Evaluating Smart Cards and Readers

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

You need to evaluate your prospective smart cards and readers throughout your smart card deployment process. Initially, obtain and evaluate a variety of smart cards and smart card readers to determine which vendors provide the best balance of specifications, performance, and price. As you deploy your smart card infrastructure, continue to evaluate your hardware to make sure that it performs as expected.

The smart cards and smart card readers that you deploy and the smart card production processes that you develop are likely be used many times every day. Therefore, you must ensure that your hardware is reliable. The service level agreements that you created when you defined your smart card requirements provide objective standards for measuring and documenting satisfactory performance.

To minimize user dissatisfaction and maximize manageability, be sure to test the following:

• Installation and removal of the smart card software. Make sure the smart cards work after you install the software. If the installation is faulty, use the Windows Event Viewer to access error messages that might explain the cause of the failure.

• Fit of smart cards in readers. Smart card dimensions, such as thickness, are governed by international standards. However, some organizations have found that, if the card-to-reader interface is too tight or abrasive, the cards deteriorate more rapidly.

• Reader reliability. To test reliability, create an environment that includes systems that have slower CPUs and less memory than computers in your organization. Test how well your smart card readers operate in this environment, as well as in other configurations. You can, for example, run a number of memory-intensive applications or use the smart cards and readers over slow connections to evaluate how each combination of smart cards and readers functions in these conditions. Your smart card service level agreements provide objective criteria for acceptable and unacceptable performance.

• Card production. Slow card production processes can impede your deployment. If your organization is unable to produce cards efficiently, use a third-party vendor to produce smart cards.

• Ability to deploy multiple types of cards and readers. If you are unable to efficiently deploy the types of cards, readers, and servers that you require, your service might be inconsistent and inefficient.

For a worksheet to assist you in documenting the results of your smart card reader evaluation, see "Smart Card Reader Evaluation" (DSSSMC_4 .doc) on the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit companion CD (or see "Smart Card Reader Evaluation" on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit).

Figure 16.5 shows an example of a completed Smart Card Reader Evaluation worksheet.

Figure 16.5   Example of a Smart Card Reader Evaluation Worksheet