About Pharos EDI

The Pharos External Device Interface (EDI) allows third party devices and applications to be connected with the Pharos system. The Pharos EDI Service acts as an intermediary between the Pharos system and third-party devices and applications. It receives information requests from third-party software, relays them to the Pharos servers, and provides responses using industry standard protocols. The Pharos EDI interfaces with the Pharos Print Server and the Pharos SignUp Server, allowing it to be used with all products in the Pharos suite. This means third parties can leverage the Pharos system's authentication, information storage and device management facilities.

The Pharos EDI is a separately licensable component of the Pharos system, and is required on any site where third-party devices and applications (including Pharos Omega terminals) are integrated with the Pharos system.

How the EDI Works

The Pharos EDI is installed as an attachment to a web service (requires Microsoft Internet Information Service 5.0 or later), which receives HTTP requests from third parties, and relays these requests to the Pharos system. All information sent between the EDI and third parties is sent using XML and SOAP requests - technologies that underpin most modern web services and systems for transporting data over the web.

EDI communication can be encrypted using SSL. The EDI is initially installed with encryption turned off - encryption should be enabled as soon as possible; otherwise your site password will be visible over the network, permitting intrusions to your Pharos system.

The EDI requires version 4.6.1 of the Microsoft .NET Framework. Installer for the .NET Framework is available on the Pharos disk image at common\win32\DotNETFramework.