Please note that this list contains only an abbreviated extract from the complete list of Online Vending related definitions. For the complete list refer to the Glossary

Algorithm type

The algorithm is the mathematical formula which determines how the token is encrypted, in other words whether the token is proprietary or STS. This algorithm type code is a two digit number which indicates which algorithm to use.

CDU

Credit Dispensing Unit is an offline Prepaid token vending machine. There are two types of CDU’s. A proprietary CDU which only vends proprietary tokens, and a common vending system CDU, which vends both STS and proprietary tokens via some STT’s.

Client

An Online Prepaid token vending machine. The Clients communicate to the Online Vending Server in real time via the XMLVend specification.

Client Vendor (one of the defined Vendor Types)

A Vendor that typically has only one Vending Client to vend prepaid tokens via XMLVend.

CVS

Common Vending System is an offline vending system complying to Eskom’s CVS specifications. Such a system is able to vend to STS meters and also proprietary meters, by using the different suppliers’ STT’s. The CVS system also has some very specific protocols and functions to communicate to the Eskom mainframe computer.

ECU

Electricity Control Unit. A prepayment meter with protection and designed to supply up to 20Amp. The ECU is basically an ED with Earth Leakage and Over-current protection built in. ECUs plug into a standard passive base (or socket) and will be directly connected to a double plug outlet.

ED

Electricity Dispenser. A prepayment meter designed to supply up to 60Amp. EDs plug into a standard passive base (or socket) and the output is connected to a distribution board that contains the protection function..

Gateway Vendor (one of the defined Vendor Types)

A Gateway Vendor has his own Gateway that communicates with the Online Vending server. Behind the Gateway there may be many different proprietary vending terminals that communicate to the Gateway in their own proprietary protocol. A good example this would be a national chain of shopping stores or a bank.

Local Vendor (only a descriptive term for a vending footprint)

A vendor that has only one or a few locally stationed vending outlets

Multi Vendor (one of the defined Vendor Types)

Multiple Vending Clients that belong to a single Vendor (possibly in different outlets or even different towns) but they are all linked to a single vending account.

National Vendor (only a descriptive term for a vending footprint)

Simply a vendor that has a national footprint and therefore one vending contract with Eskom. A national Vendor will usually be implemented as a Gateway Vendor on the system.

Proprietary meter

Any of the old meters that the different suppliers have been manufacturing. They were originally supplied to Eskom by AEG, Ash, Conlog, Plessey and Spescom.

Regional Vendor (only a descriptive term for a vending footprint)

A vendor that has many vending outlets (irrespective of the technology used) but they do not vend over the whole country and their contract is managed by a specific Eskom Region.

SMS

System Master Station is a PC for managing transaction and customer data between CDU and mainframe and it normally acts as a data concentrator. The SMS distributes the customer data from the Eskom mainframe to the CDU’s and in turn collects transaction data from the CDU’s to upload to mainframe.

STS meter

A Standard Transfer Specification meter is the new meter that Eskom has specified which will accept tokens conforming to the STS specification.

STT

A Standard Token Translator, is a “black box” that manufacturers of proprietary meters each designed, that will be plugged into the CVS CDU. The STT will then convert the STS tokens from the CDU into the manufacturer’s proprietary format.

Supply Group Code (SGC)

A code given for both STS and proprietary meters to allow a certain geographical area of meters to buy tokens from specific CDU’s with the matching supply group codes. A supply group is unique per distributor per area, one supply group can be linked to many algorithm technologies and many supplier’s meters. A supply group code accomplishes for STS meters what a security area code did for proprietary meters.

Token Technology

A two digit number to indicate the type of token to generate, in other words is token encrypted as a numeric or magnetic token

Vendor Controller

An Eskom person managing the agents / vendors.