May 15th, 2006 by Jamie Estep
Verifone Omni Ethernet and IP Network Setup
Filed in: Credit Card Equipment, Guides, Merchant Accounts | 22 comments
The Verifone Omni 3740 and 3750 are able to process over the internet using a dual comm or Ethernet module. This allows the terminal to process transactions extremely quickly, and allows businesses to utilize existing internet capabilities and to avoid tying up a dedicated phone line.
This post is a simple guide to setting up a network allowing a Omni to process through it. The Omni can process on a network with just about any other hardware on it as long as the network is setup correctly. While it is fairly simple to setup the network, it can be tricky to get the omni to work smoothly right from the start. The biggest cause of failure is the Omni having an outdated software version. Once the correct software version is installed on the Omni, and the downloads are complete (may take up to 7 separate downloads for the terminal to be configured correctly), it is normally as simple as plugging the Omni in.
Requirements:
IP Based Connection (Cable Internet, DSL, T1, T3, etc)
Internet Router or Switch
Appropriate Cat 5 / Cat 5E / Cat 6 cables
Verifone Omni with Dual Comm or Ethernet Module
A simple knowledge of computer networking is helpful in setting the Omni up to process over an IP connection. Also, most processors do not have the ability to program the Omni over an IP connection, so the Dual Comm module is necessary to setup the Omni. This way, the Omni is programmed over a standard phone line, and then switched to the IP connection once it is properly programmed.
If you have broadband internet, all you really need to hook up the Omni is a router with an open port, and an Ethernet cable to connect the Omni to the router with.
Depending on the specific network, the Omni can be configured to connect to the router using DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) or with a static IP address. DHCP allows the router to assign an address to the Omni and can make setting up the entire network much easier. The IP address type and value are set in the Omni Communications Menu. This is something that should be set with the help of your processor’s tech support to avoid any problems.
As long as the Omni has the correct software versions and the downloads are completed successfully, processing over an IP connection is virtually a plug and go process. Outdated software versions, incomplete downloads and network misconfiguration can create a troubleshooting nightmare trying to get the Omni to process.
Another thing to keep in mind, is that back end processing networks still use analog technologies. An Ethernet connection is a digital connection. Your processor uses a 3rd party service to convert the digital omni transaction into an analog transaction on their end. Because of this, every omni has a unique signature and must be individually programmed with the processor and the 3rd party conversion service. While this setup is normally transparent, it can cause problems onthe back end, which your processor must clear up before the Omni can process.
Related Posts:
Convert an Omni 3740 or 3750 for Ethernet Processing
Tested routers for the Omni 3750 and other Verifone ethernet terminals
Related Information:
Setting up a simple computer network – solution 3 is recommended!
Hi – We have this setup with two credit card machines and a dvr. We have a bloc k of 5 static IP addresses and I specifically assigned an address to each credit card machine and the dvr. The internet is coming out of the wall to a modem to a switch and then to each machine. Well the machines constantly quit working and I guess they are dropping the connection or not communicating or something. No one seems to be able to help with this problem. If I try to get a network person they are baffled when they find out that there is no computer involved and the credit card company and ISP are absolutely no help. Any ideas as to why the machines do not stay working? Thanks~Jennifer
It’s hard to say what the problem could be. Since all of your terminals are doing it, I would mostly rule out a problem with the terminal. In my experience, the ISP is most likely the cause of the problem, especially if it is a cable internet and not DSL internet service (I’ve personally had major problems dealing with cable internet services, and anything other than straight internet usage). If you have access to another area with a different broadband provider, you can try using a terminal or two there, and see if you are still getting connection problems. Also, you may want to try using a different switch and/or modem and see if you can’t rule out those as causing the problem.
If it were only a single terminal or possibly two, then the terminal could be what is causing the problem, but it’s very unlikely that you are having multiple terminals fail with the exact same problem.
Well I don’t think it is the machines. I cannot tell you how many of those machines we have sent back thinking that was the problem, then we get a new one and keep having the same problem. We have Verizon DSL. I have a NetGear switch and I am now going to replace it with a LinkSys per the recommendation of a tech person that is now trying to help. I guess we will see what happens and I will keep my fingers crossed.
Something else that I forgot to mention. If you haven’t done this yet, try plugging a terminal straight to the modem, without the switch. This could at least rule out the switch causing the problem.
Jennifer,
We are having the exact same problem with our Omni 3750. We have a Net Gear router as well. When we plug it into a LinkSys, it seems to work OK. One thing we have just discovered: we set up a static IP for the 3750 and if we ping it , then the router sees the 3750 and everything is OK. Will post tomorrow if we kept the connection or if we need to ping it again.
We just switched to ethernet on our 3750s last night. Our auths are intermittent as well. I’ve noticed that when a card fails a ping will fail as well so I’m guessing it’s a connection problem.
I’m using a Netgear Router (which so far I would recommend against, if only for having to reboot it after ever config change) and a WildBlue satellite connection (800-1500ms latency).
I’ll try a static setup as well. Is there a way to configure the OMNI 3750 to use dialup after one broadband failure? Also has anyone found a tech manual for the OMNI 3750 or SoftPay?
Thanks everyone for your communication here- please post solutions if you find them.
I would definitely try the static IP and see if that fixes the problem.
As long as you have a Dual Comm module, Verifone has a software component called Dial-Backup. You can have the terminal dial automatically if the terminal detects that something is wrong with the ethernet connection. You would probably need to see if your processor supports it to get it implemented.
There aren’t any general tech or softpay manuals because the operation is different depending on what processor the terminal is connecting to, and what application is on the terminal.
We have set up a static IP for our terminal and that helps, but we still have to restart and ping the 3750 at least once every day. Today — I’ve done it 3 times. I am tempted to get a non-NetGear Router and see what happens with that.
With the dial backup — does it need an analog line or will it run on a phone line running through a T1?
Hook a laptop to the switch and configure for internet use. Open a command prompt window and run a continous ping test. This will show how manny and how often the ISP is dropping packets.
We have Omni 3750 and we are having the same issue as Heide has described. The connection drops every other transaction. No one seems to be able to figure it out we will try the static ip as well as the Linksys router and see if that helps…please let us know if you have any other suggestions…
I have two Omni 3750. Each is connected to different router and uses different ISPs. I am an Electrical Engineer and tried everything including static IP given to 3750 via router. No luck. I think the s/w in 3750 needs to be better to keep the connection alive.
One of worked w/o glitch on verizon FIOS with actiontech router, but lately it is also behaving bad.
We have a 3750 with a Static IP address. We get ” no line” when we try to run a transaction. We have checked the IP/comm mode and it is set correctly for Commserver primary and Dial backup. We do not have a phone line plugged in, just the Cat 5. When we unplug the cat 5, power down the terminal and replug cat 5, power up terminal and then try the transaction it goes through fine. After about 10-15 minutes later we try a transaction and were back to ” no line”. Any suggestions?
I have a 3750 with a static IP address. I am able to ping everywhere, however I get an error that I cannot connect and connection failed. It gives me the error very quickly so I was thinking it may be with the machine setting? The other question is about opening a port on the router. What port needs to be open? I have tried port 443 and DMZ but still no luck.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hi. We are trying to use an Omni 3750 in school stores. The school’s Internet connection has a firewall placed on it, and the district technology specialist says he needs to know the Internet port number the machine uses to open it up on the firewall. Does anybody know this port number it tries to access? Thanks!
I have two Omni 3750s. I was struggling to get them to work on my NETGEAR router (using ethernet) – much like many other posts here. I used these same terminals last year (seasonal business) with a different router and it worked well. So, I switched from the NETGEAR back to the BUFFALO that I used last year. Everything is working now.
I have monitored the IPs handed out by the routers DHCP server. It appears to drop the terminal from the list of clients after a few minutes of inactivity. I think that the OMNI is accustomed to requesting an IP from the DHCP for each transaction. I am guessing that the NETGEAR had trouble with that? Not sure, but the difference between the BUFFALO and NETGEAR with all other variables remaining the same is NIGHT AND DAY. Hope that helps someone.
One thing that may help is to use static-dynamic DHCP setup in the router. This way the router always assigns the same IP address to the terminal, but the terminal can remain on DHCP.
I’ve good luck using this method with other finicky network components, and it may help for terminals as well.
I have a netgear wireless router and have been unable to connect the 3750 unless I use static IP address and network information. I even tried going direct of of my DSL modem and still had no luck with DHCP. Since I already pulled out the netgear router, does anyone have another suggestions?
I have several 3750’s that have recently started to act “funky.” I can boot a terminal and run a transaction just fine. So long as I run the next one within 5-10 minutes I can go on all day processing without a hitch, via ethernet/ip networking. Now, if I have a 10-15 minute dead period between transactions I will get a comm server error, and I will not be able to run another transaction until I reboot the terminal. I have only had this problem since Monday the 21st of Sept, 2009. Anyone have any ideas? I already tried to contact my isp. None of the computers on my network are having DHCP issues, and the firewall rules haven’t changed. I have moved the devices around to different segments of the network and still, no different. I am using Windows 2008 SBS as my DHCP server.
My problem is when i connect my omni 3750 to my linksys wrt160nv3 all wireless is gone. Linksys people couldnt figure it out until i realized this happened when i connected the omni3750. My question is should I get a stronger router or is something wrong here?
I am looking for a user guide on how to use the Omni 3750 functions. Some how the one that came with it was misplaced. Where can I track one down?
Getting the Connect Failed when I try to run a transaction.
I tried two different routers with two different ethernet cords. I took over a business from a friend awhile ago and everything was fine up till last week outta nowhere it just gives me a connect fail. I never did any firmware patching or what not. Do help please.