The building network billing system is not an isolated thing.——The most important of these are the PMS (Property Management System) and the property management system. Especially in hotels, service apartments, long-lease apartments, which are almost mandatory.
Hotel scene: PMS docking is just needed
The hotel's Internet fees are usually included in the rent. Guests stay, front desk registers rooms in PMS, network accounts open automatically; guests check out and network is disconnected automatically. If the billing system cannot be connected to PMS, front desk needs to create and remove account numbers manually on the network system——The amount of daily check-out is not acceptable for manual work if hundreds are checked out.
The core logic of PMS docking is not complex: the PMS system transmits home-state information to a billing system either through API or timed synchronization when guests are in/out/released/renewal/retention; and the billing system automatically creates, activates or disables the corresponding network account number based on the information received.
The first is a direct API: the billing system provides a RESTful API, and PMS sends changes to the room status through this API. This is best in real time, with PMS at end one operation, and a charge system second-class response. The second is a database intermediate table: two sides agree on a database table, PMS writes out check-out records, and the billing system reads out regularly. This is simple, but it has delays (depending on the frequency of the round). The third is a message queue: the most reliable but the most complex deployment is via RabbitMQ or Kafka.
Most mid-end hotels and apartment projects are connected by API. The implementation is done with several points: API needs to have an assurance mechanism (API Key or OAuth) to prevent unauthorized calls; retesting and stubble design (the same entry notice twice should not create two accounts); state echoes (the billing system must return the results of processing, which PMS end needs to know if it has been successfully processed).
Service apartments: more complex interface than hotels
Service apartments are more complicated than the netting scene at the hotel."Standard services included in the room fee". The tenants of service apartments may live for months or years, and the Internet needs are more like the rental of a writing building.——There is a need for higher bandwidth, possible fixed IP needs and possible access to the enterprise VPN.
This means that the system needs support in addition to the PMS docking."Long lease mode": Monthly or quarterly fees, support bandwidth upgrade/downgrade, support consolidated with property costs, support to enterprise tenants in a uniform settlement.
I have done a service apartment project and their billing needs are as follows: short-term (1-30 days) PMS automatic openings, with network charges included in the house fee; long-lease (more than 1 month) single broadband contracts with property agreements, monthly accounts; corporate customer full-level lease, managed through enterprise account numbers, distributed self-contained subaccounts within the enterprise.
A system of billing should cover both models and be able to distinguish correctly."Which rooms are automatically managed by PMS and which are signed independently.", there's a threshold on the configuration."There's a different way to charge for the same building."♪ Can the PMS interface and stand-alone contract model coexist?
Reconciling of property management systems: bills and contributions
In addition to PMS, the billing system needs to be connected to the property management system.——It is mainly in the billing and contribution chain.
The network fees are usually settled with property and utilities for the rental of a writing building and an industrial park. The monthly billing system needs to be automatically sent to the Property Management System, which is consolidated into a master bill to be issued to tenants. If there is no connection between the two systems, finance staff will need to manually copy bill data from the system into the Property Management System.——Not only is it inefficient, but it is also easy to mistreat.
Key data fields that are connected include: Tenant Numbers (both systems with the same numbering of the same tenant), Bill Cycle, Amount Receivables, Details of Usage (flow/time) and Payment Status. The billing system is responsible for generating billing data and the Property Management System for consolidating check-outs and receipts.
There is a frequently overlooked problem: tenants have inconsistent numbers in both systems."R-2024-001"This format, it's probably in the billing system."T10001". If no numbering is done, the docking will be problematic. It is suggested that a uniform tenant identifier be agreed upon at the design stage of the docking program or that a map be made in the middle.
The pits that were designed to match the program.
When systems are integrated, several common pits deserve attention.
The first is network connectivity. A billing system and a PMS/Property Management System may be deployed in different segments of the web, or even in different environments. If PMS is working on an office network (intranet), the billing system is located in a weak electrical room (control network) on both sides of the building, there is no network access.
The second is that the data format is not uniform."1201", but the network account name rule for the billing system is"floor12-room01". Fields need to be converted in the interface, and neither side can be expected to change its format itself.
The third is unusual treatment. PMS sent a call for entry, but the billing system was either maintained or rebooted at this time. What if it's missing? Retransmit mechanism is needed. The guest has checked out, but PMS hasn't been pushed out because of the network failure."Timeout Autocleans"Mechanisms——If a room is not updated by PMS after a certain period of time, the billing system automatically disables the network account number for that room.
Seamless Authentication & PMS Interlinking
There are a lot of high-end buildings now."NATHHELL_SEAMLESS_AUTH"——After the first user login, the MAC address is automatically tied and then it enters the building network to authenticate the connection. There is no need to repeat the account password.
In the hotel scene, the client's MAC address should be tied to the room, not to someone. Because the same MAC address (e.g. a guest's phone) cannot always belong to one room.——The MAC address should be released after the check-out and if the next guest is using a branded mobile phone (although with very low probability), he should not automatically have access to the network of the previous customer.
So MAC binding for Seamless Authentication requires life-cycle management: synchronizing with PMS——You can untie the house when you are in."cooling period"(e.g., no automatic strapped to a new room for 24 hours) prevent the equipment of the previous customer from being mis-strung into the newly occupied room in the corridor.
These details are taken into account in the PMS docking program."MAC Life Cycle Link with PMS"And the good work of Seamless Authentication leaves a gap in experience.
The docking test cannot be just to measure normal processes.
Finally, a practical recommendation: PMS/Property System docking tests cannot be measured only for normal processes (entry)→Open up.→Use→Checking out.→For example, what if PMS sends in a check-in but the billing system gets confiscated? What if the billing system receives an entry notice and the account number fails? What if the guest keeps in but PMS pushes out and then moves in?
These anomalies are always encountered in the actual operation. If there is no overlay test during deployment, and if there is a problem with being on line, it will be time-consuming to check them out. It is recommended that common anomalies be listed as test cases at receiving and inspection, and validated by item, ensuring that the system's abnormal processing logic is robust.