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PWY/JFO/003
POCL Infrastructure Demo - Meeting Report
Supplier: Pathway Date: 15 November 1995
Attendees:
BA/POCL Supplier
Jeremy Folkes Martin Johnston
Bob Booth Dave Hollingsworth
Dave Cooke
Tony Hayward (Network - part)
Mark Jarosz (Network - part)
Martin Bennett (Risks - part)
Glen Stephens (System Mgmt - part)
Purpose:
Third “POCL Infrastructure” demonstrator meeting, concentrating on Network and
System Management.
Items of Note:
1. Pathway actions from last meeting:
¢ Scales - no further steer.
e Health and safety - with procurement.
e Smart products - steer that cards will be needed nationally, keys likely to be
regional.
« 2-D bar-code - steer that there is still a possibility of back office print requirements.
SP indicated this will require upgrade from a matrix printer to ink jet SP perceives
matrix quality not good enough - at variance with Capture/ECCO push to do this using the
24pin dot matrix printers !! - in the lower end of the roll out at an incremental cost
(and would remove the ability for impact printing); steer on reading at the counter
was that still unknown, but the requested incremental costing may help clarify
requirements.
¢ MICR/OCR - steer not required, noted An Post success with OCR and this had been
passed on.
e 1-D bar-code - steer that 80mm read was required.
e Pass book/card printing - steer not required.
e Thermal printing - will be discussed in next meeting, and fade characteristics will
need to be known.
« TCDs - steer no current requirement, and a ‘spare’ serial port would be sufficient
infrastructure.
e Use of POCL distribution structure. PO open to suggestions.
« Archive requirements. Steer these are still under discussion. SP to produce
archiving paper, probably 2 CAPs in office and 15 CAPS on-line centrally (that the
Office could also access) prior to off-line archive.
e Issue of moving from one position to another with the terminal “following” without
locking is extant.
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Dongle / smart card for strong identity is ongoing and will be covered in system
management -wasn’t even mentioned in the system management bit. Consortia noted
JFs point that that Mike Murphy requires this for Riposte.
The option of plug in hard disk for one position offices is still extant.
Consortia were obviously embarrassed by Mike Murphy’s behaviour last week, and though
he was around he wasn’t invited into the meeting (no real need though as Dave Cook
fielded any Riposte issues satisfactorily). Consortia tried to put across that, para-phrasing
“we discuss all these options and Mike sometimes gets carried away and says things before
they are fully agreed”.!!
Riposte API documentation - extant.
Riposte architexture document received.
Notes that smart card pad position has a historical (French) position as well as the
currently used APAY/Mondex position. See query.
. Tony Hayward presented Network Overview paper:
“ISDN is the best solution”.
There are 2 sites in a campus and 2 campuses, one at Bootle, one at Leicester.
Each has a single (mirrored) access to CAPS and a distribution engine routes traffic
to PMS or CMS as appropriate. Lines from the centres are separate and diverse
routing to different local exchanges and different high order routes.
Noted that encryption was not BA policy (SP has it there just in case) and the
Riposte sequencing and signatures should allow clear data to be protected
adequately.
the called party checks the CLI, though the potential new service for presentation
CLI’s wasn’t known and will be taken up with BT. The idea of ISDN CUG's is not
scheduled until 1997 and there is a risk on this though BT has assured the SP it will
happen. SP also assured that all nodes will have a CLI.
SP has undertaking from BT for 100% coverage by end 1996.
The line length issues will be raised by SP with BT, and SP assured that the
engineering staff will be fully trained - in fact under SP direction directly - and there
will be guaranteed levels of service.
The tariff and availability is currently being negotiated.
Office has a primary number it tries, and an alternate set of numbers on the same
hunt group aimed at the same ISDN-30 feed into the TMS. There will be multiple
ISDN-30 feeds and the office will move on to other ISDN-30’s as numbers are tried
and run out. SP to check with BT re “blacklisting”, and that line failures do not leave
the local exchange line open (and so unusable for the office and other applications).
The office has priorities on transactions to prioritise the flow, though things will piggy
back whilst the line is open, and the TMS can open the line, where upon the office
will establish a connection and trickle up any outstanding transactions (useful for the
heartbeat opening to also act as a feed in the same call). By token exchange can also
replicate changes from TMS to the office whilst the line is open , so TMS can open
line and the office would then automatically pull updates down.
TMS may have a group per office so benefit payment records can be targeted in
terms of the replication to the office.
Equipment can be turned off, as on start-up it broadcasts a “here I am, where are
you” and will then receive any updates that were queued whilst it was switched off.
SP to indicate responsibilities to PO - e.g. turn on n minutes before wanting to
serve...
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e Interconnection with Kingston-upon-Hull not an issue with standard interconnect
agreement in place - devolve the responsibility to BT to do this.
e IP addressing is likely to be hierarchical to assist in management of the TMS and
down network/ This will be incorporated in the system management paper.
3. Glen Stephens presented System Management:
© Concept rather than detail, only addressed NT boxes and they believed it was sufficient !!
« Riposte has been re-engineered to use NT facilities - more major changes, how re-
engineered, all or just the easy bits? - SP to provide changes that Riposte32 has over
demo’d systems. As such Microsoft SMS 1.1 will be used as it interacts with the NT
mechanisms, and can filter at layers to ensure the pertinent information is brought
up the network (though the night time heartbeats may be used for this - in meeting
thought).
« SMS allows delivery (though the thought appears to be to use Riposte so a Riposte fault
may freeze out system management!!), and activation by condition (e.g. rollover if able
to be trapped) or time.
« Replacement hardware is staged and forwarded to offices, unclear what occurs if
the wrong version turns up in the office.
e Physically, unclear. Will be at a campus, maybe both, maybe mirrored ...
4. Reviewed Risk Register:
« Risk 11 - Impact of keyboard/touch-screen on transaction times. An Post is an event
driven system with little EPOS. The way in which the EPOS transactions are
engineered may impact the transaction speed. Paper to cover this for 29/11 possibly
with a demo as well.
e Risk 19 - Low volume equipment. Discuss 22/11 with peripherals.
e Risk 48 - Distribution of software. Paper in progress due 22/11.
e Risk 9 - Scalability and manageability. Paper received today. Discuss with modelling
figures 22/11.
¢ Risk 8 - CLEARED.
Papers Received:
¢ “Network Overview” (received by post earlier in week)
e “The Riposte Architecture” issue 0.7
e “POCL Applications Stream Response (for 14/11)” (for 2D bar-code printing costs)
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Next meetings:
Wednesday 21/11:
Our comments on Riposte paper
Peripherals and Low Volume PO
etc.
e User Administration
Requirements Queries:
Pathway to present TMS sizing/scalablity aspects of modelling
PWY/JEO/003
System Management (in more detail - paper), incl. sizing of downloads, downloads
Confirm that there is no requirement for Never had a requirement. 28/11
“impact printing” in the Back Office?
Who should SP talk to about use of PO Question on use already put to Admin 22/11
distribution mechanism for consumables etc.? I requirements - but the SP wants
to explore possibility with POCL
What requirements are there for local access I ECCO+ has two full Cash Account I Infra 28/11
to historic transaction data (for error resolution I weeks - but this was pragmatic
etc.)? How many weeks or cash account setting based on hard disk size
weeks? (Assuming that all data is archived and backup timing.
centrally for a long period for audit purposes).
If held centrally but accessed locally does this
present any problems ?
Confirm no requirement for reading “French No requirement (existing POCL Infra 28/11
offset’ smart cards (e.g. Bull CP-8 French equipment cannot handle)
credit cards)?
What are our requirements for equipment and I (Need to tie in with Applics team Infra 28/11
services in non-outlets (e.g. CRU)? E.g. for for handling of non-CA offices
CRUs which act as a parent office for non- etc.)
cash account offices?
Jeremy Folkes and Bob Booth 15/11/95
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