Redirect USB biometric device to the cloud desktop

The ability to redirect USB biometric devices to the cloud opens up a wide range of possibilities for both small companies and large enterprises. A cloud-based biometric identification system provides a secure way for employees to use any valuable corporate software no matter their physical location. What’s more, business leaders can control employee attendance at any time from anywhere.

In this article, we’ll tell you how to improve your in-cloud software security with remote access to USB biometric identification devices.

How to connect a USB biometric device to the cloud

Storing data in the cloud is a cost-efficient solution that eliminates the need for businesses to invest in expensive on-premise infrastructures.

Offering a unique hosting technology, cloud services give the possibility to run attendance recording, access control, desktop fingerprint reader, or any other specialized software on dedicated servers located all around the world.

Those servers are able to store loads of data generated by your company applications, including those designed for processing and recording attendance data.

In order for communication to start between your biometric attendance software and an identification device used by your employee, the device should be forwarded to the cloud.

That's where a handy app, FlexiHub, comes into play.

FlexiHub is a simple yet powerful utility that works over the internet and allows remote access to virtually any USB or serial port device in a couple of clicks. By using this app, you can easily connect a USB biometric reader for a PC or Mac in the cloud.

Here's how to do this:

1.

Step 1. You register an account on the FlexiHub website.
2.

Step 2. Connect the fingerprint scanner that you want to use in the cloud to your computer's USB port. Download the app on this PC (or Mac).
3.

Step 3. Start FlexiHub and log in to your account.

You will see the list of devices that are physically connected to your machine. Once you access your account, all of them become available for connection from a remote computer (real or virtual).

Note: For security reasons, some of the devices may need to be unlocked before they can be accessed from another PC.
4.

Step 4. Install FlexiHub on the cloud desktop. Start the app.
5.

Step 5. Log in to your account.

Shared devices will be shown in the software interface. All you should do is find the USB fingerprint scanner and click the "Connect" button next to its name.
6.

Viola! The device can now communicate with any dedicated app running in the cloud as though it were plugged directly into the virtual machine.

Whether you are using a Civil PIV Sensor, a U.are.U® 4500 Fingerprint Reader, a Futronic Fingerprint Scanner 2.0, a Goodix FingerPrint, or any other popular biometric device, FlexiHub will come in handy.

What are biometric scanning devices?

Biometric scanning devices are used to confirm a person’s identity by analyzing their unique traits like fingerprints, iris, face, or voice. Such devices are designed to work with dedicated biometric software.

When it comes to cloud biometry, users' biometric info templates are stored in the cloud. Any time a user needs to gain access, an image from a biometric device is sent to the cloud and analyzed using the respective template. If the identity is confirmed, access is granted.

Biometric device types

Based on what unique trait is being analyzed, there are the most common biometric device types:

Retina scanners - one of the most costly solutions that help identify a person by the unique pattern of their iris.

Fingerprint scanners - commonly-used devices allowing using information about a person’s fingerprints as a unique identifier specific to the individual.

Facial biometrics - scanning of the facial features of each person and analyzing the bone structure and feature placement.

Voice recognition - a biometric authentication method based on the recognition of a person’s voice, including tone, pitch, and volume.

The advantages of using a cloud server to store biometric data

Cloud-based biometric ID system provides many clear benefits. Let's consider some of them.

With an automated biometric identification system deployed in the cloud, companies can optimize in-house infrastructure using resources freed from hosting attendance recording software.
No need to buy and maintain additional server hardware results in significant cost savings.
The possibility to access systems via a simple browser regardless of the user and device's physical location adds to the employee agility and productivity of work.

Conclusion

Now that you know what remote access to a biometric device is and how to use it in the cloud, we hope you can make a significant improvement in your attendance management processes. Sharing biometric devices over a network can definitely take your attendance control system to the next level. The dedicated app, FlexiHub, will help you enable secure and reliable redirection of USB biometric devices to your company’s cloud infrastructure.

Cloud Desktop: Fingerprint Reader, Facial Biometric, Retina Scanner Redirection

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USB Biometric Devices to the Cloud Desktop