Protocol Timeout Recommendations

When sending commands to the terminal and the Integration Controller is waiting for a response, there are time maximums that should be taken into account. When a timeout expires, and in the case of TCP/IP, Payter recommends that a Reset is used to re-establish the connection and to start the setup sequence anew.

It is possible however to use an always allowed Command to 'refresh' these timeouts. The Get Status command is one of the commands that can be used to keep the TCP/IP connection alive, and is recommended as the response can be used to provide updates to users.

Command Timeouts

Command	P6X	Apollo
Start Session/Read Card	Configured card detect timeout	Configured card detect timeout
Auth Session	30 seconds	3 minutes 30 seconds Allows for 3x PIN entry
CommitSession/Void Session	60 seconds	60 seconds
Get Receipt	N/A	15 seconds
Any other command	10 seconds	5 seconds

Terminal Timeouts

When the terminal is waiting on activity from either the cardholder or the Integration Controller, these timeouts apply:

Response/State	P6X	Apollo	Terminal Action after Timeout
Card Read or Proprietary Card Read	30 seconds	30 seconds	Drop the tapped card and return to state Enabled
Idle Not between any request and response	N/A	20 seconds	Close TCP socket and go state Offline TCP/IP Mode ONLY

note

For terminals that have a Card Detect Timeout greater than 5 minutes the WAIT_CARD state is considered an Idle state. This is most common where the terminal is in 'always reading' mode.