Transaction Reactor & Payments Manager for BASE24 and EPS ATM POS TLF PTLF - ACI EMS EE-SE415 ACI WORLDWIDE Transaction Analyzer for ATM and POS TLF and PTLF BASE24 log files SAMA archiving VISA

Overview
Benefits
Hypervisor
Dashboard
Alert View
Querying
Reporting
Performance
Requires
Implement
Archiving
PCI DSS
Screens
Summary

ITL have created a Sentra module, RTLX Reactor, to provide real-time monitoring and archiving of the transaction flow information created by the ACI BASE24™ and BASE24-eps™ (including Faster Payments) ATM/POS application and the NonStop EMS subsystem.

RTLX Reactor does not inflict a fixed look-and-feel for monitoring live applications. RTLX provides a completely secure, tailorable graphical canvas to enable you to view your transaction processing real-estate at a system level, e.g. PATHWAYs, XPNET and Logical Networks, or at a business level, e.g. top 20 retailers with drill-down to card type broken down by transaction volumes, approvals, denials etc. There is no programmed limit to the number of views that can be constructed and so each department can have their own customised monitoring screen(s) and management reports.

With RTLX, it's easy to plug-in another file, transaction or message feed by deploying a new lean, optimised extraction client. The result is a standard approach to monitoring and querying live payment environments. Data can be masked or omitted for PCI DSS directives and the live application and platform is secure as all transaction queries and rules analysis takes place on Windows Server technology against a local MS SQL or Oracle database.

This Sentra module will maintain a centralised database of transaction data from one or more BASE24™ nodes and analyse the information in real-time. The outcome of the analysis will be service level alerts, charts depicting the behaviour of nominated metrics and management reports to help set and achieve business objectives for the BASE24™ world.

RTLX Reactor - ATM and POS Transaction Reactor is a Windows based solution for ATM / POS and EMS alert monitoring providing you with the visual tools you need to help ;

Optimize your transaction SLAs
Reduce ATM / POS / Switch network downtime
Maximize your resource utilization
Track all transactions and associated data values
Record all activity for archiving, auditing and repudiation

After automatically deploying lean extraction clients for specified EMS, ATM and POS transaction sources, RTLX then provides four primary browser views and a number of sub-views for monitoring that financial data and reporting on it in real-time.

RTLX delivers a single, integrated graphical Hypervisor view (accessible via a Windows Browser) into your ACI BASE24™ (and EPS) environments as well as Real-Time Dashboards, Complete Transaction Query Screens and Management Information Reporting (forget ENFORMs and green screens).

By giving you real-time visibility of your entire network, RTLX provides the ability to identify and respond to customer and system level issues before they become widespread. This way, performance and outage problems are not experienced by your retailers (merchants) and domestic customers minimizing complaint calls and also calls from attached financial bodies relating to your live service availability.

The tailorable hypervisors, dashboards / charts delivered in RTLX Reactor for ATM and POS transaction tracking offer an immediate (and time comparative) analysis of transactions at the lowest granular level, allowing you to drill-down to uncover the root cause of issues. All TLF and PTLF data can be analysed in a way not previously available.

Historical reporting on metrics including transactions per second, approval / denial rates, timeouts and response times gives you deep insight into device usage trends. Not only that but you can compare a current Bank Holiday to a past Bank Holiday or even the same Bank Holiday last year.

You can view your current transactions broken down by retailer (merchant) and card type as well as give your key retailers their own secured customised view of their current transaction flow broken down in a way they choose.

The RTLX transaction analyzer product also helps to ensure reliability and reduce the costs of ATM downtime. RTLX simplifies problem / incident management and resolution and allows you to ensure your service level agreements are being met (and what's more documented for auditing) which could save you money and also help to ensure your reputation in the market is maintained.

Suspicious transactions and transaction patterns can be identified, with real-time graphical exception alerts generated when problem transactions occur and pre-defined 'rules' are triggered. All alerts can be relayed to Enterprise Managers using certified code libraries, Mobile SMS and E-mail.

RTLX Reactor is based on the proven and successful Sentra architecture which also includes XML monitoring for the ACI Real-Time Feed Interface (Online Extract Interface - EE-SE415) for monitoring EPS environments.

Benefits :

Provides online, accurate metrics about the status of the transactional ATM and POS networks and HP NonStop systems and so prevent sustained costly lowering of interchange / switch activity
Transaction and payment data can be masked or omitted easily based on PCI DSS directives and field data can be secured based on user roles and login credentials
RTLX Reactor is an extensible and future-proofed framework for current and strategic payment and BASE24 solutions (wholesale or retail), e.g. the XML real-time feed interface of BASE24-eps. Want a new data feed to be monitored?, e.g. tracking vault and hopper levels in ATMs, just request a new lean extraction client to be deployed
Avoid the need to quickly 'round-up' key and expensive BASE24 and HP NonStop technicians in troubleshooting current problems with ENFORMS and command line prompts by providing both a visual indication of current BASE24 activity and a full query interface into past activity
Protect transaction business with proactive identification of Vendor, ATM, POS, Network and Interchange problems, while minimising staff involvement
Avoid financial penalties or losing customer or reputation by finding out about POS / ATM transaction information too late
Generate income for POS / ATM service providers by offering new real-time, secured browser transaction information to RTLX registered clients
Be in a position to observe and tell each member bank what the success rate of their transactions are
Delivers all-embracing, business-driven management that controls, reports and automates corrective actions BEFORE your users call and tell you that you have a problem with your payment systems
Provides future-proofed near Real-Time browser visuals for both BASE24™ and BASE24-eps™ (using ACI's EE-SE415), XML, JMX counters and the NonStop EMS subsystem
Better decision making through automated, customised reporting via Excel, PDF, HTML and more
Provides Real-Time comparative historical analysis of the current ATM/POS transaction flow against this time yesterday, last week, last month or last year to spot irregular reduced transaction patterns
All browser views are customisable and fully secured based on user authorisation levels
Optimise hardware allocation with easy identification of underperforming resources
Management Information reports available for Service Level Agreement, business analysis, trends, profitability, interchange response times etc.
Identifies all traffic on resource nodes defined in the targeted ATM or POS network
Powerful multi-key querying, visual, reporting and analytical features out-of-the-box with no programming experience
Avoid outage through early warning system for key business indicators (KBIs) such as TSP, timeouts, transaction volume, reversals, denials, interchange response time, stand-ins (STIP'ping)
Supports business rule (simple and complex rule builder) and service level agreement management
Devices can be grouped by region, country, state, device type for XPNET component monitoring using EMS and the (P)TLF logs
Provides role-based data and readouts to all levels of operations and management
Dashboards that instantly display key business indicators affected by XPNET devices, faults, downtime, communications errors etc.
Floating gauges, dials, bar charts, line charts, pie charts, tables all available for executive review and analysis of transaction data
Improve efficiency with customised alerts to Mobile SMS, Pager, Email, SNMP or Enterprise Managers

Click on each tab to view more benefits for each of the browser views in the RTLX Reactor product.

Graphical Hypervisor(s)

· Provides a single integrated graphical view of your BASE24™ and EPS environment

· Browser views can be completely customised and tailored to your own on-site BASE24™ configuration

· More than one view can be configured offering drill-down to varying levels of detail and / or different areas of the BASE24™ environment, e.g. ATM, POS or XPNET subsystems

· Real-Time mini-charts can be associated with Hypervisor graphics / icons on top-level or lower-level views to provide instant transaction performance readouts without the need to drill-down. This is achieved by just positioning the mouse over the area of interest.

· Graphical alerts are colour coded to provide a clear visual indication of problem severity

· Users can import their own on-site graphics and logos to provide a look-and-feel unique to the bank’s own BASE24™ environment

· Hypervisor views are secured and can only be viewed by authorised users and also restricted based on the group that the user belongs to

· Secured Hypervisor browser views can be rolled out easily to nominated personnel as no GUI needs to be installed

· Hypervisor Transaction Analyzer views and associated mini-charts can be built easily using point-and-click techniques

· Hypervisors can be imported and exported to an XML format file for use on other Windows systems

· Hypervisor views are concurrently accessible as for all the views in RTLX and can be secured

· Copies of Hypervisor views can be made using RTLX browser options and then further edited so as not to affect live environment monitoring. Views can then be switched to live as and when appropriate.

· Real-Time mini-charts are not only instantly accessible but can also detail more than one performance metric, e.g. transaction volume, denials, approvals and timeouts.

· Graphical Transaction Payment Analyzer views can detail all elements of your BASE24™ environment and so allowing BASE24 switch / interchange response times, transaction approval / denial / timeout rates, XPNET component status and system hardware health all to be viewed from the same hypervisor summary view

Real-Time DashBoard(s)

· Like the Graphical Hypervisors, Dashboards can be ‘tailored’ by the user to provide as many charts per web page as required

· Charts can be line charts (multi-line), bar charts, pie charts, tables, gauges, dials and textual to provide the most appropriate visual display for the data source being viewed, e.g. approvals, denials, timeouts, transactions be retailer (merchant) and card type

· Dashboards are Real-Time and poll the newly captured SQL transaction data at a configurable rate to provide a self-refreshing web-page for each RTLX DashBoard

· Each chart can have an associated threshold parameter enabling the chart to flash in the required area for transaction volume issues

· Charts allow drill-down to further charts displaying more detailed transaction information in any format, e.g. tabular or line chart, or charts can drill-down to a further graphical hypervisor

· A chart can drill down to the actual transaction data where appropriate, e.g. potentially fraudulent transactions list

· A chart in a Dashboard can be used as a mini-chart on the Graphical Hypervisor display so it is always available to be viewed without drilling down just by hovering the mouse of that area of the view

· Users can drill-down on parts of a chart to access ‘time and date’ specific transaction data pertinent to the apex or bar on the chart they clicked on

· Aspects of a chart can be colour highlighted by selecting the corresponding chart key for illustrating problems or transaction issues to other personnel

· Dashboards are supported by simple SQL scripts (stored procedures) which allow any number of parameters to be used as input and are considerably less proprietary than HP NonStop ENFORMs.

· Dashboards can be imported and exported to an XML format file for use on other Windows systems

· Comparative date/time analysis of transaction data can be viewed via Dashboard charts allowing for example, a current Bank Holiday transaction flow to be compared against a previous Bank Holiday or the same Bank Holiday last year. Anomalies can be alerted in real-time if transaction volume averages deviate significantly

· You can view your current transactions broken down by retailer (merchant) and card type as well as give your key retailers their own secured customised view of their current transaction flow broken down in a way they choose

· Dashboard views are concurrently accessible as for all the views in RTLX transaction analyzer and can be secured

Alert View

· Provides an instant readout of the RTLX rule that has broken along with the detail for the values that triggered the rule, e.g. 10% drop in POS transactions in the last 20 minutes

· Includes tabs to navigate quickly to Dashboard and Hypervisor views relating to the alert issue

· Provides a historical, maintained, time stamped view of the last time the transaction or payment rule was broken on the system

· Alerts are colour coded based on the severity of the problem

· Alerts can be acknowledged and the time of acknowledgment and user are recorded

· Alert views are concurrently accessible as for all the views in RTLX transaction analyzer and can be secured

(P)TLF Query Screen

· The TLF and PTLF ENSCRIBE files on the HP NonStop platform have only a few alternate keys to query on via a supplied green screen. In RTLX transaction analyzer, the query screens allow ALL transaction fields (200-400 fields) to be queried and compared in a single query with no SQL programming knowledge required

· Authorised users can be given a controlled subset of fields to query on or all fields depending on their status, e.g. Administrator, BASE24™ technician or junior so that more sensitive field values are restricted, for example card number

· Often used queries can be saved and reissued at a later time without the need to remember the transaction fields involved. HP NonStop ENFORMs for the same task are not always documented and sometimes lost over time

· HP NonStop ENFORMS can take hours and days to construct by experienced technicians (who often have more important tasks assigned) long after the issue or problem has occurred. The RTLX queries are built in seconds and minutes and can be changed easily and stored at a click

· Saved queries provide a ‘Knowledge Base’ for quick troubleshooting of fraud or customer queries. This is useful when key HP NonStop staff move on and their ENFORM or BASE24™ problem solving skills are lost

· EMS (Event Management Subsystem) alerts and their mandatory token fields can also be accessed via the RTLX query screens

· Results returned from (P)TLF and EMS queries can be saved in Comma Separated format (CSV) to use in spreadsheets or for emailing purposes

· Query results returned can be ordered by simply clicking the column headings and number of results per page can be adjusted

· Transaction data on the Windows server can be queried long after HP NonStop TLF and PTLF ENSCRIBE transaction log files have been archived off to an IBM mainframe or storage media. Customer complaints can be investigated and resolved more quickly where currently, backups may need to be restored which may take a number of days

· Complex queries can be formed via the simple to use browser interface and issued against the Windows SQL Server database. This means that no precious CPU cycles are taken up on the Live or Standby HP NonStop systems

· Fraudulent transactions and patterns can be spotted by querying on specific fields with the transaction logs not previously available for keying. For example, a specific card in a certain part of the country at the same ATM or POS device for the same or lessening amounts.

· Query views are concurrently accessible as for all the views in RTLX transaction analyzer and can be secured

Management Information Reports

· RTLX Reactor ships with 20 pre-deliverable reports for transaction volumes, approvals, denials and timeouts across the entire ATM and POS estate (for the standard BASE24™ product)

· Reports can be exported to a number of formats including PDF and HTML formats allowing archived reports to be stored on an intranet for historical analysis or instant emailing of issues to appropriate IT personnel

· RTLX Reactor uses Microsoft SQL Reporting Services which is a product shipped with SQL Server 2005. SQL is an industry standard query language and more intuitive and quicker to develop with than HP NonStop ENFORMs

· Reports are supported by simple SQL scripts (stored procedures) which allow any number of parameters to be used as input and are considerably less proprietary than HP NonStop ENFORMs

· Users can import their own site logos and graphics to customise management reports as required

· Reports can be executed against currently held TLF and PTLF transaction log data. The larger the hard drive, the more transaction data can be stored for historical reporting and analysis

· Users can produce their own management reports without requiring any HP NonStop knowledge. Pre-delivered reports provide good examples of approach for using SQL stored procedures, and can be copied and modified to generate new site specific reports.

· Report views are concurrently accessible as for all the views in RTLX transaction analyzer and can be secured

RTLX Reactor Transaction Analyzer - Performance

RTLX Reactor is able to achieve 1200 transactions per second for real-time (or batch) monitoring of your Live or Contingency HP NonStop BASE24™ application(s), either POS, ATM or BOTH.

The parameters needed by the extraction client are configured and stored in the Sentra Windows server database and downloaded to the HP NonStop node where they are held in local parameter files, one per (P)TLF extraction client. The parameters can be split into the following types ;

• Log file placement.
• Restart details.
• Data Formatting.
• Performance.

The ‘log file placement’ parameters detail the location of the TLF and PTLF files. The log file to be tracked can be created directly by the primary BASE24™ application or it can be a copy created by one of the database replication tools available in the HP NonStop arena. If available, the latter option may alleviate some of the file contention issues placed on the core application.

The log file name will be a generic file name, e.g. $DISC.SUBVOL.TF, and the suffix will map on to a processing date in the format, YYMMDD. The extraction client will recognise when the log file has been rolled and it will close redundant files and automatically track the latest log information held in ‘today’s’ new file.
The ‘restart parameters’ are used to allow the extraction client to reconnect to the TLF or PTLF file at the last known point of processing.

This capability will be used following either a planned or unplanned BASE24™ or Sentra outage. A control file, one per extraction client, will be updated with details of the file name being processed, the timestamp of the last record read, and positioning information for that record. This combination of information will allow the extraction client to identify and read an exact record without the need for a sequential read of the entire file.

The ‘data formatting’ parameters are used to suppress the transmission of certain parts of the PTLF and TLF data. This will help to reduce network and processing workloads.

For each individual extraction client, there are also a range of configuration options that allow further lower level tuning.

Each extraction client can have a process name, CPU location and process priority allocated to it. With this flexibility at their disposal, users can fit the RTLX processing into their existing capacity planning model, and allow processes to execute efficiently in relation to the location of the BASE24™ application and its log files. By default the extraction client will read and process a record as it is added to the end of a log file. However, there are three further options that will allow users to reduce the file processing when required.

• One or more extraction clients can be closed down from the central Sentra ‘Program Control’ screen. A subsequent restart will see the client reconnect to the log file at the last point of processing and read forward. This is a manual operation and it is used most often during planned system outages, but it could be used during intensive processing periods if required.

• Users can create a calendar parameter, which will allow the extraction client to sleep at busy times of the day. If this value was set to 12:00-13:30, for example, then the Sentra software would not access the logging files during this 90 minute period, and it would then resume processing from the last known point. A maximum of 5 calendar values per 24 hour period are allowed. This is an automatic feature.

• Finally, users can specify a transaction rate. This equates to the maximum number of records that will be read from the log files per minute. This parameter will allow users to throttle the amount of activity on the log files and to spread the processing curve over a 24 hour period. This is also an automatic feature.

Although one of the major benefits of the Sentra processing is to track the TLF and PTLF files in real time, it is possible to execute the extraction client in batch mode so that it processes the content of a log file once it has been rolled at the end of a processing day. The final configuration option is to choose the data that will be dispatched to the central database for analysis.

HP NonStop Hardware

The RTLX Reactor product is compatible with K, S, Itanium or Integrity Blade NonStop nodes on either Live or Standby platforms. The RTLX extractor clients can access either Live or DR transaction log files (or both for contingency relay of transaction data to 2 Windows Servers) depending on your preferred configuration.

RTLX Reactor uses NonStop TCP/IP using the ITL FastPipe product which is part of the standard deliverable.

Minimum Windows Hardware Requirements

Contact ITL if you would like to use an Oracle database implementation of RTLX Reactor.

For optimum performance, it is recommended that the minimum specification of your hardware and software is as follows :

Windows Server 2000 / 2003 / 2008 (2008 - 64 Bit Version with the IIS option activated) with the latest service packs
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 / 2008 (2008 - 64 Bit Version) with the latest service packs and Microsoft Reporting Services if required
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) for the RTLX Web client interface
Internet Explorer version 6+ for the RTLX Web client interface
Pentium 2 GHz Processor
4 Gb RAM recommended
SCSI interface (SCSI2 Ultra-Wide recommended)
10 GB Single Drive for operating system and SQL Server software
*500 GB Single Drive for the SQL server database (RAID 0+1 recommended) - NOTE: see below for drive storage size considerations for multiple years of ATM / POS transaction data querying / archiving
20 GB Single Drive for the SQL server log file (RAID 0+1 recommended)
A Network Card (at least 100Mbps) is required
Graphics resolution 1024 x 768 recommended
17" or larger colour monitor is also recommended

*The size of the hard drive will depend on how many months worth of data you wish to store for comparative analysis, or you may wish to use a SAN. Using standard daily file sizes for TLF and PTLF, 500Gb provides 1-2 months worth of storage.

An archiving facility will be required should TLF and PTLF data need to be stored when the hard drive gets close to maximum capacity.

The above specification is for guidance only. The specification of your MS Windows Server will be dependent on your individual needs and discussions with your MS hardware / software supplier. Please contact the Insider Technologies Helpdesk for more information.

SQL Server Versions Supported by Sentra (also install Microsoft SQL Reporting Services)

The Sentra database is compatible with the following variants of SQL Server :

2005 / 2008 Standard Edition
2005 / 2008 Enterprise Edition
2005 / 2008 Developer Edition*
2005 / 2008 Express – the default installation on the CD uses SQL Express with Advanced services, so that SQL Reporting Services is available

* Some SQL editions include a concurrent workload governor. Performance degrades when more than five queries are executed concurrently. Sentra will work with these versions of SQL Server but performance may be unacceptably slow and its installation is not recommended for high volume usage.

SQL Express editions support databases with a limited maximum size (4Gb for SQL Express 2005). Users who anticipate large database storage requirements should consider installing the Enterprise edition of Microsoft SQL Server, or contact Insider Technologies for advice.

RTLX Reactor Implementation Stages Summarised for BASE24 Classic

RTLX Reactor incorporates 5 core, web browser visuals (modules):

1. Graphical monitoring hypervisor(s)
2. Real-time dashboards / charts
3. ATM / POS transaction query screens
4. Management information reports
5. SLA and problem monitoring alerts

Items 2, 3 and 4 above can be used 'out-of-the-box' if using BASE24 version 5 (or better) and where the core TLF (ATM) and PTLF (POS) transaction record layout schema has not been changed from the standard, ACI deliverable schema for these log files.
Standard RTLX deliverable dashboards and reports include total transactions, approvals, denials and timeouts for a given time period.
If the core (P)TLF layout schema has changed (trailing standard and customer tokens excluded), then the RTLX transaction extraction clients and receiving RTLX database will require modifications to align them with the new (P)TLF schema layout before delivering the product.

For items 2, 4 and 5 above, yet more can be added to provide deeper, customised monitoring for the BASE24 application beyond the ITL standard deliverable charts, reports and alerts. This can be done by the BASE24 user or Insider Technologies.
For example, the top 20 retailers with drill-down to POS transaction volume and category charts for each credit / debit card type, e.g. VISA, MasterCard, Switch. It is this highly extensible aspect to the RTLX Reactor product that provides a considerable advantage over competitors.

Item 1 above represents the graphical visual(s) used for monitoring a particular BASE24 environment. One or more graphical visuals can be configured and tailored for on-site monitoring requirements. Typically, at least one graphical hypervisor is required to provide a summary screen for monitoring the BASE24 environment (see RTLX Reactor example screens). A graphical hypervisor is supplied with the product as an example only and can be imported for evaluation purposes.

Typical implementation stages:

1. R&D:

a) BASE24 user produces monitoring requirements specification followed by a review leading to ITL specification of:

1. RTLX database modifications required (only if transaction record schema has changed from the standard ACI deliverable)

2. Identify any required standard and customer user tokens required for monitoring

3. Identify BASE24 SLA rules (for pre and post insert – SQL scripting)

4. Specify graphical monitoring hypervisor(s)

5. Specify further real-time dashboards / charts

6. Specify query screens (unchanged if using standard transaction core schema as delivered by ACI)

7. Specify further management information reports required (beyond standard deliverable reports)

b) ITL produces customer interface specification from above with subsequent user review

2. Development & Unit / System Test:

a) Software modifications for TLF and PTLF RTLX extractors and Windows SQL database inserts (only if transaction log record schema is not standard)

b) User supplies test, de-sensitized transaction log files as appropriate (for ITL in-house verification and system testing)

c) Modify RTLX database (if required)

d) Customer customised tokens incorporated (if provided)

e) Build / configure RTLX SLA rules (pre and post insert – SQL scripting)

f) Produce graphical hypervisor(s)

g) Produce dashboards / charts – SQL scripting

h) Modify RTLX query screens (only required if not using standard transaction log record schema)

i) Produce RTLX management reports (beyond standard deliverable reports) – SQL Scripting

j) ITL test harness modified for in-house testing (if required)

3. Acceptance Test:

a) Environment set-up (including platform security) and deploy RTLX product on Windows Server (with SQL Server) and HP NonStop node(s)

b) User carries out performance benchmark and bandwidth test (assisted if required)

c) General user RTLX product testing in line with customer interface specification in 1.b above

4. Training:

a) RTLX Reactor product configuration

b) Microsoft SQL Server

5. Post Implementation (Iterative):

a) User (P)TLF DDL Schema Changes (only for non-standard versions of BASE24 classic)

b) Re-deploy extraction layers after DDL schema changes (only for non-standard versions of BASE24 classic)

c) Archive (P)TLF transaction data from Windows Server, e.g. every 6 months

6. Helpdesk:
a) Support

If monitoring BASE24-eps in conjunction with the ACI Online Extract Interface (EE-SE415), all of the implementation stages above will be required.

In the case of ATM and POS (TLF and PTLF) transaction querying and archiving, the amount of data that can be stored and queried is only limited by the number / capacity of hard drives configured to store the transaction data (for instance, a key major bank stores 12 months of POS transaction data with RTLX Reactor).

The Saudi National Switch (SAMA - Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency) has recently mandated that all banks must accept and handle customer complaints and disputes on transactions executed anytime since the switch was commissioned back in 1990, hence the need for enhancing accessibility to this magnitude of transaction records in RTLX Reactor.

Transactions archive and query browser screenshots: a, b and c.

Transaction data fields stored in RTLX, can also be encrypted, masked or omitted in line with PCI DSS directives as appropriate.

RTLX Reactor can archive transaction log files from version 5 onwards of BASE24 Classic. From version 5, the structure of the TLF and PTLF log files is fixed with only new data (token data) appended to the end of each record. As such, the RTLX extraction client can parse each record for the component header and authorisation fields and insert them into a standard format Microsoft SQL or Oracle database for querying and archiving.

As such RTLX Reactor can, out-of-the-box archive transaction data to a Windows Server. The number of years it can archive transaction data for will depend on when the bank first started to use version 5 of BASE24 Classic.

Any BASE24 transaction data before version 5 will require ITL to look at each file and the given DDL Schema format for that file for each successive upgrade of BASE24 up to version 5. This may require successive changes to the HP NonStop RTLX extraction clients so that they can make sense of the transaction data. The transaction data will then be parsed into the existing standard database format were possible.

As such, RTLX Reactor may be able to go back say 8 years automatically out-of-the-box (depending when the bank started using version 5) and then require code changes to account for pre-version 5 TLF and PTLF log files.

ITL can supply more information here as required by the bank.

ITL can provide a product quote for any version 5+ automatic extraction of BASE24 transaction data (plus implementation and storage requirements etc.). After that, each pre-version 5 POS and ATM file will need to be analysed by ITL and a separate quote provided for pre-version 5 extraction of POS and ATM data.

Data maybe queried by different departments inside the bank as well as other banks’ customers using this bank’s network in dealing with customer queries, disputes and/ or complaints, in compliance with given mandates, e.g. SAMA.

The current solution provides browser querying of the transaction data.

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliance is provided by the native facilities of the Microsoft SQL Server product which is the database manager for the RTLX environment as well as encryption and/or blanking of field values by RTLX.

Data can be encrypted and compressed if required, as it is relayed from the HP NonStop platform.

The real-time POS visuals and data presented to the user are based on the authorisation level of that user as set-up in RTLX. Further modifications can be automatically applied to data stored in the SQL database such as X’ing out (or blanking out) card numbers, e.g. XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-2207.

RTLX includes a multi-tier security model for users whereby groups are configured to access one or more functions within the product and then users are allocated to one or more RTLX groups. So for example, a user might only gain access to the MI reports group or the POS querying group or both. If they are allocated to a group, they may still be restricted from using certain functions such as restricted query access on the POS querying screen.

Though users may gain a secured level of access to the RTLX product, they of course will not be able to access the MS SQL or Oracle database directly.

In order for ITL to install RTLX Reactor at one of the UK’s largest banks, strict security directives needed to be adhered to and a separate document relating to security considerations is part of the RTLX product evaluation delivery.

Also, since BASE24 XPNET does not have an audit log, RTLX Reactor is able to monitor the EMS logs for XPNET security violations and escalate potential security threats. Management Information reports can then be produced, e.g. end of day or cut off period.

Click here for RTLX Reactor sample screenshots.

Here is an executive summary of the RTLX Reactor (Sentra) product.

RTLX Reactor provides 5 core visuals for real-time ATM and POS transaction monitoring (TLF, PTLF and EMS message data is relayed from the HP NonStop platform(s) in near real-time to a configured Windows Server). Each of these visuals is highly tailorable to provide the monitoring views required to the Operations Bridge or BASE24 support area. It is this flexibility that distinguishes the RTLX product from competitor products as it does not inflict a set of visuals on the user. RTLX also provides comprehensive querying of transaction data which is another differentiator.

The views available in RTLX Reactor are:

1. Graphical Hypervisor : benefits link

One or more hypervisors can be configured to monitor any level of your BASE24 transaction processing environment. Each hypervisor can drill-down to further levels of detail, e.g. drill from a general HP NonStop system monitoring screen to BASE24 XPNET monitoring to top 20 retailers for a logical network.

In the latter case, a major UK bank has configured a hypervisor to display their top 20 retailers. For each retailer, the support user can drill down and view a set of real-time charts for each card type processed by that retailer broken down by transaction volume, approvals, denials and system timeouts.

Since RTLX has access to the entire TLF and PTLF transaction record fields (150+) and EMS messages on a configured Windows Server, any view can be constructed to monitor delays on interchanges, data owners, transaction volume drops, fraudulent transactions, XPNET issues etc. etc. RTLX users are then able to sell each retailer a secured RTLX view of their own particular card processing so that SLA’s can be verified between the bank and the retailer. Example views:

1. BASE24 XPNET layer hypervisor for HP NonStop platforms

2. RTLX hypervisor for an example BASE24 application environment

3. RTLX system and application environment hypervisor example

4. POS retailer monitoring and dashboard transaction volumes

5. Individual retailer monitoring with real-time mini-charts

6. BASE24-eps hypervisor example of a scripted environment

2. Alert View : benefits link

Secured users can click on any flashing, colour coded graphic on a given hypervisor view and drill-down to further detail about the problem, e.g. VISA interchange switch quiet, 8 minutes since last transaction, transaction volumes down 10% on this time last week, XPNET station, line, link, process, XPNET node down etc.

RTLX Reactor VISA transaction volume SLA rule alert

3. Real-Time Dashboards : benefits link

As for graphical hypervisors discussed in [1], any number of real-time dashboards can be constructed. These are represented in 2 ways. They can be accessed from hypervisors by simply positioning over a mini-chart. This will reveal the chart without drilling down:

Cryptographic authentication and support environment

Drilling down on the mini-chart can provide more granular, real-time charts (tailorable as for the hypervisors in [1] above) for a particular area of the BASE24 environment.

1. RTLX Reactor ATM transaction volume dashboard charts

2. RTLX historical comparative analysis deviation for transactions

4. Transaction Querying : benefits link

Unlike the green screen interface of BASE24 Classic, RTLX provides a complete, multi-key querying interface into the ATM and POS transaction log files. Queries can be saved for re-execution later. All the fields of the TLF and PTLF (and mandatory EMS token data) can be used to build queries as required for spotting customer issues, fraud, interchange issues, XPNET etc. No programmatic querying knowledge is required here.

RTLX Reactor comprehensive querying for PTLF and TLF transactions

Customer account queries can be dealt with in minutes and hours rather than weeks as was previously the case when data had to be restored from an IBM platform and/or tape (in the case of a major UK bank who now keep 6 – 12 months of (P)TLF data on Windows Server hard drives).

HP NonStop comprehensive EMS message alert querying

5. Management Information Reporting : benefits link

Reports are generated using Microsoft Reporting Services and about 20 reports are pre-delivered for transaction volume, denial, approval reporting. These reports can be generated automatically at the end of a period or manually. They can then be emailed or archived as required. Reports can be generated to HTML, PDF, WORD format etc. More reports can be put together easily by ITL or by the bank. This is much cheaper than using HP NonStop staff developing ENFORMS etc. as it relies only on staff understanding Windows and SQL technologies, i.e. Microsoft SQL Server and Reporting Services. Transaction reports are then held in a central, auditable location in RTLX and not lost when key staff move on.

1. RTLX management reporting for POS transactions per second

2. RTLX POS transaction volumes per minute with system timeouts

RTLX Reactor is supported by the Sentra product (both can be seen as one product for BASE24 monitoring) which provides a sophisticated rules engine, WebSphere MQ monitoring and escalation options for SNMP alerting, emailing, SMS mobile, tasks and certified enterprise management integration. Sentra is a long established product (1995) and is used by the UK Government and Military as well as in financial markets (including a close partnership with Logica for Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) by Sentra, for their Logica All Payments Solution – LAPS – used by SBSA).

The RTLX Reactor aspect of the product was designed and developed with the help of Alliance & Leicester (now part of the SANTANDER Group) in the UK and is also used by another major bank in the UK for POS monitoring. At the top end, RTLX Reactor monitors 650,000 POS devices and 5,500 ATM devices daily for one of the UK banks (resulting in 8Gb of transaction data a day approx.).

RTLX achieves up to 1200 TPS (benchmark February 2008) on the HP NonStop platform with very low CPU overhead. This was using a low-middle tier Windows Server. More than one Windows Server can be configured for D/R and Active-Active environments if required.

RTLX Reactor provides out-of-the-box monitoring (MI Reports and Dashboards) for ATM and POS transaction totals, approvals, denials and timeouts for BASE24 version 5+. This requires that the standard DDL schemas for the TLF and PTLF files remain exactly the same as when ACI delivered them with no byte/field level modifications.

Changes or additions to the trailing tokenised area of each file record will not impact the RTLX Reactor product. Tokens (standard and customer) could be extracted once named and the schema supplied by the bank, by delivering a Windows DLL file which would provide token extraction.

A graphical hypervisor(s) view which provides the high level monitoring screen for the bank can be constructed quickly and easily based on the bank's BASE24 environment (each bank has their own requirement here for visual monitoring, e.g. business versus system management, XPNET layer and BASE24 Auth processes etc). This can be done before or after the product is delivered. This will provide the colour coded alerting screen for broken transaction value / volume / XPNET rules and allow drill down to near real-time dashboards. More can be added of course by the bank or ITL as required. There is no programmed limit for hypervisor views.

If the bank require more (or different) dashboards and MI reports than those mentioned above, ITL would require a short initial analysis and configuration project phase to build the requested dashboards and management reports for providing the appropriate level of monitoring requested. After this, the product could then be delivered to the bank. The bank could then develop their own or request more from ITL. There is no programmed limit for dashboard views.

Log files not currently monitored by RTLX can be added easily to provide the same set of visuals listed above (after an extraction client has been developed for each new log file). Changes to these log files on-site will require a re-compilation of the appropriate RTLX extraction client. Note: changes to TLF and PTLF files do not typically require recompilation of the appropriate RTLX extraction client as changes represent additional tokens at the end of each (P)TLF record which has no impact on daily running.

BASE24-eps can be monitored by using the ACI Online Extract Interface (EE-SE415), part of the ACI Real-Time Feed Interface which enables XML feeds to be generated and relayed to the RTLX XML processing module.

Company Brochure:
http://www.insidertech.co.uk/co.htm

RTLX Reactor White Paper for BASE24 Transaction Monitoring:
http://www.insidertech.co.uk/rrwp.htm

RTLX Reactor Overview:
http://www.insidertech.co.uk/rro.htm