Cisco BBSM 5.3 Configuration Guide
7 - Connecting the PMS or Local Printer
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7 - Connecting the PMS or Local Printer7 - Connecting the PMS or Local Printer
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Table Of Contents

Connecting the PMS or Local Printer

Connecting BBSM to a PMS or Printer

Testing the PMS Interface (WEB PMS Test)


Connecting the PMS or Local Printer

This chapter describes how to connect the PMS or local printer and test the PMS interface.

Connecting BBSM to a PMS or Printer

Follow these procedures to connect a PMS or local printer using serial or IP connections. Follow the procedure only when you are using PMS billing or local print billing. (See Figure 7-1.)

Note For information on configuring the BBSM server for PMS or local print billing, refer to "Configuring PMS or Print Billing."

Figure 7-1 PMS or Local Printer Connection

Follow this procedure to connect the BBSM server to a PMS using an IP connection.

Step 1 Use an Ethernet cable to connect the PMS to the external network.

Step 2 Assign the PMS an IP address that the BBSM server can access.

Step 3 Verify connectivity by pinging the PMS from BBSM and pinging BBSM from the PMS.

Follow this procedure to connect the BBSM server to a PMS using a serial connection.

Step 1 Use a null modem cable (not a straight-through cable) to connect the serial port on the PMS to the BBSM server. Check with the hotel property PMS vendor to determine specific cabling and pin-out requirements.

Note A null modem cable is one that swaps transmit and receive lines. It is a serial cable with a DB9-to-DB25 connector. A female DB9 connector is required for the BBSM server side, and a male DB25 connector is usually required for the PMS, although a DB9 or DB25 with a male or female connector can sometimes be required.

If the distance between the BBSM server and the PMS is greater than 50 feet, use a short-haul modem. For example, the RAD SRM-3D short-haul modem has been used successfully with previous BBSM installations. (See Figure 7-2.)

Figure 7-2 Modem Connection Using RAD SRM-3D Connection

The short-haul modem connects the BBSM server or Site Controller to the PMS using a crossover cable from pins 3 (Receive -) to 4 (Transmit -) and pins 5 (Receive +) to 6 (Transmit +). To have a good connection, verify that Transmit + on one modem connects to Receive + on the other modem and Transmit - from the first modem connects to Receive - on the other modem.

Step 2 Test the physical connection from the BBSM server to the PMS using WEB PMS Test feature. Refer to the following section.

Testing the PMS Interface (WEB PMS Test)

This section describes how to test the physical connection from the BBSM server to the PMS using WEB PMS Test. Run this test before BBSM is operational to verify that the PMS is communicating with the BBSM server.

Note For information on configuring the PMS connection and a list of the PMS protocols, refer to "Configuring PMS or Print Billing."

Follow this procedure to set up the test parameters, send a simulated charge posting from BBSM to the PMS, and verify that the charges are posting correctly.

Step 1 From the Dashboard, click WEB PMS Test. The WEB PMS Test web page appears. (Figure 7-3 shows the page with Bell Hobic output.)

Figure 7-3 WEB PMS Test Web Page

Step 2 From the PMS Protocol drop-down menu, select a PMS protocol.

•If you selected a serial protocol, click Config Serial. The COM Port Data area of the web page appears.

•If you selected a TCP protocol, click Config TCP. The TCP Settings area of the web page appears.

Step 3 Configure the communication parameters according to the PMS vendor's hotel specifications. Refer to Table 7-1 for the WEB PMS Test web page options.

Step 4 To view the changes, click Update.

Step 5 Click Config Data. The Hotel Data area of the web page appears. (See Figure 7-3.)

Step 6 Configure the test charge posting data to be sent to the PMS and click Update.

Step 7 Send a test charge to the PMS:

a. Confirm that the selected PMS protocol is correct and click Send. If the charge posts successfully, PMS protocol data specific to each kind of protocol appears in the data area of the web page.

b. To erase the contents of the Dir, Time (UTC), and Data columns, click Clear.

c. Close the browser to exit the program.

Note The WEB PMS Test application must be closed before continuing. The BBSM PMS interface software and WEB PMS Test cannot use the serial COM port at the same time. If WEB PMS Test is left running, BBSM will not be able to communicate with the PMS and the next step to verify charges from client in a guest room will fail.

Step 8 Verify that the charges are posting to the PMS by posting an actual charge:

a. Connect a guest-room client that is configured with an appropriate page set, such as DailyHotel.

b. Map the client port by going to the Port Control web page and entering a test location designator for the client port. Unmapped ports will not post charges to the PMS. For information on using the Port Control option, refer to the Cisco BBSM 5.3 Operations Guide.

c. Open the browser and connect to the Internet.

d. Disconnect the client. Because there is no disconnect button for DailyHotel, enter this URL address in the browser to disconnect:

http://<internal IP address>/disconnect.asp

e. Verify that charges were sent to the PMS.

After you have verified that the physical connection to the PMS is working, you can configure PMS billing.

For additional information, refer to "Configuring PMS or Print Billing."

Table 7-1 WEB PMS Test Options 

Option
Description

Send

Posts a test charge to the PMS.

Clear

Clears the contents of the Dir, Time UTC, and Data columns.

Config Data

Makes the Hotel Data area of the web page visible, which enables you to specify the data for a charge that you want to send to the PMS.

Config Proto

Note This feature is for internal use only.

For additional information, contact the Cisco TAC. Refer to the "Obtaining Technical Assistance" section in the preface to this user guide.

Config Serial

Makes the COM Port Data of the web page visible, which enables you to specify the serial communication settings for the selected PMS protocol.

Config TCP

Makes the TCP Settings part of the web page visible, which enables you to specify the TCP/IP settings for the selected PMS protocol.

PMS Protocol

Selects the protocol used by your PMS. Possible drop-down menu selection values are BellHobic, Hilton, Xiox, MicrosFidelioSerial, and MicrosFidelioTCP_IP.

Update

Commits the changes made to Config Data, Config Proto, or Config COM.