Integrate with Rhombus Systems

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Relevant section: Rhombus Systems

This article relates to Kisi's video surveillance solution. To set up the Rhombus Systems integration and generate the API key in Kisi, you need to be a Kisi Place Owner or Admin.

Admins can map Rhombus cameras to specific doors to easily review security-critical snapshots that correspond to Kisi door events. Each time a security-relevant door event is recorded on the Kisi platform, it will download video clips from your Rhombus camera on and around the timestamp of the event. These snapshots can be viewed on the Rhombus dashboard.

Generate Kisi API

To enable the Integration, you need to create an API key on your Kisi dashboard first.

1. Sign in to Kisi
2. On the top right corner, select your name and click on API
   
3. Choose Add API Key
   
   
4. Copy the API key as you will need to add it in Rhombus

To enable the Integration with Kisi, on your Rhombus dashboard, choose the cogwheel in the top right corner. Under badge systems, choose Kisi. Select what Kisi place you wish to associate with as well as what cameras with what doors.

After you have set up the Integration between Rhombus and Kisi, you are able to see activity on your dashboard such as visitors, recent faces and more.

Under the tab "cameras" you can see live footage as well as different events that have occurred.

At this screen, you can choose what events you want to see. The different types of events correspond to different colors on the timeline. Every time a user is unlocking a door, an event of 10 seconds should start so you can see the unlock activity.

At the tab "saved videos" all your unlocking events should be saved. Go in here if you wish to see the footage of the unlock events.

Add Rhombus video clips to Kisi events

These instructions are for setting up the Rhombus camera integration on the Kisi dashboard, which will allow you to store video clips of your door access events for 90 days. The snapshots will be available from the Event History section of the dashboard.

All authentication with the Rhombus API is performed via client-side certificates and API keys. Hence to create an integration, you will need to prepare them first. Below are the steps for generating the client-side key-pair, getting the certificate signed and receiving an API key to create the integration in Kisi.

Requirements:

• Generate a Private key and a Certificate on your computer via the terminal
• Enter the generated Certificate into the Rhombus Console in order to receive an API key and a signed Certificate
• Enter the signed Certificate, add the API key as well as the Private key in Kisi

Generate the Private key and Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

To generate the private key and Certificate Signing Request:

• On Windows: follow this guide
• On macOS/Linux:
  1. Open the Terminal
     
  2. Copy the command below:
     openssl req -out rhombus_client.csr -new -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -keyout rhombus_client.key -subj "/C=US/ST=California/L=Sacramento/O=Rhombus Systems/CN=Client Name
  3. Paste it in a text editor and replace the C, ST, L, O, OU and CN values with the appropriate values for your organization
     • C (Country Name): e.g. US
     • ST (State or Province Name): e.g. NY
     • L (Locality): e.g. New York City
     • O (Organization): e.g. Company
     • OU (Organizational Unit): e.g IT Operations
     • CN (Common Name): e.g. Certificate for Company
  4. Copy the new command and paste it in the Terminal
  5. Press Enter. This command generates two files: rhombus_client.csr (Certificate Signing Request file) and rhombus_client.key (your Private key)
  6. Locate the two files in your computer

Upload CSR file to Rhombus

To upload the .csr file to Rhombus:

1. Navigate to the Rhombus Console, go to "settings" and click API Management, then 'Add API Key' or follow this link.
2. Enter a name and paste the contents of the file rhombus_client.csr in the Certificate Signing Request field
3. The certificate will show up as Pending until it has been signed (which may take up to 24 hours)
4. Once the API Token shows up as Active, you can download:
   • Signed Certificate – by clicking the Download link
   • API Key - a 22 character (alphanumeric) string under the header API Key

Configure integration in Kisi

To configure the integration in Kisi:

1. Sign in to Kisi
2. Open your Place
3. Under Setup, select Integrations
4. Click on Add Integration
   
   
5. Enter a name for the integration and select the type Rhombus Camera
6. Open both the Certificate and the Private key in a text editor, copy their values (including the first and the last lines) and paste the text in the respective fields in Kisi 
   
7. Enter the Rhombus API key and click Add
   

Import Cameras in Kisi

Once the Rhombus integration is created, you can import cameras. To import cameras:

1. Navigate to Hardware
2. Select the Cameras tab (at the top) and click Import Camera
   
   
3. Choose the relevant camera integration, the camera you wish to add, and the door that this camera should be associated with

When everything is set up, you will see camera video clips in the Event History starting at the point in time when you connected the camera to the door. The events are shown when the chosen door is being unlocked, held or forced opened.