IP Terminals

IP terminals are hot, hot, hot! But you really don't need me to tell you that. A lot of media attention is being paid to IP terminals, but if you want to offer an IP based service there is more to the story. To begin an IP version of your system, or if you want to go out on your own with a new system, you need the IP terminal software, an IP host system or switch, and the back office infrastructure (but that is beyond the scope of this article).

In spite of the attention on the terminal, the host system, or switch, is the more important and more difficult part of the system. The host system has stronger security and design needs, as well as the need for variability.

So what's the difference between a host and a switch? Security is the top priority for any hosting system. Once you install a system that is connected to the internet, people will try to hack into it– usually in about five minutes from going online. The host system, or switch, has to be designed to withstand such hacking from the base level on up. That includes designing with an industrial strength database system. At Prairie Trail Software, we have heard someone suggest running a financial service IP system with MS Access as the back end. Of course, we were opposed to such a suggestion, as that would not survive the real world.

There are two primary ways that hackers try to break into a system: attacking the login process, or breaking the code that handles any incoming traffic. When a system is designed to connect to the internet through any of the standard attachment points (called "ports"), then the code that handles the listening must be designed around the known ways that people try to crash that code.

The software which runs in a terminal, and that which runs on the host or switch, are fundamentally different in design. Most terminals handle just one task at a time, such as user interaction, dialing, communicating, printing, etc. Host systems and switches are designed to handle many terminals talking at once. The challenge is to design a system that can handle many terminals talking at once and can be interrupted at any time by power failures, line disconnects, and other problems. For this reason, many companies choose to contact professionals that specialize in such systems.

Now for some techno jumbo. One of the challenges of getting a working host or switch is the wide variability of how terminals operate. For example, many a terminal is said to be "Visa K" (a standard by which terminals send packets to hosts) compliant. That really means that it might be similar to another terminal application. Why? The authorization part of "Visa K" has twenty two optional field groups, the settlement part has thirty optional field groups, and each group can have one to twenty fields. In short, while the terminal may match the standard, the standard offers enough flexibility that two terminals from two different suppliers may have widely differing packet formats. The same is true for the SPDH standard (fifty five optional fields) or the ISO 8583 standard (where the number of fields are "host/switch defined"). Any host or switch that wants to support a "standard" packet format has to be able to support all variations of that standard.

A host system and a switch are just boxes in a room. But inside the boxes, the differences are profound. The differences relate to how far transactions go beyond your system. "Closed loop" systems like gift or loyalty use a host system because transactions are resolved right there, in the box. Credit and Debit transactions use a switch because the box "switches" the transactions to another system for resolution.

Some people are emulating another switch's packet formats. In this way, they can quickly transfer a merchant from that other switch to their own. But, it is still a significant amount of work to get the emulation set up. Each of the different emulations requires a different program to listen and parse the packets.

*How do you get* a switch or a host system? Easy, contact a software house that makes them. Most software houses specialize in one form or the other. For example, we at Prairie Trail Software specialize in low cost closed loop systems while a neighbor of ours specializes in low cost switches. (If you call us, we will give you his number.)

When evaluating a host system or switch vendor you will want to ask how many systems they have installed and are working on today, what is their support agreement, how customizable is their system, does it come with accounting links, etc.

You will find a wide range of prices out there for the different switches and hosts. Give us a call and lets talk about your needs.

Risky World

The "invisible fence" is a great way to keep your dog in the yard. People moving out into the country find it a great way to keep the open view while restraining the dog. Unfortunately, the native coyotes don't know about the fence and have been stepping over that fence to kill the dogs in the yard.

.

Dave Randolph,
President, Prairie Trail Software

Back to 2006 newsletters
Back to newsletter main page

Back to Home page