<s>
4690	B-Language
Operating	I-Language
System	I-Language
(	O
sometimes	O
shortened	O
to	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
or	O
4690	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
specially	O
designed	O
point	O
of	O
sale	O
(	O
POS	O
)	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
originally	O
sold	O
by	O
IBM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
4690	O
is	O
the	O
successor	O
product	O
to	O
IBM	B-Language
4680	I-Language
OS	I-Language
,	O
which	O
was	O
in	O
use	O
by	O
IBM	O
customers	O
since	O
1986	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
4680	O
OS	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
Digital	O
Research	O
's	O
Concurrent	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
286	I-Operating_System
,	O
a	O
system	O
thereafter	O
renamed	O
to	O
FlexOS	B-Operating_System
286	I-Operating_System
in	O
November	O
1986	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
1993	O
,	O
IBM	O
adopted	O
FlexOS	B-Operating_System
version	O
2.32	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
their	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
version	O
1	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FlexOS	B-Operating_System
2.32	O
supported	O
286	B-General_Concept
(	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
80286	I-General_Concept
)	O
and	O
386	B-General_Concept
(	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
80386	I-General_Concept
)	O
modes	O
and	O
had	O
no	O
limit	O
on	O
applications	O
running	O
concurrently	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1995	O
,	O
IBM	O
licensed	O
IMS	O
REAL/32	B-Operating_System
7.50	O
,	O
a	O
derivative	O
of	O
Digital	O
Research	O
's	O
Multiuser	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
and	O
thereby	O
a	O
successor	O
to	O
Concurrent	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
386	I-Operating_System
,	O
to	O
bundle	O
it	O
with	O
their	O
4695	O
POS	O
terminals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
,	O
IHL	O
Consulting	O
Group/RIS	O
News	O
,	O
IBM	B-Language
4690	I-Language
OS	I-Language
still	O
had	O
a	O
market	O
share	O
of	O
12%	O
in	O
the	O
POS	O
register	O
client	B-Protocol
market	O
in	O
June	O
2005	O
,	O
when	O
IBM	O
was	O
starting	O
to	O
phase	O
it	O
out	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
IBM	O
Retail	O
Environment	O
for	B-Language
SUSE	O
(	O
IRES	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
continued	O
to	O
maintain	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
until	O
April	O
2015	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
most	O
recent	O
version	O
released	O
by	O
IBM	O
in	O
May	O
2012	O
being	O
IBM	B-Language
4690	I-Language
OS	I-Language
Version	O
6	O
Release	O
3	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
supported	O
until	O
2017	O
under	O
special	O
contracts	O
with	O
big-name	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meanwhile	O
,	O
Toshiba	O
has	O
released	O
Toshiba	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
Version	O
6	O
Release	O
4	O
(	O
V6R4	O
)	O
in	O
January	O
2014	O
,	O
and	O
Version	O
6	O
Release	O
5	O
(	O
V6R5	O
)	O
in	O
January	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
a	O
Linux-based	O
successor	O
of	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
,	O
named	O
TCx	O
Sky	O
and	O
codeveloped	O
with	O
Wind	O
River	O
Systems	O
,	O
was	O
launched	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soon	O
after	O
,	O
Toshiba	O
discontinued	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
for	B-Language
new	O
customers	O
;	O
it	O
is	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
still	O
supported	O
under	O
service	O
contracts	O
signed	O
between	O
Toshiba	O
Global	O
Commerce	O
Solutions	O
and	O
stores	O
still	O
using	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
on	O
their	O
POS	O
terminals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latest	O
security	O
update	O
(	O
CSD	O
Level	O
2010	O
)	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
December	O
2020	O
,	O
only	O
for	B-Language
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
Version	O
6	O
Release	O
5	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retailers	O
are	O
using	O
the	O
4690	B-Language
Operating	I-Language
System	I-Language
for	B-Language
their	O
operations	O
because	O
of	O
its	O
many	O
retail-specific	O
and	O
reliability	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
4690	O
supports	O
many	O
POS	O
terminal	O
devices	O
,	O
store	O
controller	O
servers	B-Application
,	O
and	O
combination	O
controller	O
–	O
terminals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
family	O
of	O
IBM	O
Universal	O
Serial	O
Bus	O
(	O
USB	B-Protocol
)	O
POS	O
devices	O
that	O
4690	O
supports	O
includes	O
keyboards	O
,	O
displays	O
,	O
and	O
cash	O
drawers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
4690	O
also	O
supports	O
other	O
input/output	B-General_Concept
(	O
I/O	B-General_Concept
)	O
devices	O
designed	O
and	O
conforming	O
to	O
IBM	O
's	O
USB	B-Protocol
POS	O
device	O
interface	O
specifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
makes	O
interface	O
specifications	O
available	O
to	O
third-party	O
vendors	O
to	O
enable	O
them	O
to	O
connect	O
their	O
devices	O
to	O
POS	O
terminals	O
using	O
RS-485	O
,	O
RS-232	O
,	O
and	O
USB	B-Protocol
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
provides	O
a	O
Controller	O
Matrix	O
document	O
with	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
compatible	O
IBM	O
servers	B-Application
for	B-Language
use	O
with	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
as	O
store	O
controllers	O
and	O
controller	O
–	O
terminals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
servers	B-Application
represent	O
current	O
and	O
formerly	O
available	O
devices	O
which	O
continue	O
to	O
be	O
supported	O
by	O
4690	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Perhaps	O
the	O
most	O
notable	O
feature	O
of	O
the	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
is	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
"	O
redundancy	O
infrastructure	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
designed	O
the	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
to	O
work	O
either	O
as	O
one	O
server	O
,	O
or	O
with	O
one	O
or	O
more	B-Device
other	O
4690	O
servers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
servers	B-Application
are	O
commonly	O
called	O
store	O
controllers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
connected	O
in	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
(	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
)	O
,	O
these	O
4690	O
store	O
controllers	O
provide	O
redundant	O
backup	B-Application
using	O
mirrored	O
data	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
a	O
system	O
of	O
master	O
controller	O
,	O
alternate	O
master	O
,	O
file	O
server	O
,	O
and	O
alternate	O
file	O
server	O
designations	O
,	O
the	O
controllers	O
preserve	O
data	O
integrity	O
and	O
allow	O
file	O
backup	B-Application
in	O
case	O
a	O
store	O
controller	O
fails	O
and	O
needs	O
to	O
be	O
replaced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
copy	B-Device
of	O
the	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
is	O
maintained	O
in	O
each	O
store	O
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
4690	O
POS	O
terminals	O
(	O
registers	O
)	O
load	O
a	O
copy	B-Device
of	O
4690	O
from	O
the	O
store	O
controller	O
into	O
memory	O
when	O
they	O
Initial	O
Program	O
Load	O
(	O
IPL	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Non-volatile	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
is	O
used	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
data	O
is	O
not	O
lost	O
in	O
transit	O
from	O
the	O
terminals	O
to	O
the	O
store	O
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
primary	O
controller	O
fails	O
,	O
the	O
terminals	O
automatically	O
access	O
the	O
backup	B-Application
controller	O
,	O
providing	O
uninterrupted	O
sales	O
at	O
the	O
POS	O
terminal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
both	O
the	O
primary	O
and	O
backup	B-Application
controllers	O
are	O
unavailable	O
,	O
the	O
terminal	O
can	O
go	O
into	O
a	O
standalone	O
state	O
,	O
or	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
applications	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
support	O
a	O
Terminal	O
Offline	O
(	O
TOF	O
)	O
state	O
wherein	O
terminals	O
run	O
offline	O
using	O
a	O
terminal-based	O
item	O
file	O
and	O
logging	O
stored	O
in	O
their	O
own	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
maintain	O
software	O
at	O
the	O
store	O
level	O
,	O
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
provides	O
a	O
software	O
maintenance	O
facility	O
to	O
manage	O
updates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
facility	O
provides	O
checking	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
all	O
updates	O
have	O
been	O
transferred	O
to	O
the	O
store	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
apply	O
the	O
maintenance	O
from	O
store	O
level	O
commands	B-Application
or	O
under	O
central	O
control	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
updated	O
software	O
can	O
be	O
applied	O
in	O
test	O
,	O
which	O
preserves	O
the	O
prior	O
software	O
in	O
case	O
the	O
maintenance	O
needs	O
to	O
be	O
backed	O
off	O
for	B-Language
some	O
reason	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
including	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
,	O
X.25	B-Protocol
,	O
Systems	B-Architecture
Network	I-Architecture
Architecture	I-Architecture
(	O
SNA	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
asynchronous	O
communications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
list	O
of	O
commands	B-Application
are	O
supported	O
by	O
the	O
4690	B-Language
Operating	I-Language
System	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
4690	B-Language
OS	I-Language
has	O
been	O
updated	O
annually	O
to	O
address	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
its	O
user	O
community	O
and	O
in	O
anticipation	O
of	O
upcoming	O
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
4690	O
Version	O
5	O
incorporated	O
new	O
security	O
enhancements	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Secure	B-Protocol
Shell	I-Protocol
(	O
SSH	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
IPsec	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
enhanced	O
operator	O
security	O
(	O
allowing	O
alphanumeric	O
operator	O
IDs	O
,	O
password	O
complexity	O
requirements	O
,	O
password	O
expiration	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
4690	O
supports	O
applications	O
written	O
in	O
a	O
CBASIC	B-Language
variant	O
named	O
IBM	O
4680	O
BASIC	B-Language
,	O
Metaware	O
High-C	O
,	O
and	O
Java	B-Language
2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Java	B-Language
language-based	O
ability	O
at	O
both	O
the	O
server	O
and	O
the	O
client	B-Protocol
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
extension	O
of	O
Internet	B-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
suite	I-Protocol
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
ability	O
to	O
the	O
client	B-Protocol
,	O
enables	O
Java	B-Language
applications	O
at	O
both	O
the	O
server	O
and	O
client	B-Protocol
to	O
run	O
concurrently	B-Architecture
with	O
extant	O
CBASIC	B-Language
or	O
C	B-Language
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
make	O
functional	O
enhancements	O
to	O
extant	O
applications	O
by	O
developing	O
a	O
new	O
Java	B-Language
application	O
that	O
communicates	O
with	O
an	O
extant	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	B-Language
4690	I-Language
Operating	I-Language
System	I-Language
versions	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Toshiba	B-Language
4690	I-Language
Operating	I-Language
System	I-Language
versions	O
:	O
</s>
