RE: Looking for AS/400 Based Credit Card Clearing Software -- MIDRANGE-L

If they have a pool of modems, they should be sending the request to a data
queue.  Then individual jobs, each attached to a modem can process the
request and send a keyed response back to the requester.  Use the keys,
"SERVER" for sending to the communication programs with a data element of
requesters job number for the return key.  The requester then waits for xx
seconds with a key value of its job number for the response before timing
out and handling the error condition.  You also send a transaction ID that
is returned as part of the response to verify that you have the correct
response for the correct transaction.

Now the server jobs can check immediately for a second transaction before
hanging up the modem.  If none exist, hang-up, else process the next
transaction.  You can add more modem lines, thus more server jobs, as volume
increases.

ROI has a product that adds serial ports to your network, thus you can
access via your LAN.  Much cheaper per port than IBM serial ports and you
can have thousands.  They also have the credit card processing software that
access the LAN/serial ports via data queues.  Check out www.as400.cc for
more info.  I do not have their software or sell it, just heard about and I
am evaluating them for the opposite use. (We are the service provider
providing the dial up access for check guarantee.)


Christopher K. Bipes    mailto:ChrisB@Cross-Check.com
Sr. Programmer/Analyst  mailto:Chris_Bipes@Yahoo.com
CrossCheck, Inc.        http://www.cross-check.com
6119 State Farm Drive   Phone: 707 586-0551 x 1102
Rohnert Park CA  94928  Fax: 707 586-1884

If consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, only geniuses work here.
Karen Herbelin - Readers Digest 3/2000

-----Original Message-----
From: Al Barsa, Jr. [mailto:barsa2@ibm.net]
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2000 2:06 PM
To: midrange-L@midrange.com
Subject: Looking for AS/400 Based Credit Card Clearing Software


Hi,

I have a client in a highly seasonal business.  The have credit card 
clearing software that they use now that makes a phone call for each and 
every transaction.  The transaction by transaction processing is highly 
appropriate in the off season.  But during the height of the season, they 
can literally be processing tens of transactions per minute, and one call 
per transaction queues up into the evening, which is unacceptable from a 
business practices/customer satisfaction perspective.

I need software that either comes with well documented source, or can be 
set to tune itself for transactional volume sensitivity.

The customer is currently CISC, but would move to RISC if this were a 
requirement.

It should be AS/400 based in RPG, not a PC solution.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

BTW, if this is my last post before the holiday, Happy Thanksgiving to all 
of you, and don't eat too much.  (Just look at me!)

Al
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