Do smart-cards require a different kind of reader depending on the model or do all readers support all kinds of smart-cards? Assuming I have a specific card model in mind, how do I find out what kind of reader I need?
1
votes
3 Answers
2
votes
2
votes
1
votes
Somewhat surprised, to see a pointer-only answer as accepted, I supplement the following:
While there is a good chance, that a card and a reader will be able to communicate, watch out for these criteria:
- Maximum data field size; an important boundary is support of extended length APDUs (> 255 byte), required for 2048 bit RSA signatures
- For contact-based cards: external clock (3.57, 4.91, more than 5 MHz)and supported communication rates. Note that the default is just 9600 bit/s, so even reading a moderately sized file may become noticeable.
- Match of supported protocols between card and reader (T=0, T=1; T=CL)
- For contactless thoroughly check before; there are different frequency bands and incompatible protocols within the same frequency (ISO 14443 type A and type B)