What is a Short Duration Transaction Network?

Short Duration Transaction Networks support mission critical transactions such as EFTPOS and ATM traffic. These networks have three key characteristics high call rates, short call duration, and high peak loads.  Their typography generally consists of centralised processing systems accessed by hundreds and even thousands of connections per minute.  These call rates can create havoc with data communications equipment using centralised call processing.

Short duration transactions can be very short call durations typically two to three seconds for the actual transaction and network access equipment used in Short Duration Transaction Networks need to be able to handle the resulting call setup and termination loads reliably.

Short Duration Transaction Networks that support point of sale financial transactions such as credit card, loyalty and ATM card generally have very high peak to average load ratios, not only during the day but at different times during the week, month and year.  It is critical that the network is designed to accommodate the busiest minute in the year and still retain an acceptable level of availability redundancy.

Well designed Short Duration Transaction Networks contain the following characteristics:  

• Guaranteed delivery

• High availability

• Low latency

• High security

• Dynamically scalable

They also provide the following functionalities

• Network protocol conversion

• Transaction aggregation

• Multiple host routing

• Transaction translation

• Limited real-time processing

• Transaction management

• Real-time network performance reporting

• Historical data analysis and reporting

Whilst Short Duration Transaction Networks have typically been used for financial transactions there is a growing trend to either piggyback new applications onto existing financial Short Duration Transaction Networks or to create new networks for the following applications:

• Security alarm systems

• Personal security systems

• Medical alert systems

• Event ticketing

• Toll way ticketing

• Remote metering

• Utilities telemetering

• Vending machine inventory management

Just as we have telephone, Internet, cable TV networks that need to be designed and deployed to optimise their owners resources and to minimise their risk and costs, the SDTN needs to be designed and deployed with great consideration to the applications that will be running on them and the technologies that are available today and tomorrow.