Versatile terminal adapter and network for transaction processing

1. A method of a terminal adapter interworking a transaction oriented request received on a terminal interface connected to a terminal with a first communication path providing access to a network, comprising the steps of:

receiving a first transaction request message on the terminal interface of the terminal adapter from a terminal incorporating a card reader;

retrieving predefined information stored in the terminal adapter associated with a network destination for said terminal interface;

mapping the first transaction request message to a second transaction request message by the terminal adapter wherein the second transaction request message is encrypted;

determining whether a primary communication path on a first network interface is operative according to previously determined information contained in a communication path status table, the communication path status table generated based at least in part on processing of previously received messages; and

sending the second transaction request message on the primary communication path if the primary communication path is operative according to the determining step or sending the second transaction request on a secondary communication path if the primary communication path is not operative according to the determining step.

2. A method of claim 1 wherein the first communication path is provided by a first network interface using an Ethernet protocol to access a network and the second communication path is provided by a second network interface to access the network using a telephone connection.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the network is the Internet.

4. A method of claim 1 wherein the first communication path is provided by a first network interface providing access to the network using a first telephone connection established using a first telephone number and the second communication path is provided by the first network interface providing access to the network using a second telephone connection established using a second telephone number.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the network is the Internet.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining whether a primary communication path on a first network interface is operative further comprises determining whether a primary communication path on a first network interface is operative, retrieving a telephone number and password information from memory, and establishing a secondary connection using the telephone number and password information if the primary communication path is inoperable.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

indicating the primary communication path operational status on the terminal adapter using at least visual indicator.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the second transaction request message further includes a terminal adapter identification number.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

receiving an authentication request by the terminal adapter over the first network interface and sending authenticating data in response.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of receiving an authentication request by the terminal adapter over the network interface and sending authenticating data in response further comprises receiving an authentication request over the network interface, sending authenticating data in response, and receiving data used to encrypt the second transaction request message.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of

connecting the terminal to the terminal adapter;

receiving a call request from the terminal sent to the terminal adapter wherein the call request indicates a telephone number;

accessing a table stored in the terminal adapter having a plurality of telephone numbers and destination indications;

determining a destination associated with said telephone number; and

including the destination indication in the second transaction request message.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the table further indicates a type of financial protocol.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the type of financial protocol indicated is the VISA-II protocol.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the type of financial protocol indicated is the VISA-I protocol.

15. The method of claim 1 further incorporates the steps of

connecting a terminal to a terminal adapter;

sending a message from the terminal adapter to the terminal over the terminal interface to solicit a message from the terminal;

receiving in response a message from the terminal; and

parsing the response from the terminal to determine a type of financial protocol used by the terminal from one of a plurality of financial protocols.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the type of financial protocol type is the VISA-II protocol.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the type of financial protocol type is the VISA-I protocol.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of

accessing a memory location containing a first address;

initiating a request from the terminal adapter to the network using the first address to request at least a second address;

receiving the at least second address; and

requesting a first set of configuration parameters to be received over the network interface using the at least second address and storing the first set of configuration parameters in the memory of the terminal adapter.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising the steps of

identifying a first software version indicator contained in the first step of configuration parameters;

determining if the first software version indicator is equal to a second software version indicator;

transferring a file containing computer instructions to the memory of the terminal adapter using the first communication path if the first software version indicator is not equal to the second software version indicator; and

executing the computer instructions stored in the memory of the terminal adapter.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising the steps of

indicating a first configuration parameter version stored in memory of the terminal adapter to the network using the first communication path; and

receiving from the network a second configuration parameter version.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of receiving a second set of configuration parameters.

22. A non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions for execution by a processor in a computer having a display and operatively connected to a card reader, and executing software for processing sales transactions comprising instructions for:

receiving a first transaction message from the card reader;

determining an address associated with a host processor;

generating a second transaction oriented message incorporating information in part from the first transaction message, synchronization information, and a computer identification number;

encrypting the second transaction message;

determining whether a first communication path is operational according to previously determined information contained in a communication path status table, the communication path status table generated based at least in part on processing of previously received messages;

sending the second transaction message over a first communication path if the first communication path is operational according to the determining step or over a second communication path if the first communication path is not operational according to the determining step;

receiving a first response from the host processor; and

generating a display indication based in part on the first response.

23. A terminal adapter comprising:

a terminal interface configured to receive a first transaction request message from a card reader; and

a processor module communicatively coupled with the terminal interface, and configured to:

receive the first transaction request message;

generate a second transaction request message comprising an encrypted version of the first transaction request message;

generate a communication path status table;

determine whether a primary communication path should be used according to information contained in the communication path status table, the information previously determined by the processor module based at least in part on processing of previously received messages; and

sending the second transaction message over the primary communication path if the primary communication path should be used according to the determining step or over a secondary communication path if the determining step does not indicate that the primary communication path should be used.

24. The terminal adapter of claim 23 , wherein the processor module is further configured to determine the information contained in the communication path status table based on a failure to receive a message.

25. The terminal adapter of claim 24 , wherein the failure to receive the message comprises failure to receive a response to a message transmitted by the terminal adaptor.

26. The terminal adapter of claim 23 , wherein the processor module is further configured to transmit probe messages over the primary communication path during a time when the secondary communication path is being used, the probe message transmitted to determine whether the primary communication path is restored.

27. The terminal adapter of claim 23 , wherein the processor module is further configured to monitor the primary communication path to determine whether the primary communication path is restored, the monitoring occurring during a time period when the communication path status table is set to indicate the secondary communication path should be used.

28. The terminal adapter of claim 27 , wherein the processor module is further configured to modify the communication path status table to indicate the primary communication path should be used, the modifying occurring in response to a determination that the primary communication path is restored.

29. The terminal adapter of claim 27 , wherein the processor module is configured to perform the monitoring of the primary communication path by transmitting probe messages over the primary communication path.

30. The terminal adapter of claim 29 , wherein the processor module is configured to determine whether the primary communication path is restored by monitoring responses to the probe messages using an error counter within a moving window.

31. The terminal adapter of claim 29 , wherein the processor module is further configured to determine whether the primary communication path is restored by monitoring for a primary response to the probe messages, wherein a failure causing switchover to the secondary communication path was a total lack of operation.