Glossary

Access Permissions
Settings within the System Manager that limit or grant access to the Equitrac Administrative Applications.
Accounting Precision
An option within System Manager that determines the number of decimal places used to calculate printing costs. The default setting is two decimal places.
Account Limit Enforcement
A minimum balance amount that an account must maintain in order to access devices for prints and copies. Account limits can be applied to user, department, or billing codes.
Active Directory Synchronization
ADS provides a method of sharing user data across multiple domains or network. Equitrac can link to existing ADS data to batch import user accounts, then poll for updates at set intervals. This feature can minimize User Account maintenance significantly.
Administrative Applications
A set of software tools used to manage all Equitrac functionality either locally or remotely. Administrative Applications can be installed on any Equitrac server component machine.
Alternate Primary PIN
A sequence of numbers that uniquely identifies a user. The Alternate primary PIN can be data encoded on a magnetic swipe card, or entered into a terminal keypad. Alternate primary PIN can be used for an additional level of security.
Base Price
A base price is an optional fee charged for the job as a whole, regardless of job or page attributes. For example, you can enter a base price if you want to charge an administrative fee for processing the job. Base price is available when creating Advanced price lists.
Billing Code
A unique combination of letters and numbers that represent a charge-back group. Users can assign their print jobs to a particular code, and the Equitrac database tracks the characteristics of jobs printed to the code.
CAS
The Core Accounting Server (CAS) controls the accounting database that stores all printer, user, department, billing code, transaction and balance information. CAS also verifies users, calculates printing charges and assigns charges to an appropriate user, department, or billing code.
Campus Card Account
An account stored by the Campus Card system. A Campus Card account may have several tender keys; in this case CAS handles them as separate Campus Card accounts. A Campus Card account inside CAS may have an account name which can be used to identify the print jobs in the print queue.
Cashier
An application used by staff members who have a role in managing account balances. Generally, service staff at a print/copy desk use Cashier to add and remove funds from user accounts. This application can reside on any network client workstation.
Client Billing
This feature forces uses to enter a billing code to release a print job, and can be configured to provide desktop printer support and popup billing for selected Windows printers. The Client Billing service must be installed on the Core Accounting Server, and the client software must be installed on each workstation that can send documents to output devices.
Client Billing Popup
A prompt that allows users to assign a billing code to a document when submitting a print request.
Client Workstation
A machine on the network that provides Client Billing, Cost Preview, and User Authentication services.
Cloud Platform
Cloud platforms such as Dropbox, GoogleDrive and OneDrive allow you to store and access data over the Internet instead of computer’s hard drive.
Cluster
A group of servers and other resources that act like a single system to ensure that resources remain available to client workstations.
Cost Preview
A software feature that enables users to see the entire cost of a print request before sending the document to the selected output device.
DCE
A core component of Equitrac, the Device Control Engine (DCE) provides management of control terminals and the ability to access the scan and fax features on multi-function devices.
Desktop Printing
A service installed on a workstation that tracks the print volume when users print to local LPT and USB desktop printers.
Departmental Pricing
A feature that allows separate pricing parameters per department or per user.
Device Control Server
The Device Control Server (DCS) is an feature of DCE, and is required to manage and control Kofax Ethernet card readers. DCS is also required to communicate with DWS in order to work with some web-based MFPs.
Device Interfaces
Connections to physical devices that track transactions. There are two types of device interfaces in Equitrac: Control terminals and Embedded devices.
Device Monitoring Console
An Administrative application that works with the Device Monitoring Engine (DME) component to provide historical data on device performance.
Direct IP Printing
Printing from a workstation directly to the IP address of a networked printer.
DME
The Device Monitoring Engine (DME) proactively tracks the status of selected SNMP-enabled devices. DME monitors SNMP messages generated by specified devices for status information. Each time a status change message is intercepted, DME logs the information in the database. View DME-related activity in the Device Monitoring Console.
DRC
The Document Routing Client (DRC) is for optional use in installations where there is no DRE (see below), and therefore no dedicated print server, the DRC is a locally installed version of the DRE that allows for similar functionality.
DRE
A core component of Equitrac, the Document Routing Engine (DRE) enables document flow from workstations to output devices including printers, plotters, scanner, multi-function devices, copiers, etc. DRE communicates document characteristics to the Core Accounting Server for processing. In a large deployment, multiple DREs are often required to manage the device load.
Driver Repository
A centralized repository for managing print drivers on workstations for I-Queue printing. When a user submits a print job and logs in to a system-configured MFP to release their job via Follow-You Printing, the system checks the MFP driver requirements and automatically downloads and installs the configured print driver if it is not on the user’s workstation. The Driver Repository maps the print drivers and ports to the associated MFPs on the network.
Dual Pricing
A feature that allows you to create a primary price list and a secondary price list that is applied under certain conditions. Equitrac uses the primary price list to calculate the actual transaction cost. Secondary price lists enable the software to calculate another cost that is stored with the transaction for reporting purposes, but does not factor into any balance calculations.
DWS
The Device Web Server (DWS) is an optional feature of DCE, and is required in order to manage and control embedded applications on web-based MFPs. When a user logs in at a web based device, the login data is sent to DWS, which communicates with DCE, and then DCE contacts CAS to verify the user account.
Embedded Device
A software component residing on a particular multi-function device to that allows the device to communicate with Equitrac components. Some Xerox and Canon devices require a controller interface to configure the behavior and communication requirements of the device so that Equitrac can track printing activity on the device.
EQCmd.exe
A utility to add, delete, modify and query user, department and billing codes from the command line. You can also use this utility to assign users and departments to billing codes.
Equitrac Account
An account (user, department or billing code) stored and handled by Equitrac. Based on an Equitrac account, several Equitrac features (limit quotas, rules) are available.
Escape Code
Syntax used to identify variables that should be printed on a print separator page. By default, Equitrac uses the / character.
Escrow
Escrow temporarily holds and releases funds against an account according to the job details. This is temporary as it operates until the completion of a transaction process. Escrow ensures that there are sufficient funds in the specified account to complete the print, copy or scan transaction. Escrow can apply to user accounts, billing codes and departments.
Follow-You Printing
A secure printing feature that holds print jobs in a virtual print queue until the user “pulls” the print job to a selected device. A user can select a particular printer when they submit a print request, then walk to another printer and release the job at a different compatible printer.
Home Server
An attribute assigned to a user account indicating the DRE print server that hosts the devices the user typically prints to. You can assign a Home Server to each user account using multi-server Follow-You Printing. If looking to release jobs to devices on a different Print Server, the user can use the Search functionality provided
I-Queue Printing
The I-Queue printing solution allows end users to send their print requests to the I-Queue printer, and then release their jobs at any available Equitrac configured MFP through secure document release. The I-Queue printer is accessible through the DRC Workstation client and DRE print servers, and uses the I-Queue Print Driver, which renders print jobs in XPS format. I-Queue printing uses the Driver Repository for print driver management.
I-Queue Direct Printing
I-Queue Direct enables you to print directly to a printer (without driver installation and authentication or Follow-You Printing at a printer) in a simple and straightforward method without extra steps to release print jobs.
Job Expiry Time
A Send To printing setting that determines how long print jobs sent on behalf of other users remain in the secure print queue. By default, the job remains in the queue for one hour, but the originating user can override the setting when submitting the print request.
Local Install
All Equitrac server components and Administrative Applications are installed on a single server. This installation type is often used for small office deployments where the overall print and tracking load can be managed on a single server.
Mailbox Printing
A print job sent to a device with ‘mailbox printing’ or ‘device server’ selected in the device driver. The print job resides on the device’s hard disk until the user releases the job.
Master CAS
In a deployment involving more than one Core Accounting Server, one CAS must be designated as the master (main) Core Accounting Server. All other CAS servers within the deployment can uplink their data to the master CAS. This allows you to run consolidated reports across CAS servers, or run reports on a single CAS server only.
Offline
A situation where the Core Accounting Server is not available to the other core components. Hardware failures, or communication failures on the network may cause an offline situation. Equitrac offers Offline support to cache data locally until CAS is back online.
Originating User
A term used within Send To printing, referring to the user who submits a print job on behalf of another user.
Physical Device
A printer, scanner, copier, plotter or multi-function unit that translates digital data into hardcopy output.
Physical Disk
A local disk subsystem on a cluster node; a physical disk can be shared, but cannot be used as a quorum disk.
PIN2 Encryption
Equitrac stores the secondary PIN information (called PIN2 in the CAS database) using a two-way AES encryption.
Price List
A collection of charging rules applied as a set to one or more network printers. These rules define how Equitrac assigns transaction charges to printing accounts based on attributes such as page count, page attributes, finishing options, and surcharges.
Primary PIN
A sequence of numbers that uniquely identifies a user. The primary PIN can be data encoded on a magnetic swipe card, or entered into a terminal keypad. Primary PIN can be used for an additional level of security.
Print Assistant
A bundled set of Equitrac features that includes Cost Preview, User Authentication, Release Key, and Job Rename.
Prompt for Login
A client popup feature that is installed on the users desktop. The popup requires the user to enter their login credentials each time they submit a print request to a monitored printer.
Pull Group
A logical grouping of printers with similar device capabilities. When secure printing is enabled, users can release jobs from the pull group queue to any compatible device within the pull group.
Queue
A virtual list of jobs waiting to print on the device.
Release Keys
When a user prints a document, they can assign an alpha-numeric release key to their document, making it easier to identify the document at the release endpoint. (not applicable when using cloud platforms)
Remote Install
A deployment in which the core Equitrac components are dispersed among two or more server machines.
Reports Manager
An Administrative Application used to produce comprehensive summary or detailed reports on accounts, account activity and printer use.
Routing
The process of intercepting and changing the destination of network print jobs based on a comparison of job characteristics against routing rule attributes.
Scheduled Task
A pre-defined task that is set to run automatically at a particular time and interval. Tasks can include report generation, auto-run of command line utilities, synchronizing billing codes, etc.
Secondary PIN
A sequence of numbers that act as a password when used in conjunction with a Primary PIN. After entering (or swiping a magnetic card) the Primary PIN, the user must enter the Secondary PIN code on a terminal keypad before the print job is released to a device.
Secure Printing
A means of controlling document release. When a user prints, the document is held in a virtual queue until the user releases the document at the output device. The goals of secure printing is to ensure that proprietary information does not sit in on an output device for public consumption. Secure printing uses DREs queuing feature in conjunction with a client application such as Print Queue Viewer for user-controlled release.
Send To Printing
A feature installed on the users desktop that allows them to submit print jobs on behalf of other users.
Separator Page
A page printed before each released print job on a device. You can configure the job details that appear on the printed page to assist users when they pick up print jobs output on public printers.
Silent Installation
A method used to install the client features that allows you perform the install on all clients at the same time. Place the client installation in a central shared folder on a network server, then push the installation to all required clients.
Single Function Terminals
Single Function Terminals (SFT) are network devices with an attached card reader that can be registered and assigned to a physical device in System Manager. The SFT enables users to swipe their cards at the terminal for secure print release on the associated printer.
SLP
The Service Location Protocol (SLP) is a standard TCP/IP network service discovery protocol. SLP utilizes unicast UDP port 427 for communications between Service Agents (SA), Directory Agents (DA), and User Agents (UA). SLP allows Equitrac services to quickly update the status and location of other services as needed. The SLP is primarily used by DCE to locate DREs and DRCs that are holding documents for a specific user.
Subsidiary CAS
In some deployments, more than one Core Accounting Server is required to support a large user base. One CAS can be designated at the Primary (or master) CAS, while all other CAS machines are referred to as subsidiary CAS.
System Manager
An Administrative Application used to apply system-wide configuration settings, customization of the Accounting Server and Port Monitor settings.
Transaction
The page count, job information, and printer cost information calculated for a single print/scan/copy/fax job.
Unidentified Documents
Transactions for which Equitrac cannot identify the associated account, such as a received fax on a multi-function device.
User Authentication
A prompt for a user to enter their Windows login credentials when submitting a print request. Equitrac checks the credentials to ensure that the user is authorized to access the print network.
Workstation Device
Peripheral printers attached locally via LPT or USB to a client workstation. The Desktop Printing feature on each workstation tracks print transactions through the local printer. Equitrac adds workstation devices to the database automatically when users print from a workstation to a local printer.
Workstation Direct IP Printing (DRC)
This is a feature of the Workstation Client install. It enables Follow-You Printing for direct IP printing from a workstation without a print server. DRC refers to the Document Routing Client component that supports this feature.
XPS
XPS stands for Microsoft’s Open XML Paper Specification. OpenXPS is an open specification for a page description language and a fixed-document format. XPS specifies a set of document layout functionality for paged, printable documents. This is used as a common Print driver format that most printers and print drivers can read. When the user prints to the I-Queue printer on their desktop, the print job is rendered in the XPS format and saved in the local Equitrac Secure Queue of the workstation until the job is released.