4690 Terminal Concentrator Windows (TC) is a subsystem execution environment running on one of several versions of Windows (NT, 2000, and XP).  A version is also available which runs on the 4690 controller. TC provides support for execution of existing IBM 4680/4690 POS TERMINAL applications. TC provides a 'thin client' execution model for the 4690 environment. The 'user interface' runs at the POS Terminal and the 'business logic' runs on the server.  TC provides support to run up to 80 instances of existing 4690 terminal applications on the server without changing code or recompiling.

The QVS Terminal Concentrator (TC) allows client access to multiple instances of IBM 4690 terminal sales applications.  In this case, clients are themselves applications that need access to the point-of-sale business logic.

TC consists of two parts:

There are two different types of environments where TC has proven useful:

The server side of Terminal Concentrator is available for either Windows-based PCs or for 4690 controllers.  Any professional or business version of Windows (doesn’t have to be a Windows server product) can be used.

TC supports from 2 up to 80 terminal sales instances.

Client Types Supported

TC APIs are available for Java and Windows COM for desktop/pocket pc/CE/mobile.  Additionally, SOAP and XML interfaces have been custom developed as required for customers.   Devices and clients supported include:

The Environment

Store Controller

This environment assumes that a 4690 Store controller or 4690 DDS/CSF Store Controller is present.

Terminal Concentrator

TC looks to the Store Controller as multiple POS Terminals. All controller services are available to TC and to TC clients.

The main interface between TC clients and the terminal sales application is at the device layer.  The TC client drives the application by sending in keystrokes and scans.  It monitors what the sales application is doing by looking at events and commands being generated to devices by the sales application.  This device i/o interface has traditionally been a powerful mechanism for various client application providers and retailer developers because it requires no changes to the terminal sales application.

In addition to the device interfaces, there are mechanisms in TC that allow the sales application to be enhanced to send specific events/messages to TC clients.  These interfaces can be used as necessary and can allow for enhanced functionality and easier coordination and maintenance between TC clients and the sales application.

Remote Peripheral Access Method

All device I/O calls executed by the POS application running under TC are intercepted and sent to the Client using a defined QVS messaging protocol referred to as Remote Peripheral Access Method (RPAM).  Besides device i/o, RPAM allows clients access to 4690 controller files and it allows access to event messages generated by the applications specifically for the TC client.

POS Terminal Client

TC remote program loads the terminal, as needed.

TC communicates using the hardware topology native to the Client (ie. loop, StarLan, Ethernet, FEP).

A 4690 thin-client application for POS terminals called TERMRPAM (short for Terminal RPAM) is provided as part of the TC product.  TERMRPAM supports the RPAM protocol to the terminal concentrator on the one side and interfaces to the terminal POS peripherals on the other.  For non-4690OS terminals, TERMRPAM has been used with the DOS QCONNECT product.  QCONNECT allows 4690 applications to run on non-4690 hardware on top of DOS.

The client application is simply an I/O Catcher. Thin Client architects refer to this layer of code as the USER INTERFACE.

RPAM architecture supports the following:

Additional Documentation and Help Files

Terminal Concentrator for Windows NT, 2000, and XP

Terminal Concentrator for 4690