Unified network and physical premises access control server

A method for implementing access control policies for physical facilities and network resources at server, the method comprising:

• defining policies for an entity or a group of entities;
• receiving a first credential verification request for a physical resource access request from a physical resource device, the first credential verification request including first credentials, wherein the first credential request defers validating of the first credentials to the server from the physical facility device;
• receiving a second credential verification request for a network-based resource access request from a network-based resource device, the second credential verification request including second credentials, wherein the second credential request defers validating of the second credentials to the server from the physical facility device;
• verifying, at the server, the first credential verification request based on a policy in said policies, the verifying by the server being an initial verifier of the first credentials;
• verifying, at the server, the second credential verification request based on a policy in said policies, the verifying by the server being an initial verifier of the second credentials;
• sending a first response to the first credential verification request to the physical resource device based on the verification of the first credential verification request, wherein the first response allows the physical resource device to enforce access based on the first response;
• and
• sending a second response to the second credential verification request to the network-based resource device based on the verification of the second credential verification requests, wherein the second response allows the network-based resource device to enforce access based on the second response.

A method of managing access to physical and network-based assets at a server, the method comprising:

• provisioning a unified list with user credentials that define access fights to physical facilities and network resources, said unified list farther including user information that defines access rights to network resources and physical facilities;
• managing, at a server, access to physical and network-based assets from a common platform, wherein the common platform verifies user credentials for access to the physical facilities and network resources, the server being an initial verifier of user credentials in access requests received from the physical facilities and network resources;
• and
• sending verification responses to the physical facilities and network resources based on the server verifications to allow the physical facilities and the network resources to enforce access, the physical facilities and network resources deferring verification of the user credentials to the server.

An apparatus configured to implement access control policies for physical facilities and network resources, the apparatus comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• logic encoded in one or more tangible media for execution by the one or more processors and when executed operable to:
• define policies for an entity or a group of entities;
• receive a first credential verification request for a physical resource access request from a physical resource device, the first credential verification request including first credentials, wherein the first credential request defers validating of the first credentials to the apparatus from the physical facility device;
• receive a second credential verification request for a network-based resource access request from a network-based resource device, the second credential verification request including second credentials, wherein the second credential request defers validating of the second credentials to the apparatus from the physical facility device;
• verify the first credential verification request based on a policy in said policies, the verification by the apparatus being an initial verifier of the first credentials;
• verify the second credential verification request based on a policy in said policies, the verification by the apparatus being an initial verifier of the second credentials;
• send a first response to the first credential verification request to the physical resource device based on the verification of the first credential verification request, wherein the first response allows the physical resource device to enforce access based on the first response;
• and
• send a second response to the second credential verification request to the network-based resource device based on the verification of the second credential verification request, wherein the second response allows the network-base resource device to enforce access based on the second response.