First, select the desired controller group at the top of the controller group pane with the controller that you wish to move.
    • Second, select the controller that needs to be relocated (if all controllers need to be moved, please use the “Select All” button).
    • Third, select the desired controller group that the controller needs to be moved to.
    • Forth, click on the “Move Selected Controllers to x: x” button located at the bottom of the controller group pane. In the example below, controller (00:17:14) has been moved to controller group 2: EU.
       Note: If a controller is moved from one Controller Group to another, the Access Levels will have to be adjusted to reflect access in the newly assigned Controller Groups. II. Setting Up Access Levels with Controller Groups Next, we will need to assign access levels to the controller groups.


III. Adding New Personnel Records with Access Levels and Associating Records with the Controller Groups Next, we will need to add new personnel records with access levels and associate those records with the Controller Groups. Personnel records are partitioned by the Controller Group with assigned access levels.

  1. Navigate to the Personnel Manager by clicking “Access” and click on “Personnel Manager”.
  2. Unlock the module to allow editing.
  3. Click “Add”, then click “Add Blank New Record”.
  4. Enter the First & Last name field.
  5. Click on the plus icon to enter the card number, Status: Active, Activate Date, & Expiration Date.
  6. In the Access Levels box below, please perform the following:
    1. Right click in the Access Levels pane and select “Add Access Level(s)”
    2. Select the appropriate Controller Group with the assigned access levels.
    3. “Add Access Level(s)” or “Add ACR Group(s)” depending on how access levels are set up at the site.
    4. Click “OK”.
  7. Click “Save”.
  8. Next, we will create two more Personnel records using the same process as before in step 6. User 2 will only have access to controller group 1 & 2. User 3 will only have access to controller group 1.  

IV. Adding New Personnel Records with Access Levels and Associating Records with the Controller Groups with Personnel Templates Personnel Templates have pre-defined values for specific fields which makes the process of adding personnel records a simpler and more automated process, allowing configuration based off a department, tier, and or category. For example, if the company (or user) hires a new employee and they are in the IT Tier 1, IT Tier 1 employees will always have the same access levels, activate/deactivate date, department, company, etc. Instead of manually adding the data above every time, users can assign a template to employees hired under IT Tier 1 with that information pre-defined. The following steps will assist with creating personnel templates & assigning them to Personnel Records. IMPORTANT NOTE: Personnel Templates CANNOT assign names & card numbers. Names and card numbers need to be MANUALLY DEFINED per record.

    1. Unlock the module to allow editing of the Personnel module.
    1. Click on the Group Edit By default, the Group Edit feature will open to the Template tab.
    1. Click on the plus sign icon to create a new Personnel Template.
    1. Assign a name to the Template.
    1. Assign the personnel template the pre-defined information as needed.

NOTE: To have the template data reflect on the personnel record when assigned, make sure to have the box checked under the personnel fields.

    1. Save the template.
    1. Click on the button located under the permission button.
    1. Assign the personnel template that is appropriate to the individual and click “OK” to continue.
    1. Save your changes by clicking the Save 


V. Troubleshooting: Basic Symphony AC “Access Denied” Events For a list of basic Symphony AC Access Denied events and troubleshooting suggestions, please click here