How to Cheat at Deploying and Securing RFID
For security professionals needing to get up and running fast with the topic of RFID, this guide offers the perfect approach to learning all that you need to adopt this security method.
TABLE OF CONTENTS How to Cheat at Deploying and Securing RFID
Chapter 4: Working with Interrogation Zones
Introduction
An RFID system is based on communication between an interrogator and a tag. The tag is attached to an item that needs to be identified and tracked, and it contains the information about the item such as its identification. The interrogator s job is to collect that information from the tag and send the information to a host computer, where it could be used. For an interrogator to be able to communicate with a tag, the tag must be within a certain area around the interrogator, called the interrogation zone. Multiple interrogators and tags can create a crowded environment called a dense environment in which things (interrogator zones and signals) can run into each other. Therefore, you need to configure the interrogation zone in an optimal way.
So, the central issue in this chapter is the interrogation zone. To be able to put your arms around this issue, you will explore three avenues: functionality of an interrogator, dense environments, and configuring and optimizing interrogation zones.
Understanding an Interrogator
An interrogator is the RFID component that collects information from tags and sends it to a host system. The process of collecting the information from the tags is called reading the tags, and for this reason an interrogator is also called a reader.
As you know from Chapter 1, the goal of an RFID system is to identify and track items, which is accomplished by tagging the items with tags and collecting the information about the items...
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