anyone know the in and out of how the thing works? like how it can be clear compared to not...or how it can read money vs $0 and such

i know nothing about it really, and want someone in the know to inform me

9/9/2008 6:17:39 PM

Yeah I've got no idea what you're asking, could you ask those questions a bit more clearly?

9/9/2008 7:16:44 PM

it's a stored value system

when you swipe your card, it asks a server if you have enough in your account to have $x.xx debited from it

if you do, it sends a success message, if not, it fails.


i don't really understand what you're asking, though

9/9/2008 9:47:30 PM

It is just a debit card, you can add more money online or go drop off a check. You can use it anywhere on campus including dining halls if you don't have a meal plan. If you go talk to the people in the west dunn building they can sign you up.

9/9/2008 11:08:50 PM

yea i know the financial part

but how do they clear it at places such as the gym? or if they were to institute it at football games

like how is it cleared there?

9/10/2008 3:31:15 PM

Basically your student number is stored on there and the scanner rips that off and they use it to look you up in their database. Thats how the gym does it anyway.

I *think* (and i'm pretty sure) that a lot of different depts/services/etc. maintain their own individual databases. I.E its not like a credit card network where everything is stored on central servers. So, the data the gym has on you can be different from the data the people at the cashier's office have, etc. Thats why if you go to the cashier's office and pay for those gym socks they stuck on to your account and go straight to the gym they still yell at you about not paying for them, the gym system hasn't been updated yet.

9/10/2008 4:01:54 PM

there is a centralized database (maintained by the AllCampus Network), but then each office downloads the data at their leisure to use for their individual purposes.

9/10/2008 5:08:28 PM

Your AllCampus ID is a primary identifier for other databases. When Registration & Records looks at your ID # it'll have info on your classes; the cashier's office will know if you can't get your diploma because you owe the gym money; University Dining will know how many meals you have left on your plan.

Other departments that have been authorized to have access to your records (to verify you're in a distance education class, for instance) get their information from sources like the aforementioned on a periodic basis. When you sign into campus websites, your unity ID is being authenticated via Kerberos but it's probably also bouncing against an internal DB to verify that your account matches your ID.

9/11/2008 10:34:46 PM