How does it Work?
PSP is local, so needs a physical connection between the terminal, and the Integration Controller. The options for these are:
- P6X - Serial only. The terminal has an RS232 Port on the rear that can be adapted to a standard 9 pin Serial interface if needed.
- Apollo Family - TCP/IP OR Serial (via USB-C). In the Apollo family, both TCP/IP and Serial are supported. Serial however requires a USB-C to Serial adaptor which Payter can supply.
It should be noted that the locking mechanism of USB-C is not as robust as RS232, or the RJ45 Ethernet connection that a TCP/IP connection would use. Payter therefore recommend that Apollo Family terminals use TCP/IP as their chosen connection method.
TCP/IP vs Serial
Serial connections are considered always active, but only one device can be connected per controller. TCP/IP connections must be 'kept alive' however, but this merely means sending a Get Status command every 15 seconds.
The command structure and syntax is exactly the same for both TCP/IP and Serial connections.
A TCP/IP Apollo terminal will usually also use the LAN connection for general communication.
In the diagram above, the Terminal and Integration Controller both use the local Router for required online connectivity, and to communicate with each over TCP/IP.
Request & Response
Most of PSP is simply sending a request, getting a response, and then actioning the next request according to that response. Requests can vary in scope, but typically include configuration and setup commands, status checks, and card commands. Most of these return a response nearly immediately. Some however require human interaction, so we detail some timeouts to expect in the PSP Details section.
Even when they are expecting it, humans can be slow to react to a request to present a card. Some requests therefore have long timeouts. Many of these timeouts are also configurable to be longer if needed.