Mermail and Hotel Property Management System Not Talking. - PBX Info :: Your Free PBX, PABX and Telephone Information Resource

***hhallett*** · 10-14-2004, 03:05 AM

I'm not at all familiar with the Meridian Hospitality suites and I may be looking a separate issues, I'm not sure, but here's the situation.

I have a customer using a PC based property management system (PMS) called "Landmark" for guest check-in/check-out. As I understand it, this interfaces with the Meridian Mail so that their room phone and voicemail is activated/deactivated and so that the guest's name appears in the voicemail dial-by-name directory as well as in the telephone's CPND block. Well, about 3 weeks ago, they claim, their PMS suffered a power failure and wouldn't talk to the MerMail after it was brougth back up.

I'm told that they have had various problems with this PMS in the past. Currently, I'm told that it still has some issues regarding keeping records of housekeeping services (but I don't see where the MerMail would be associated with that) as well as the problem interfacing with MerMail.

They are able to enter the guest data directly into MerMail via a separate terminal and the PBX/MerMail does what it's supposed to (except that the CPND has wuite a delay before it shows the guest's name). At this point let me say that the customer told me today that there have been times in the past few weeks that the terminal interface hasn't been working (I couldn't find a problem with it today).

Well, I verified continuity on the cable between the PMS and MerMail, I verified the port settings for the interface to the PMS, I worked with my company's Tech Support to reset the MerMail (did a full back-up then a soft restart of the MerMail using a "system deactivate/activate" type command in the system administration menu. We'd earlier tried "resynchronizing" using a command under the hospitality menu. The customer's IT tech has rebooted the PC for the PMS. Nothing has worked. the PMS still refuses to talk to the MerMail.

Additionally, as if to add insult, now I can't view or modify any mailboxes (haven't tried adding or deleting). After we had finished trying to repair the known MerMail issue today, I found that, when attempting to view or modify mailboxes, MerMail tells me that the mailbox (any box I enter) doesn't exist even though I can log into or leave messages in it.

The customer's IT Tech said he'd call the PMS vendor tomorrow to look at their system.

I think that I've covered about everything. Based on this description, could anyone offer any suggestions on how I should proceed? Presently the MerMail does everything else it is supposed to. My only issue are the interface with the PMS and being able to view/modify mailboxes.

They have a Opt 81 running Rls 19.68 and a 2 node MerMail running Rls 8.29.7.

10-14-2004, 10:37 AM

hhallett,

I have a lot of experience with the dreaded PMS to mermail @!%&**(*& Hotel/Motel scenario.

When you look at the Main Mail menu choice 7 Hospitality Admin and sub menu choice 4 for Hospitality System Status that shows the status of the PMS link and link to SL-1, what does they show ?

Link is OK ? or something else.

Also a RS-232 break out box can come in handy.

vztech1

***hhallett*** · 10-14-2004, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vztech1

When you look at the Main Mail menu choice 7 Hospitality Admin and sub menu choice 4 for Hospitality System Status that shows the status of the PMS link and link to SL-1, what does they show ?

Link is OK ? or something else.

Well, according to one of the previous Techs for this customer, the SL-1 to PMS link status no longer registered after an upgrade was done (he wasn't clear on what was done, only that the status indication didn't function afterward but the link itself did work). When I looked at it a message popped up saying that the system couldn't determine the link status.

I've been working this site since mid-July and, considering that they claim this problem only began about 3 weeks ago, I'm presuming that this link worked OK prior to that.

Additionally, and this may not be related, when I reviewed the AML link status I found 2 AML links defined for MerMail. AML 0 is perpetually "auto setup - down dsbl" but AML 1 is OK (since the PBX & MerMail talk to each other just fine I'm presuming that AML 1 is for this).

Based upon what I've been told is the history with their PMS, I'm leaning toward believing that it is the problem. But, considering that there is reportedly an intermittent issue with the terminal they use to directly enter hospitality information (when they need to) I just can't prove conclusively that the MerMail isn't part of the problem.

10-14-2004, 01:27 PM

hhallett,

One way to rule out Meridian Mail is to make your laptop's serial comm port and Procomm simulate the PMS system. Once you get the link established, you can then send Background type PMS messages from Procomm to Mermail.

Samples of messages that are sent :

PT [STX] SE CP xxxx (dn) "Smith, John " CH IN
MT [ACK] timestamp

Which is an example of the PMS sending Set the Call Party Name Display to John Smith for dn = xxxx and set the room status to Checked In.

On the laptop you would type simply SE CP xxxx SMITH, JOHN <>

Each config is different depending on the PMS, but you get the idea. The PMS link is just a way to have that system control the DN's level of restriction, or room status, or Name Display etc,,,,all being done via Background Commands over the link.

***hhallett*** · 10-14-2004, 03:45 PM

Thanks. I'll try that when I get back onsite.

Any idea why I am now not able to view/modify mailboxes like I was before I started troubleshooting the PMS/MerMail problem?

Steamer · 10-15-2004, 11:29 AM

Sounds to me like there is a bad connection between the PMS and Mermail.
The PMS connects to Mermail via an RS-232 that is wired into a special interface board that plugs onto the last amphenol of the Opt11 cabinet.
There is a bypass switch on that board that may be in the wrong position.
If it is not in "normal" position then the PBX will receive messages from the PMS but Mermail will not.
The bypass can also be toggled in the admin terminal but I think you would have noticed that already.

Either way, you can monitor the messages that the PBX is receiving from Mermail in LD 37 with ENL MSGI and ENL MSGO.
The sample messages that vztech1 posted are what you should see when MSGI and MSGO are enabled.
Depending on how the Hospitality parameters are set you may also be seeing something like this:
PT [STX]IS TEST[ETX][BCC] 9:37:02
MT [ACK] 9:37:02

The "PT" message is from the PBX doing a status check (STX).
The "MT" message is from the Mermail/PMS - an acknowledgement (ACK) of the status check.

Either way, you should see something when there is a check-in or checkout.

If the PMS system is not in the same room as the Opt11 then there could be a distance problem with the RS-232 connection. You should be able to see the data transmitted from the PMS with your laptop provided you have all the correct speed, parity etc.

In regard to your mailbox viewing problem there are two things that come to mind.
1. I think you have to view guest mailboxes from the Hospitality Admin menu but you view staff mailboxes from the usual Local Voice User menu.
2. Hotels often have dialing plans that are customized using pre-translation so you may have a room number 301 with a DN 7301. The mailbox could be in Mermail as 301 or 7301.

Steamer

***hhallett*** · 10-16-2004, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steamer

The PMS connects to Mermail via an RS-232 that is wired into a special interface board that plugs onto the last amphenol of the Opt11 cabinet. There is a bypass switch on that board that may be in the wrong position.

My Tech support tells me the same thing. The toggle switch is down and the LED is green, which they tell me is as it should be.

Quote:

Either way, you can monitor the messages that the PBX is receiving from Mermail in LD 37 with ENL MSGI and ENL MSGO.

Thanks, I'll turn this on. I'd not thought of it and no one else had suggested it in the way that you have.

Quote:

The sample messages that vztech1 posted are what you should see when MSGI and MSGO are enabled.

This probably explains why I saw nothing when I put my laptop directly onto the output cable as I thought I was supposed to.

Quote:

If the PMS system is not in the same room as the Opt ... then there could be a distance problem with the RS-232 connection.

The PMS Server is approximately 150' away and the connection goes from the switchroom to the MDF, up one deck (yep, this hotel is on a ship), then from the midship IDF to the PMS Server. There is no shorthaul MODEM on the line and continuity tests (tone/resistance) show the connection is OK. The PBX/PMS interface has been in place for over 3 years, I am told, so I don't suspect distance to be a problem.

Quote:

In regard to your mailbox viewing problem there are two things that come to mind:

1. I think you have to view guest mailboxes from the Hospitality Admin menu but you view staff mailboxes from the usual Local Voice User menu.

2. Hotels often have dialing plans that are customized using pre-translation so you may have a room number 301 with a DN 7301. The mailbox could be in Mermail as 301 or 7301.

Thanks, but up until very recently I've been able to view and manipulate ALL mailboxes from the main admin menus. And the numbering plan is very much like you stated, but only for the guest mailboxes and not for the staff/vendor mailboxes. Currently I can't get at ANY of the mailboxes.

I'm to the point now where I believe I have several issues.
1. The RSM card isn't talking to the PMS. No amount or resetting, either of the MerMail or the PMS makes any difference. I have ordered a replacement RMS card. (Still, this may not correct the communication problem (see item 2), but at least I can tell the customer that I've addressed my end).

2. Neither I nor their IS Tech is completely ruling out a problem with their PMS since their Server suffered a power failure just prior to this occuring and we're told that it has one or two other small hickups.

3. Since I'm sure that my not being able to view/modify existing mailboxes is related to the troubleshooting of the other problem (that's when this started), I also figure that it'll clear itself up when I reboot the system after I repalce the RMS card.

Steamer · 10-16-2004, 05:51 PM

Quote:

This probably explains why I saw nothing when I put my laptop directly onto the output cable as I thought I was supposed to.

You should still be seeing similar messages from the PMS if you are on it's output and your comm port is setup correctly. So that may be the whole problem - the PMS port is broken.

And sorry - for some reason I thought I read that you had an Opt11C.
I have replaced faulty RSM boards on both.

The mailbox problem is wierd.

***hhallett*** · 10-19-2004, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steamer

You should still be seeing similar messages from the PMS if you are on it's output and your comm port is setup correctly. So that may be the whole problem - the PMS port is broken.

Well, we hadn't completely ruled out the PMS simply because the customer says they've had a history of troubles with it in the past year or so (it's getting on in years) and I can't say for sure that I had the laptop software properly configured. I mean, reading directly off of the PMS output do I expect to see plain text, gibberish or nothing at all?

Quote:

The mailbox problem is weird.

Actually, the mailbox problem turned out to be because the Technician is weird. I was suffering Repetitive Cranial Flatulence (Repeating Brain Fart). Because MerMail 8 has different functions for some of the function keys than do later Mermail versions, in the User Admin Menu, I kept selecting "view/modify user distribution list" instead of "view/modify user" and, since there aren't any distributin lists for this customer, I kept coming up with nothing.

***hhallett*** · 10-19-2004, 04:01 AM

Quote:

The sample messages that vztech1 posted are what you should see when MSGI and MSGO are enabled.

Oddly, I tried enabling MSGI/MSGO in LD 37 and received a "port not defined" error message.

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