A complete learning and design environment for physical security professionals. Covers IP video surveillance (CCTV), access control systems, intrusion detection, and integrated security operations — from camera lens calculations and NVR storage sizing to OSDP reader deployments, UL 294 compliance, and ONVIF interoperability standards.
Built for low-voltage systems integrators, electronic security contractors, security consultants, and IT/facilities engineers who design, install, and commission physical security infrastructure for commercial, healthcare, education, and government facilities.
Calculate field of view, horizontal coverage width, and pixel density at distance for any lens focal length and sensor size. Supports fisheye, varifocal, and PTZ configurations. Outputs a per-camera coverage table and overlap analysis for the full site.
Determine total NVR/DVR storage (TB) from camera count, resolution (MP), frame rate, compression codec (H.264/H.265/H.265+), motion-triggered vs. continuous recording, and retention days. Side-by-side codec comparison with storage savings.
Size a full access control deployment: door hardware selection (electric strike, mag-lock, electrified hardware), reader type (Wiegand, OSDP), door controller I/O mapping, and panel/sub-panel layout. Outputs a credential point schedule.
Lay out intrusion detection zones across a floor plan. Select sensor types (PIR, dual-tech, glass-break, door/window contact), assign to zones, calculate coverage area, and verify zone counts against panel capacity. ANSI/SIA CP-01 compliance check.
Calculate total PoE power draw for IP cameras, access readers, intercoms, and other powered devices on a switch. Applies IEEE 802.3af/at/bt power classes, per-port derating, and cable run loss. Verifies switch power budget is not exceeded.
Interactive 3D building model showing camera placements, field-of-view cones, blind spots, and overlapping coverage zones by floor. Click any camera to see its spec sheet, coverage radius, and NIST/ONVIF compliance status.
Walk through a simulated commercial building and interact with every access-controlled door. View credential reader type, locking hardware, door schedule, and fail-safe/fail-secure mode at each door. Useful for AHJ inspections and commissioning walkthroughs.
Simulated SOC console layout with live camera feeds (placeholder streams), alarm annunciator panels, access event logs, and guard tour stations. Practice triage and response workflows for alarm events, tailgating alerts, and perimeter breaches.
Size NVR storage from camera count, resolution, fps, codec, and retention days. Calculates bandwidth and per-camera storage.
Interactive FOV cone planner: drop cameras on a floor plan and visualize coverage, blind spots, and overlap zones.
Practice SOC operator response workflows: triage incoming alarms, verify video, dispatch, and document incidents.
Horizontal, vertical, and diagonal field of view from focal length and sensor size. Coverage width at any distance.
Total network bandwidth from camera count, resolution, frame rate, and codec. Per-camera and aggregate Mbps.
Storage requirement in TB from bitrate, camera count, and retention period in days.
Verify switch power budget for mixed IEEE 802.3af/at/bt device deployments with cable derating.
Total DC current from OSDP/Wiegand readers, REX sensors, and door controllers on a panel power supply.
Select mag-lock holding force (lb/kg) based on door weight, size, and applicable IBC egress code requirements.
Size UPS for security panel, NVR, and access control equipment from load watts and required runtime.
Signal attenuation and bus loading for RS-485 OSDP runs. Maximum cable length for reliable communication at 9600–115200 baud.
Physical security blends professional certifications (ASIS), electronic-security design (BICSI), and state low-voltage/alarm licensing. This overview maps the credentials for security professionals, designers and installers.
ASIS PSP prep: physical-security assessment and design — threat/vulnerability analysis, security measures and CPTED.
ASIS CPP prep: the senior security-management credential — risk management, business operations and crisis management.
ASIS PCI prep: investigations and case management — evidence, interviewing, case presentation and legal basics.
BICSI ESS prep: electronic safety & security design — access control, video, intrusion and network infrastructure.
State alarm/low-voltage license prep: low-voltage wiring, alarm/access control, CCTV and NEC Chapters 7–8.
CompTIA Security+ prep: baseline IT/network security — valuable as security systems become networked/IP-based.
Interactive 12-section physical security reference covering access control (PACS), IP video surveillance, intrusion detection, perimeter barriers (ASTM F2656), security lighting (IES RP-33), electronic locks, SCIF design (ICD 705), visitor management, and security risk assessment.
Complete 47-section interactive handbook — 46 chapters covering access control fundamentals, controllers/readers/locks/credentials, wiring topologies, NFPA/ADA/UL 294 compliance, 10 real-world case studies, and a Lenel OnGuard architecture deep dive.
Complete 30-section interactive guide — 24 chapters and 3 appendices covering camera selection, coverage/PPM calculations, network and power infrastructure, storage/bandwidth sizing, lighting analysis, and 9 facility-type use cases from offices to critical infrastructure.
Illustrated 24-section guide covering access control system architecture, standard drawing symbols, Wiegand vs OSDP v2 protocols, voltage-drop wiring, zone-based design, and application diagrams for high-rise, residential, healthcare, K-12, industrial, retail, and transit facilities.
A sensor tripping isn't a caught intruder. Illustrated three-stage flow — detection, video verification, and threat assessment — showing why skipping a stage causes alarm fatigue and under-informed responses.
Why combining two unreliable sensors makes one reliable one. Illustrated AND-logic comparison showing how a dual-tech sensor's PIR + microwave pairing filters out HVAC drafts and sunlight that fool a PIR-only sensor.
Three dials, only two of which are settings. Illustrated comparison showing why the identical camera at the identical resolution and frame rate can produce wildly different storage consumption depending on scene motion.
A turnstile detects tailgating with sensors while keeping the line moving. A mantrap makes it physically impossible with an interlock that never lets both doors open at once. Illustrated comparison of detection vs. physical prevention — and why the wrong pick is a real design mistake.
One device reports whether the door is physically open or closed. The other tells the alarm logic an exit was authorized, so free egress doesn't trip a forced-door alarm. Illustrated signal-flow and four-scenario decision table showing why both are required at the same door.
Tailgating happens without the authorized person ever knowing. Piggybacking happens because they deliberately held the door. Illustrated comparison of an unwitting breach vs. a willing courtesy — and why only one of them is fixed by better sensors.
A single strong fence is a single point of failure — once it's breached, nothing else stands in the way. Illustrated comparison of a perimeter-only facility vs. genuine layered security, and why relying on one impressive boundary is a real design mistake.
A stolen card plus a memorized PIN is genuine multi-factor. Two memorized PINs is not, even though both look like "two credentials." Illustrated comparison showing why combining different factor types — not doubling one — is what actually stops an attacker.
The same power outage, same door, two opposite hardware behaviors on purpose. Illustrated branching diagram showing why fail-safe unlocks for egress while fail-secure stays locked for security — and why fail-secure is often the deliberately correct choice, not a lesser one.
Access control runs continuously, granting or denying passage in real time whether the building is occupied or not. Intrusion detection only watches while armed. Illustrated comparison showing the same door contact behaving completely differently under each system's logic — and why having one never makes the other redundant.
The real difference isn't resolution — it's where the picture gets digitized and how many cables that costs at every camera. Illustrated signal-path comparison of coax-plus-separate-power analog cameras vs. single-Cat6/PoE IP cameras, and why modern analog HD formats have closed the resolution gap.
The choice isn't which is objectively better — it's where you want the risk to live: a box on-site that can be stolen, or a subscription that depends on the internet staying up. Illustrated architecture comparison of on-prem NVR storage vs. cloud VSaaS, covering bandwidth, latency, cost, and resilience trade-offs.
Design real access control, CCTV, and intrusion detection systems — camera design, video analytics, biometrics, network infrastructure, PoE budgeting, storage sizing, and cyber-physical integration. 17 core modules, 5 complete real-project case studies (corporate campus access control & CCTV, data center physical security, school security & visitor management, retail loss-prevention video analytics, perimeter intrusion detection), a 12-template documentation kit, and a certificate of completion. One-time $4.99 purchase, no account required.
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