Lodging and Gaming Systems(LGS) Front Desk Interface
FDSERVER.EXE Version 1.1

Last edited: December 15, 2003 08:08 AM

This interface allows the operator to inquire and post room charges or city ledger accounts directly to LGS as part of the tender process.  It then returns a result, letting the operator know within 10 seconds if the posting has been accepted or rejected. A dedicated CPU is required for this interface.
 
Installation

  1. Make a directory on the MCU called FD.
  2. Copy FDSERVER.EXE and FDSHELL.EXE into the TOOLS directory.
  3. Make a standard Lantastic workstation with a node name of FDSERVER but make the last two commands in the AUTOEXEC.BAT:
      CDFD
      FDSERVER
  4. Style the FD module into the application.

Read from Touchnet
        Variable         Contents
Amount – Amount to post           
Branch – Type of request(see Request Types)
Cus:Acct – City Ledger account number
Check Number – Check number
Number 2 – Guest number per inquiry list from LGS
Number 3 – Room number
Node Name – Requesting workstation name
Written to Touchnet
     
        Variable         Contents
Memo 3  Request failure reason
Index      Response status
  0=Accepted by LGS
                    1=Rejected by LGS
                    8=No response from LGS
                    9=No response from FDSERVER

An inquiry will return a list of customers in Z:CHECK.TXT, allowing list-it to be used subsequently for displaying the list to the operator.  The first line will always say View Only, giving the operator the ability to exit the inquiry without subsequently posting.
Request Types

As determined by branch:
Value  Type                    Transmitted           

---

  —-                   

---

           
1      Room Inquiry            Type,Room
2      Room Posting            Type,Room,Guest,Nodename,Check#,Amount
3      City Ledger Posting      Type,Account,Nodename,Check#,Amount
4      City Ledger Inquiry      Type,Account
Technical

Touchnet shells out to FDSHELL, which reads VARIABLE.TXT and generates the request string which is written on the server in the FD directory as (nodename).REQ.  FDSERVER, running on a dedicated interface work-
station, monitors the FD directory for REQ files.  It then communicates with LGS (the front desk system) via COM2 using an ACK/NAK protocol.  FDSERVER cannot run on a server, as server operations interfere with  COM port communications.  Upon receiving a reply, FDSERVER writes a file called (nodename).ANS in the FD directory.  This file contains the response status for the first record, followed by the customer list for an inquiry, or a disapproval reason if the response status is other than zero.  FDSERVER monitors the port for thirty seconds for a replay and FDSHELL monitors forty seconds for an ANS file before it reports a timeout.
Cabling

Provided by LGS.
2  —  3  Transmit
3  —  2  Receive
7  —  7  Ground
Revisions

2/23/96 Version 1.1

  1. Added type 4 City Ledger Inquiry request type.  Changed error handling to return a reason in Memo3 if either LGS or FDSERVER doesn’t respond.  Also corrected error handling to catch a condition where a customers account changes status in LGS between the time you inquire and the time you post.