Pay Me Now, or Pay Me Later

The title of this article was a popular advertising slogan for automotive oil filters a few years back. The logic was you could either buy a cheap filter today or suffer a costly blown engine in the future. Sounds pretty similar to our argument that you need to invest in your network infrastructure today, instead of waiting for some promised milestone such as server-based gaming.

Last month, vendors demonstrated much advancement in their server-based products and shared-bonus concepts at G2E. However, for many attending the show there was also relief these concepts haven't yet evolved into a "killer application." In other words, you could probably get by another year without allocating capital in your 2009 budget for "server-based stuff."

Nonetheless, you might want to be a bit more liberal when considering an investment in network infrastructure. A high-speed network is the foundation of all future server-based gaming systems, but it can also pay big rewards today and protect you from some significant losses. With a fundamentally sound network, you can improve your automated slot system performance, enhance digital signage programs, improve phone communications, speed guest service, improve interconnectivity, and avoid disastrous shutdowns.

But here's the hard part: Your MIS/IT department will have no shortage of suggestions on how to spend your dollars on a new network. And depending on who you ask, their opinions will be pretty inflexible. (To test this theory, ask whether they prefer Windows or Linux. If that doesn't start an instant argument, try "Mac or PC?") These kinds of debates are entertaining, but the stakes on designing a network are way too high to risk a wrong call.

While network design can be a "futuristic" topic in many casinos, the concepts have been well established in other industries for years. If your technology team has been in gaming for more than five years, they may actually need to learn a few new tricks to catch up. Patent wars, proprietary protocols, old slot systems and even older slot machines have actually held our industry back by retaining standards, like serial transmission and obsolete code, that are considered pre-historic in Silicon Valley. The industry is now moving in the right direction by adopting the new guidelines of the Gaming Standards Association (GSA), but virtually everything on your floor today was built pre-GSA.

Take heart, there are things you can do to make sure your team's on the right path to network bliss.

Follow Industry Best Practices & Standards. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel when implementing an IP (Internet Protocol) or high-speed network floor. Secure robust IP networks have been around for years outside of gaming, and they've been tested in some of the most demanding financial, industrial and military environments. Applying industry standards will ensure the infrastructure you deploy today will be going strong for years to come.

Make sure your CMS partner is ready and willing to support your move to an IP-based floor. While casino resorts employ numerous data systems, from point-of-sale and hotel to phone switching and inventory, the heart of most of these is the basic slot tracking system that has evolved to be a full-blown CMS with marketing and bonusing features. Nearly all the major CMS vendors now have a high-speed version of their product ready for rollout this year or the first of next year. You need to make sure your plans for the future (and theirs) are on the same path.

Create your own network standards for consistency and simplicity. While this can slow down implementation in the beginning, it can also mean significant reductions of downtime. Don't compromise on this step or youll be sorry--can you relate to long lines of guests with cards that don't work? Some items that fall into this category are code version control; IP address standards; naming conventions; standard configurations for network hardware (you'd be surprised how many different setups can exist in a single casino if discipline is lax); and documented procedures, scalability, and resiliency. Computers have accelerated Murphy's Law into a sure thing. Networks will fail. How well, and how fast, yours recovers can make all the difference.

Conduct a risk analysis of all your systems. They will fall into one of these three categories:

1) Low Risk--If the system fails, would there be only a minor impact on business?

2) Medium Risk--Would the failure cause a moderate business disruption?

3) High Risk--The General Manager is on hold and your Help Desk crew is refusing to answer the phone. These are the serious business interruptions that can lead to future unemployment. Obviously the phone switch, emergency lighting, HVAC controls, slot systems are in this latter category and demand much more attention.

Don't get tangled in the wires. Cabling is an area that should be given top priority, whether you're using copper Cat 6 or the latest in fiber optics. Ask any slot system vendor to name the most likely source of problems in a new installation and the answer--other than stubborn clients--will be cabling and termination problems. (The connectors, or terminations, are a common point of failure). It may be prudent to hire an outside pro for the termination phase of cabling unless your in-house crew has specific expertise. In most cases, the cable you install today will outlast the hardware that you attach to it. Plan for growth and look five years ahead when you spec your low voltage lines or optical paths.

Seek expert advice. Suggesting that your IT team seek outside advice is like asking a man to stop for directions. We all know it is the right thing to do, but we tend to avoid it whenever possible. There's too much on the line these days with an IP system to chance getting lost. The downside of seeking advice is a small nick in the ego, but the upside is avoiding those annoying calls to tech support saying things like, "Why did the entire floor crash in the middle of swing shift last night?!" You can find some good info for free (at least at first) from hardware vendors. Cisco, Extreme, Dell and HP all want to sell you stuff, but they can also give some good advice along with their pitch. And why not consult someone who actually has had success on a casino floor? Good reference sources for consultants who know their stuff are the CMS and slot system vendors themselves. The last thing ATI, Bally, IGT or Konami wants is for its system to fail because the casino implemented a poorly planned network.

Test, Test, Test! If you don't have a dedicated test area that mirrors your floor, you can't test properly. Test, test, test. Make sure plenty of time is spent testing your configuration to ensure it will work in your environment. Test, test and test again. Did we mention that testing was important?

Define User Roles. As the lines between slots, marketing, hotel, sales, F&B, retail, table games and IT become overlapped, have clear, concise documentation on everyone's role is in supporting the network. This is also a key to providing security, as detailed below.

Maintain Good Documentation. This always seems to be one of those items that just never gets done, but it can prove to be a lifesaver when problems occur. And keep it updated. Some of the essential chapters are devices and end-user inventory, configuration version control, a network topology map of your floor, and operating polices and procedures.

Keep It Safe. Data security, or a lack thereof, seems to be front-page news every week with hacks on credit cards or mass attacks on identity thefts. With the amount of information stored in our systems today--not to mention the trend of having live slot credits stored on traditional player card systems--data security has to be more than installing a firewall. You must have a written security policy and apply technology to support it. If your regulations aren't tight enough to prohibit anonymous users on your internal slot network, how can you guarantee that a rogue member of the team can't plug in a wireless access point and have undetected access to everything? Design the security plan before you purchase hardware, and buy what's needed to meet those demands. Again, this is an area where calling in outside expertise can be cost effective if you lack top-notch talent in-house.

Hire Smarter People. This is about as hard to admit as the fact that you're getting older. But you just can't hide from the truth. We need to start making "tech savvy" as important as a good smile. Pit management skills can no longer be defined as running a great pencil. A basic understanding of system concepts could be a requirement in nearly every operational job in the very near future. Your network itself can handle part of the load if you design in some basic intelligence and provide great diagnostic tools, but there's no substitute for a good group of power users who provide timely and accurate feedback. It's a bad sign if you still have slot mechanics working your floor. By now they should all be slot technicians. If you just changed their titles without adding a healthy dose of training, you're only fooling yourself--just like you are if you put off designing and implementing a good IP network.

John Kenefick and Buddy Frank are both Vice Presidents at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Southern California serving in IT and Slots, respectively. They are also advisors to the Pechanga Technology Solutions Group, an independent consulting firm specializing in technology deployment and applications for the gaming industry.

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