Elatec TCP3 3.0.3.1 User manual

TCP3 3.0.3.1
Technical Manual
DocRev4, September 2, 2021
Elatec GmbH

Contents
Contents
1. Introduction.............................................. 5
1.1. Typical Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2. Important Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2. Network Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1. IP Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2. Static IP Host Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3. DHCP Host Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3. Hardware Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.1. Hardware Mounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.2. Network cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3. USB Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.4. Connect the Network Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.5. Power up TCP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.6. External Input and Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.7. Input Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4. Discovering TCP3 Devices on the network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.1. Prerequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.2. Start TCP3 Config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.3. Cross Subnet Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.4. TCP3 Display List Sort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5. Configuration via TCP3 Config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5.1. TCP3 Config Home Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5.2. Backwards Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5.3. Network Configuration Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5.3.1. Network Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.3.1.1. Name Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.3.1.2. IP Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.4. USB Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.4.1. Representation of Keyboard Newline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.4.2. TCP/IP Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.4.3. TCP Client Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.4.3.1. Web Service Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.4.3.2. Connect on any character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.4.3.3. Connect on this character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.4.3.4. Disconnect on this character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.4.3.5. Disconnect timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.5. System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.5.0.1. Send Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.5.0.2. System Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.6. Password Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.6.1. Custom Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.7. Sending the Configuration to converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.8. Status Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.9. Saving Configuration to a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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Contents
5.10. Read Configuration from a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.10.1. Reset to Factory Default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.11. Remote Firmware Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
5.12. Remote TWN4 Firmware or Configuration Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6. Configuration via Web Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
6.1. Open the Homepage of a selected TCP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
6.2. Network Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.2.1. Name Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.2.2. Printer: IP Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.2.3. IP Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.3. Security ............................................ 36
6.3.1. Server Certificate Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6.3.1.1. Create a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) Or Create an internal certificate 36
6.3.2. Client Certificate Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
6.4. USB Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.4.1. Representation of Keyboard Newline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.4.2. TCP/IP Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.4.2.1. TCP Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.4.2.2. TCP Client Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.4.2.3. TCP Client Connection Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6.5. Change Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.6. System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.6.1. Logging Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.6.1.1. Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.6.1.2. Send Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.6.2. System Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.6.3. Upgrade Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6.6.3.1. Upgrade TCP3 Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6.6.3.2. Upgrade TWN4 Card Reader Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6.7. Status ............................................. 46
7. Refresh the Firmware on TCP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
7.1. Local Firmware Update steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
8. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
8.1. Basic Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
8.2. TCP3 Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
8.3. Network Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
8.4. Printer ............................................. 51
8.5. Can the TCP3 be discovered by the TCP3 Config Tool? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8.5.1. Different Subnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8.5.2. TCP3 is on Static IP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8.5.3. Can you open the homepage of the connected printer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.5.3.1. DHCP Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.5.3.2. Incorrect Static Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.6. Is the card swipe not being recognized by the authentication server? . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.7. DHCP Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
9. Security................................................ 55
9.1. Network Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
9.2. USB Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
10. History of Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
10.1. TCP3 Converter Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
10.1.1. Firmware STD3.0.0.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
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Contents
10.1.2. Firmware STD3.0.1.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
10.1.3. Firmware STD3.0.2.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
10.1.4. Firmware STD3.0.3.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
10.1.5. Firmware STD3.0.3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
10.2. TCP3 Configuration Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
10.2.1. TCP3 Config V3.0.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
10.2.2. TCP3 Config V3.1.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
10.2.3. TCP3 Config V3.2.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
10.2.4. TCP3 Config V3.3.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
A. FCCNotice.............................................. 59
B. ICNotice ............................................... 60
C. Disclaimer .............................................. 61
Page 4of 61

1. Introduction
1. Introduction
The Primary use of TCP3 Converter is to provide an on-ramp for USB data to reach a network Server
which implements Authentication and optionally a Pull Printing feature. TCP3 can be configured as a 2
port network router which is designed to be connected between a network printer and a print server. TCP3
is equipped with two USB 3.0 ports. A card reader or keypad can be connected to either or both of these
two ports and can be used to send data to the authentication server. This is typically used to enable card
based authentication and to release print jobs from the print server to the attached network printer.
TCP3 can also be used in an industrial setting to enable card based authentication for industrial robots
or other manufacturing equipment. Via web services, an authentication host can directly control the two
outputs and one input to enable power to equipment or to indicate operational status.
1.1. Typical Scenario
A typical application is to extend the feature set of a network device (i.e. a network printer), by enabling
connection of a local peripheral device such as a card reader or keypad.
Figure 1.1.: Typical Connection with TCP3 Converter, reader and printer
1.2. Important Features
• TCP3’s IP address may be obtained by DHCP or may be assigned statically.
• TCP3 consumes only one IP address from the building’s DHCP server. This is important to cus-
tomers whose IT department charges based on the number of addresses in use.
• A card reader or keypad can be connected to either USB port. An additional device can be connected
to the second USB port. Both can be active at the same time.
• The USB ports do not follow the standard USB power specification but instead share a fixed amount
of power between the two ports.
• Supports both Client and Server modes of communication. In client mode the converter will send
data whenever a card is swiped, in Server mode the converter must be polled to receive the data.
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1. Introduction
• Supports OAuth authentication in client mode
• Supports sending data in client mode via SSL TLS1.2 or HTTPS using a self signed certificate or via
customer certificate
• Can be configured over the network via its web browser interface
• Supports Syslog which enables remote monitoring of its health and status
• Supports printing a summary of its configuration settings to an attached printer
• Each Ethernet port is default configured to auto-negotiate 10/100/1000 Mbps full-duplex.
• The supplied TC3Config.exe tool provides a means for finding all TCP3 devices on a network.
• TCP3 Converter firmware can be upgraded over the network via its web browser interface
• The configuration of an attached TWN4 card reader can be upgraded over the network via its web
browser interface
• With the inclusion of an external specification file, TC3Config.exe can discover devices on other
subnets.
• Can be configured directly from the TC3Config tool
• TCP3 firmware can be upgraded over the network via the TC3Config tool.
• The configuration of an attached TWN4 card reader can be updated over the network via the
TC3Config tool.
• Power over Ethernet is an available option for powering TCP3.
• Compliant with California password law SB327.
The main feature of TCP3 is that it can enable any printer to participate in card based authentication along
with the Pull Printing function. Single function printers or older MFPs which do not support the direct
connection of a USB card reader can now be enabled by connecting those devices to TCP3.
TCP3 presents only one MAC address to the building’s network infrastructure and requests only one IP
address from the DHCP server. TCP3 behaves similar to a router where the printer connected to TCP3
has its own IP address but to the outside world it appears to use the IP address of TCP3. This means
TCP3 can be easily integrated into existing network environments, without managing extra IP addresses
or paying for extra IT support costs associated with additional IP addresses.
Other than the few ports necessary to configure and operate TCP3, communication is transparent between
the printer and the local network. This makes it convenient to configure the connected printer as if TCP3
was not connected in between.
Page 6of 61

2. Network Addressing
2. Network Addressing
2.1. IP Addressing
The TCP3 Converter has two network connections. The host connection can be configured to use either
DHCP or Static IP addresses to the building’s network. The Printer connection is always configured for
DHCP but users can configure the exact IP address provided so it can match a printer configured with a
static IP address.
2.2. Static IP Host Addressing
In this discussion we will assume that a network printer which was already operating on the network
with a static IP address of 192.168.1.10 as shown in Figure 2.1. That printer will now be connected to
TCP3.
Figure 2.1.: Network configuration before introduction of TCP3
A TCP3 Converter will be installed between the switch and the printer. When installing TCP3 we often
need to maintain the network relationship between the existing printer and the print driver installed on
the user’s workstation. As a result TCP3 should be configured to use the printer’s original IP address
192.168.1.10.
The printer must now be configured with a different IP address. TCP3 is configured to provide the printer
its address using DHCP. It is further configured to always issue the printer an IP of 192.168.50.100. If the
printer is configured for DHCP it will receive this address at each power up and at each DHCP renewal. If
the printer is not capable of DHCP and is configured with a static IP address, that exact address will need
to be entered on the TCP3 Network page.
Note if TCP3 is placed on a 192.168.50.xx host network, the converter will automatically change the default
printer address assigned via DHCP to 192.168.60.100.
2.3. DHCP Host Addressing
In this example the printer is configured for DHCP and has a MAC based IP address reservation on the
DHCP server so it always receives the same IP address. When the printer reaches out to the building
router, its DHCP controller issues the printer an IP address 192.168.1.10.
As with the preceding static IP address discussion, when installing TCP3 we often need to maintain the
existing network relationship between the printer and the print driver installed on the user’s workstation.
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2. Network Addressing
Figure 2.2.: Network Settings for TCP3 and Printer. Note that TCP3 takes the IP address that the Printer
had.
When TCP3 is inserted between the printer and building router, the router’s DHCP reservation for the
printer should be reassigned to the MAC address of TCP3. That host MAC address is printed on the back
of the converter enclosure. TCP3 will then communicate with the DHCP server and will receive the printer’s
original IP address.
Any print driver previously configured to send jobs to the printer will now communicate with TCP3 which
will seamlessly forward those print jobs directly to the attached printer. As a result the printer will appear
on the network as it did before TCP3 was installed. The customer benefit is that this was accomplished
using one network port with only one IP address from the customer environment.
To reach the printer’s home web page simply enter the IP address of the TCP3 device into your favorite
web browser. TCP3 will pass that request directly to the printer and the printer’s web page will open.
To reach the TCP3 home web page simply enter the IP address of the TCP3 device followed by :81 into the
web browser for example: 192.168.1.10:81. TCP3 broadcasts its web page on port 81 while all traffic to the
standard http port 80 traffic is redirected to the printer and its home page. Note if HTTPS is enabled instead
of using port 81 TCP3 broadcasts its secure web page on port 442 for example: https://192.168.1.10:442.
All secure web traffic destined for the connected printer will use the standard port for HTTPS (443) which
will pass through TCP3 unaltered.
Page 8of 61

3. Hardware Setup
3. Hardware Setup
Figure 3.1.: Connection Diagram
3.1. Hardware Mounting
TCP3 is shipped with rubber mounting feet such that it can be positioned upon a horizontal surface. In
most instances the preferred mounting will be to attach it vertically to the back of the printer using the
Velcro tabs provided. That will make the converter less visually obtrusive.
3.2. Network cables
Refer to Figure 3.1 Connection Diagram which shows all of the possible peripherals and their connection
points. There are two Ethernet ports on TCP3, the Host port is used to connect TCP3 to the local network
and the Printer port is used to connect a printer to TCP3.
3.3. USB Cables
Users can connect a USB card reader to either of the 2 USB ports on TCP3. Up to two readers can
be connected simultaneously. Currently USB Human Interface Device also known as keyboard mode is
supported.
TCP3 can provide up to 1.5A current shared between the two USB ports. This means if the peripheral
connected to one port is drawing 1.0A, the second peripheral can draw up to 0.5A before both ports will
be turned off by the over current protection circuit. Removing the second USB peripheral will enable the
port to self reset.
Page 9of 61

3. Hardware Setup
Note that only tested and approved USB devices will be allowed to operate on TCP3. This will enable
Elatec to provide support for only those devices for which our support team has been trained. Following is
the current list of tested and approved devices.
Table 3.1.: Supported USB Devices.
Manufacturer Device USB VID USB PID
Elatec TWN3 RFID Reader 0x09D8 0x0310
Elatec TWN4 RFID Reader 0x09D8 0x0410
Elatec TWN4 SafeCom Reader 0x09D8 0x0206
ID Tech MiniMag II™ MagStripe reader 0x0ACD 0x0001
ID Tech Barcode Reader 0x0ACD 0x2420
MagTek Dynamag Reader 0x0801 0x0520
MagTek MagStripe reader 0x0801 0x0001
Honeywell Model 3800 Barcode Reader 0x0536 0x02E1
Honeywell Model 3800 Barcode Reader 0x0C2E 0x0B01
Honeywell Model 1250G Barcode Reader 0x0C2E 0x0B41
Symcode Barcode reader 0x0483 0x0011
Motorola Model DS9208 2D Barcode Reader 0x05E0 0x1200
Perixx Peripad-201 Plus PIN pad 0x2A7F 0x5740
Perixx Peripad-201 PIN pad 0x1C4F 0x0043
Perixx Peripad-202 PIN pad 0x04D9 0xA02A
HCT Numeric PIN Pad 0x1C4F 0x0002
Valley Enterprises USB to RS232 converter 0x0403 0x6001
Manhattan 28 port USB hub 0x2109 0x2811
NT-Ware TWN4 for NT-Ware 0x171B 0x2001
Lenovo KU-9880 USB numeric Pin Pad 0x04F2 0x3009
Targus AKP10-A USB numeric Pin Pad 0x05A4 0x9840
Targus AKP10-A USB numeric Pin Pad 0x05A4 0x9846
3.4. Connect the Network Printer
Connect the network printer as shown in Figure 3.1. Leave the printer powered off until TCP3 has been
configured.
3.5. Power up TCP3
TCP3 is offered with either a 5 volt wall power supply or Power over Ethernet (PoE).
• If using a 5V supply, connect the power supply as shown in Figure 3.1.
• If using PoE, connect the Host Ethernet cable to a 802.3af compliant PoE enabled network switch
which outputs 44-56 volts. Note that the converter will not likely operate using a PoE injector. Most
injectors are passive meaning the power is on all of the time. Power is not negotiated per 802.3af
and they typically output only 24 volts which by design is ignored by TCP3. Note that although TCP3
was designed to be 802.3af compliant, it will also operate on a 802.3at or 802.3bt compliant switch.
As TCP3 powers up, its operating status can be determined through the LED panel located on the face
of the unit. The converter typically takes 45 seconds to boot up. This time will be extended by up to two
Page 10 of 61