Infineer Gateway for Pcounter Pro Technical Manual

Infineer Gateway for Pcounter Pro

Technical Manual

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Infineer Gateway for Pcounter Pro Technical Manual

1 Contents

1 Contents ........................................................................ 2
2 Copyright Information .................................................... 3
3 Minimum Specification .................................................. 4
4 Installation Files............................................................. 5
4.1 InfGateway.EXE ........................................................ 5
4.2 PcounterXXacct.dll .................................................... 5
4.3 InfineerGM.EXE......................................................... 5
5 Gateway Service Installation ......................................... 6
6 InfineerGM Utility ........................................................... 8
6.1 Running InfineerGM for the First Time ...................... 8
7 Using the InfineerGM Utility......................................... 11
7.1 File Menu Options ................................................... 11
7.2 Settings Menu Option .............................................. 11
7.2.1 Pcounter Integration .......................................... 11
7.2.2 User ID Type ..................................................... 11
7.2.3 Accept Client Codes.......................................... 12
7.2.4 Manage Profiles ................................................ 12
7.2.5 Configuration wizard ......................................... 13
7.3 Pcounter Pro Device Settings ................................. 13
7.4 Pcounter Pro Alerts ................................................. 14
7.5 Server Log ............................................................... 15
8 Updating the Pcounter Pro Accounting DLL ............... 16

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2 Copyright Information
All information contained within this technical manual and accompanying software programs is
copyright of Infineer Ltd.
All rights reserved. It is a breach of copyright if this technical manual is copied or reproduced, in
whole or part, using any means whatsoever, without the prior written approval of Infineer Ltd.
Infineer Ltd gives no condition or warranty, expressed or implied, about the fitness of this
technical manual or accompanying software product. Infineer reserve the right to make
changes to this technical manual or the accompanying software product without notice to any
person or company.
Infineer Ltd shall not be liable for any indirect, special, consequential or incidental damages
resulting from the use of this technical manual or the accompanying software whether caused
through Infineer's negligence or otherwise.
Infineer Ltd
Balloo Avenue
Bangor
Northern Ireland
BT19 7QT

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3 Minimum Specification
This section includes information about the minimum specification required on your system
to install and run the Infineer Gateway for Pcounter Pro.
Before you install the product, you should make sure that your computer meets the
minimum system requirements.

PC Requirement
2 GHz Processor Speed
512 Megabytes RAM
30 Gigabytes Hard Drive Space (UDMA preferable)
USB Ports
Serial Communications Port
1 x 10/100 Mbps NIC Card
CD Rom Writer
Operating Systems Supported
Windows 2000 Professional (Service Pack 4)
Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2)

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4 Installation Files
The following files will be installed during the installation process. All the files will be
installed into the directory selected for installation.

4.1 InfGateway.EXE
This is the service application that provides the TCP/IP gateway for Infineer devices and
manages connections to the Pcounter Pro Data Service for the retrieving and updating of
user accounts.

4.2 PcounterXXacct.dll
This DLL is provided by AND Technologies and is used to interface with the Pcounter Pro
Data server. The XX signifies either NT or Novell based network versions, NT denotes
the NT version and NDS denotes the Novell version.

4.3 InfineerGM.EXE
Integration manager for Pcounter Pro.

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5 Gateway Service Installation

It is recommended that the Infineer Gateway service (InfGateway.exe) be installed on the
same PC that hosts the Pcounter Pro Data Service.

1. Ensure that all programs on the computer are shut down.

2. Browse to the CD drive using Microsoft Windows Explorer.

3. Open the Infineer Gateway\Installer folder. The Infineer Gateway for Pcounter Pro
installation files and folders are displayed.

4. Click on Infineer Gateway xx.exe where xx will represent the version of the install.
The loading window will briefly appear:

5. Once the setup program has loaded the following Welcome screen is displayed:

6. Click Next. This window permits selection of an installation folder.

7. Click Next. This window permits the selection of the installation type. Please select if
the install is for a NT or NDS based network.

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8. Click Next. The Pcounter Pro accounting DLL information will be displayed. Please
ensure that the correct DLL type has been selected.

9. Click Next. The installing window will be displayed.

10. Once the install is complete the following window is displayed.

11. Click Finish to complete the installation.

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6 InfineerGM Utility
The InfineerGM utility is used for managing the integration options to Pcounter Pro. The
first execution of the InfineerGM utility will activate the setup wizard. This wizard will step
through the required basic global settings and once complete the system administrator can
use the utility to configure the terminal specific settings.

6.1 Running InfineerGM for the First Time

1. Select the Start menu, then select the Programs menu, then select Infineer, then
select Pcounter Pro Gateway, then select InfineerGM. The following screen will be
displayed.

2. Click Next. The following window is displayed.

3. Click the Configure button. The following window is displayed.

NT Networks

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The Pcounter Pro data server must have been previously configured to have a
Pcounter share and be running the Pcounter data server service.
NDS Networks
The default file server must be specified, as the log file location and other parameters
are found there. A fully qualified NDS username and password are required in order to
provide credentials for the service to access the remote Netware server resources.
This login does not affect users who are logged into the desktop.
Schema keywords can be used with Pcounter custom schema extensions to store
account balances in alternate attributes. If (Standard NetWare) is selected, then the
usual NDS attributes “Account Balance”, “Allow Unlimited Credit”, and “Low Balance
Limit” will be used. If the Rights button is pressed, the DLL will grant the appropriate
NDS permissions to the user name specified in the service login name.

4. In the Pcounter data server name field input the machine running the Pcounter data
server. This is the server running the Pcounter software and is normally the machine
on which this install is being performed. The Login name and Password fields are left
blank. Once complete press the OK button and the configuration screen is displayed
again.

5. Click Next. The following window is displayed.

6. This screen permits the selection of the network identification method.

Network Logon
This method accepts the network log on credentials as assigned to the user by the
network administrator. The user’s credentials are input via the keypad on the network
device.
Cards or Short IDs
This method allows the use of a card or short ID as the means of identification. This
method simplifies the identification process, as it will replace the long
username/password combination with a card and PIN or short ID and PIN.
Once the selection is complete press the Next button. The following screen is
displayed.

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7. This screen performs a configuration test to ensure the settings are correct. Input a
valid ID into the Username\ID\Card Number field and Password\PIN field. Once the
valid ID has been input press the Next button. The following screen will be displayed

8. Select the relevant gateway IP address. If only one gateway exists this screen will be
displayed momentarily and will proceed with the test. If the test is successful the
following screen is displayed.

9. Click Finish to complete.

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7 Using the InfineerGM Utility

After starting the Infineer Gateway service the Pcounter Pro terminals on the network will
communicate automatically back to the gateway and perform the self registration
process. When the InfineerGM is executed the following screen is displayed.

7.1 File Menu Options

Save
This option saves the present setup.
Exit
This function will exit InfineerGM utility.

7.2 Settings Menu Option

This menu offers the following functions.

7.2.1 Pcounter Integration

This option will display the following window.

This window allows the system manager to specify the Pcounter Pro data server and
log in details to the data server.

7.2.2 User ID Type

This option allows the system manger to switch between the two possible means of
identification.

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Network Login
When this setting is selected the user must use the full username and
password combination.
Card/Short ID Numbers
When this setting is selected the user must use either a card and pin or a short
ID and pin.

7.2.3 Accept Client Codes

This option is for selecting how the Pcounter Pro devices should accept Pcounter client
codes.
From List
This option will allow all users to select from a list of predefined client codes.
Associated with User
This option will limit each user to a predefined list of client codes associated
with the user.
All
This option will accept any code entered as a client code. No validation is
performed.

7.2.4 Manage Profiles

When this option is selected the following screen is displayed.

This screen displays the various printer configurations. In order to add a new profile
click on the add button. The following screen will be displayed.

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These are functions of Pcounter and are described in the Pcounter Pro documentation.

7.2.5 Configuration wizard

This option will run the configuration wizard.

7.3 Pcounter Pro Device Settings

Double clicking on any terminal in the list will display the Pcounter Device Configuration
screen.

This dialog is used in Pcounter to associate a print queue with a release terminal. If
Pcounter Pull printing is not used the pull queue dialog can be left empty.
The Pcounter Pull feature is a flexible method of having many different types of pulling
configurations with various levels of security and complexity. The configuration used is
dependent on the user’s need for control but the following are two typical configurations
for the same site.

Scenario 1 – A simple setup with lower security

The system is configured to allow users print to \\server\share1. The first terminal,
Terminal 1, is associated with queue \\server\share1 and has no pull queue associated.
When a user requests print jobs at Terminal 1, the jobs are simply un-paused/released on
\\server\share1. A second terminal, Terminal 2, is associated with queue \\server\queue2
and has pull queue \\server\share1 associated with it. When a user requests print jobs at
Terminal 2, the jobs are pulled from \\server\share1 to \\server\queue2. Therefore, any
paused jobs which are manually released on \\server\share1 via print manager will print
on the printer configured on \\server\share1.

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Scenario 2 - More complex setup but with more security

The system is configured to allow users print to \\server\share1. The \\server\share1 is
always paused and has no real printer association. The first terminal, Terminal 1, is
associated with queue \\server\queue1 and this queue is not shared. Terminal 1 is also
associated with pull queue \\server\share1. When a user requests print jobs at Terminal
1, the jobs are pulled from \\server\share1 to \\server\queue1. A second terminal,
Terminal 2, is associated with queue \\server\queue2 and has pull queue \\server\share1
associated with it. When a user requests print jobs at Terminal 2, the jobs are pulled from
\\server\share1 to \\server\queue2. Therefore, any paused jobs which are manually
released on \\server\share1 via print manager will not print because the queue is paused,
and/or the queue is not connected to a real printer.

If the Pcounter pull queue facility is being used the following should be taken into
consideration.
• A pull queue cannot be defined if an associated print queue is not defined.
• Pcounter should be configured on the server to Pause All Jobs and Count Jobs
In Advance for pull queues. The Pause All Jobs and Count Jobs In Advance
facility should not be used on associated print queues to which jobs are being
pulled.
• Users will print to the same Pull queue. After logging on to the Infineer terminal,
Pcounter will return jobs found in the pull queue and the Infineer terminal will then
pull the print job to its associated printer.
• In a Windows environment the pull queue must be located on the local machine
where the Pcounter Pro service is running. Printers must have the same printer
drivers.
• In an NDS environment pull queues and associated queues can be a mixture of
NDPS printers and legacy print queues.
NOTE: The detect button and Device Type description are not supported by Infineer
terminals. This information is provided via the InfineerGM application and Gateway Test
wizard.

7.4 Pcounter Pro Alerts

The Pcounter Pro alerts tab enables Email notifications when an account
cannot be updated.
This is an administration function to help track account usage even if the
Pcounter Pro device was unable to access the Pcounter account due to a
network fault or login failure.

Email: This is the email address where the alert should be sent.

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SMTP Server: This is the name of the outgoing (SMTP) server.

Authentication Options: these options should be used if your mail server required
authentication.

7.5 Server Log

A Server Log is created that will display the log file of the server. The Server Log file will
contain a list of any recorded exceptions or failed account requests, including failed
balance updates.
If you suspect that the system has malfunctioned or an account has incorrectly been
credited\debited then the log file will contain a list of recorded faults, the date and time
of the fault and the area of the system where the fault occurred. The Server Log is
located in a Logs folder created off the main Pcounter folder. The normal path to this
log is:

C:\Program Files\Infineer\PCounter Pro\Logs\PC_PRO.log

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8 Updating the Pcounter Pro Accounting DLL

The Pcounter Pro accounting DLL from AND Technologies will be updated every few
months to incorporate bug fixes and new features. The procedure of updating the existing
DLL to the new DLL is very straightforward and is detailed below.

1. Stop the Infineer Gateway service using the Administrative Tools of the operating
system.
2. Copy the new Pcounter accounting DLL into the directory containing the present
DLL. This will normally be:
C:\Program Files\Infineer\PCounter Pro\
3. Re-start the Infineer Gateway service using the Administrative Tools of the
operating system.

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