Structure of an encoding description in Identity Manager

This article is valid for Smart ID 23.04.1 and later.

An encoding description contains the information for the electronic personalization of a card. Smart ID Identity Manager supports a variety of authentication technologies such as RFID and PKI. You can combine several technologies or RFID variants on a multi-functional or hybrid card. You import the encoding description from a file. The encoding description has a proprietary syntax and describes the information that will be sent to the identity Manager Production Client and hence to the encoding unit in the card printer or to the card terminal during electronic personalization. 

See also Set up an encoding description file in Identity Manager.

Format of an encoding description

The format of an encoding description is an INI file using sections, elements and values. There are standard sections in the file that contain information:

The encoding description file includes a header and basic definitions, explained below.

Header

Each encoding description file has a header, consisting of the Encoding section, for example:

[Encoding]
Type=1024,Chip
Devices=8710
SkipEject=true
MessagingServerField=#LocalTestServer

The header contains the following elements:

Basic definitions

Define PKCS#11 library

Some basic definitions are needed for PKI card encoding use cases.

Define the PKCS#11 library like this:

[Description]
...
PKCS11Library=siecap11.dll
...

Description of the elements:

Depending on the requirements for an operating system and/or platform specific definition, use the following library definitions (as many definitions as required):

• PKCS11LibraryWindows[64|32]=<library name>

• PKCS11LibraryWindows[64|32]Field=<library name>

Recommendations:

• Notations without 'Windows' are not recommended. Other operating systems are not supported at the moment.

• Always state whether you refer to a 64Bit DLL or to a 32Bit one.

• Operating system is always required when platform is specified.

Examples:

[Fields]
P11LIB_32=
P11LIB_64=
...
 
[Description]
PKCS11LibraryWindows64=cardos_64.dll  // if your middleware doesn't provide a 64-bit DLL just skip this entry
PKCS11LibraryWindows32=cardos.dll     // if you don't need a 32-bit DLL just skip this entry
...
PKCS11LibraryWindows64Field=P11LIB_64   // It's recommended to provide the fields always as a pair and use null for the architecture, that doesn't apply
PKCS11LibraryWindows32Field=P11LIB_32
...

The Fields section provides the ability to set the PKCS#11 library through the mapped fields. This rule will apply:

You can provide multiple of these parameters in your description file and even through the mapped fields at the same time. The best match will automatically be selected, that is, the more specific parameter wins. However, if a parameter in the description file defines the exact same as a parameter defined in the mapped fields, then the one from the mapped fields wins and will be selected because of higher priority.

PKCS#11 library definition for use with Smart ID Desktop App

Identity Manager uses Smart ID Desktop App to encode cards with Smart ID Self-Service as well as optionally with the Identity Manager Operator.

For this use case you need to specify the middleware DLL as follows:

1. Always use the DLL suffix of the name and be clear what type of DLL you are referring to.

2. If the middleware requires a 32 bit DLL to operate properly (like Nexus Personal Desktop Client), make sure that PKCS11LibraryWindows32 is the only library definition in the encoding description. You also need to specify the absolute path with forward-slashes (even if the containing folder is in the PATH environment variable), for example:

   CODE

   PKCS11LibraryWindows32=C:/Program Files (x86)/Personal/bin/personal.dll

3. For other middlewares, define both PKCS11LibraryWindows32 and PKCS11LibraryWindows64, for example:

   CODE

   PKCS11LibraryWindows32=cardos11.dll
   PKCS11LibraryWindows64=cardos11_64.dll

Define MiniDriverLibrary

MiniDriver support in card encodings is limited to certain use-cases for the CardOS middleware (Secure Key Injection, reading MDCardSerialNumber, writing CardID).  

Identity Manager uses it to complement PKCS#11, not as a replacement - hence you still need to specify the PKCS#11 library definition shown above as well.

This is an example of a MiniDriver definition:

The same definition also applies for while using Smart ID Desktop App.

[Description]
...
MiniDriverLibraryWindows32=cardoscm.dll
MiniDriverLibraryWindows64=cardoscm64.dll
...	

Description of the elements:

Recommendations:

As MiniDriver libraries are specific to Windows, it is highly recommended to use this more specific nomenclature:

• MiniDriverLibraryWindows[platform]=<library name>

• MiniDriverLibraryWindows[platform]Field=<library name>
  where platform is 32 or 64.

Supported versions for SKI

• Identity Manager version 23.0.4.1 has limited SKI support, only use-cases for Identity Manager Operator were possible.

• Full SKI support, including Self-Service-based process execution, is available from IDM 23.04.8 and onward.

• Smart ID Desktop App supports SKI from version 1.8.12 and onward.

Example:

Same as with PKCS#11 library definitions, you can also specify absolute paths and use the Field variants to specify mapped fields containing the name of the library:

MiniDriverLibraryWindows32=c:\windows\SysWoW64\cardoscm.dll MiniDriverLibraryWindows64=c:\windows\system32\cardoscm64.dll MiniDriverLibraryWindows32Field=MD32_FIELD MiniDriverLibraryWindows64Field=MD64_FIELD

Define ApplicationList

This is an example of ApplicationList definition:

[Description]
...
ApplicationList=ABC
...

Description of the elements:

Encode a subset of applications

You can encode a subset of all applications defined in your encoding description file through mapped fields. Define there, for example, just “BC” to encode just application B and C without application A. You set a field and a special element ApplicationListField which points to the field instead the regular property ApplicationList:

[Fields]
AppList=
 
[Description]
ApplicationListField=AppList
 
[Application_A]
...
[Application_B]
...
[Application_C]
...

Description of the elements:

Certificate template related definition

You must define a certificate template in order to perform any certificate or key related operation for a user (for example, key archival, key recovery, etc.). There are two ways to define certificate template details in the encoding description file.

Certificate template definition without field mapping

Certificate template definition can be defined via the CertTempl element in the respective Application section of the encoding description:

[Fields]
...
 
[Description]
...
 
[Application_A]
CertTempl=MyCertTemplate

Description of the elements:

Certificate template definition with field mapping

Certificate template definition can also be defined via field mapping fields. This can be achieved via the CertTemplField element in the respective Application section of the encoding description. Also add the field names to the Fields section.

[Fields]
...
MyCertTemplField1=
MyCertTemplField2=
 
[Description]
...
 
[Application_A]
...
CertTemplField=MyCertTemplField1
 
 
[Application_B]
...
CertTemplField=MyCertTemplField2

Description of the elements:

CertTempl and CertTemplField field should not be defined together in same application of encoding description file.

Additional information