IFSF is a European standard for communicating with equipment on a forecourt. Enabler supports IFSF pumps, tank gauges and price signs.
But if you want to communicate with IFSF pumps, why would you use Enabler? In theory, you could buy a generic LON interface card, sign up at IFSF and write your software.
In practice, Enabler provides several significant benefits over the "roll your own" approach to IFSF.
A Complete, Ready-to-Go Controller
IFSF is a message protocol, not a complete controller. It defines possible messages and behaviours. But it does not configure or manage the forecourt for you.
To make an actual working system, a lot of communication and management code must be created, before IFSF pumps will operate. This code must be written and debugged before you will be able to authorise and store fuel deliveries. Enabler out of the box will configure, control and store deliveries from pumps. You can configure the dispenser setup, prices etc using the existing Enabler applications - no code is required. To integrate your business code, you simply use our ActiveX controls or SQL database.
Variations in IFSF Pumps
Despite being a standard, IFSF leaves a lot of flexibility, and this means that not all pumps behave the same. Also some pumps are not certified and don't fully comply. Enabler handles these differences for you, so you don't have to go through the tedium and expense of figuring out the various practical ways IFSF should work.
While Enabler has not been tested with every pump in the world, we will work to resolve any problems and already have a range of experience - especially with our background knowledge of how pump computers and protocols work.
Mix IFSF with Other Protocols
Even within a single country it's likely you will find pumps that use a proprietary protocol rather than IFSF. Especially, outside Europe there is little IFSF equipment to be found.
If you are only implementing IFSF, you would need to convince the owners of such sites to pay to upgrade their pumps before you could communicate with them. Typically this would mean adding protocol converters to each pump, typically several hundred Euros each.
However, if you're using The Enabler you will be able to support those pumps without any major change, since The Enabler communicates with many proprietary protocols, and provides the same interface to your application as for IFSF pumps. (Depending on limitations of the proprietary protocols, you might have to make minor adjustments).
In any case, many pumps "implement" IFSF using a protocol converter from their native protocol - thus the native protocol and any restrictions it has can still be a factor.