Detects the direction of tag movement By using paired reader sets, one inside a portal and one outside, NCompass is able to determine direction of travel. NCompass compares the sensing of tags at both readers to insure that tags, that are either close to the inside or outside readers but that have not made the transition, are not recorded as having entered the facility. Signals restricted alarms when 'child tags' are present without corresponding 'parent tags' Tags can be designated in the database as either a 'child' or 'parent'. NCompass compares when tags are observed at readers to determine if the tag should be present without a corresponding tag. If it violates of 'child' 'parent' rule, NCompass writes the violation to the database for use by other applications. Designates 'safe' tags in the event of an emergency NCompass can have readers designated to record tags present in emergency situations. NCompass compares the tags previously designated as being within a facility against the tags present at the designated readers. NCompass writes this information to the database for use by other NEAT applications for display and reporting.   Monitors network and event conditions NCompass has extensive features for monitoring the status of incoming data from the attached hardware devices. NCompass also has several data-capturing modes for assistance in problem resolution. Can be used as stand alone tool or in combination with other NEAT applications NCompass can be used as a data collection and recording application via use of the database schema for data exportation. NCompass is the foundation of the NEAT suite of applications. NCompass collected data and indications of data state are used by the NEAT family to format and present reader and tag conditions for business decision making. Interfaces with a variety of divergent hardware NCompass defines hardware communication parameters as part of its database structure. Whether the hardware presents data on an ongoing basis as an active tag reader or once as an access code reader, NCompass handles each individually. Multiple hardware types can be supported on the same NCompass installation. Incorporate future hardware as it comes to market NCompass defines hardware communication as part of its database structure. As new hardware is introduced, NCompass can be updated to accommodate the new hardware by adding database information to existing installations without affecting historical database information. Registers all detected events from any connected hardware NCompass determines, from the attached hardware structure, the expected information from the hardware and responds accordingly on how to store and react to the event. Active tag data is treated differently from data received from access control hardware. NCompass determines if the data is a one-time event or part of an ongoing data stream. Monitors activity at multiple locations as easily as monitoring activity locally NCompass connected hardware can use Ethernet TCP/IP for communication. Hardware can be connected locally or anywhere in the world with equipped with Internet access. NCompass can also be configured to have multiple NCompass installations sharing a common database.