Transcript Diapositiva 1 - Gaming Standards Association

GSA Certification:
How does it benefit Operators?
Russ Ristine – Radical Blue Gaming
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What is GSA?
• GSA is an international trade association
• GSA’s members include gaming manufacturers,
suppliers, operators, and regulators
• Since 1998, GSA has been promoting and
facilitating the development of open standards
that benefit the entire gaming industry
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Benefits of GSA
• Create Standard Protocols (GDS, G2S, and S2S)
– Protocol experts from member companies
– All agree this is the way it must be
• Encourage adoption
– Create a stable protocol
– Training (UNLV – IGI)
– Celebrate implementations
– Provide publicity
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GSA’s Platinum Members
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Goal of a Standard Protocol
• Move all players from proprietary solutions to
standard communications
• Vendors spend less time maintaining protocols
• Single Protocol – Much easier to test
• Operator doesn’t have to wait for their version to
get modified
• Fearless Installs!
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What are these Protocols?
• G2S - Game to System Protocol
– Used to connect Gaming Devices to back of house
systems
– SAS Replacement
• S2S - System to System Protocol
– Used to connect servers to other servers
– In the field, used for Class II, Kiosks, etc.
– One independent standard communication method
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Intro to the Protocols
• GDS – Gaming Device Standard
– Internal to EGM
– USB protocol which connects peripherals (note
acceptor, card reader, printer, etc.) to the main
computer board in the EGM
• SAS – Slot Accounting System
– This protocol is the most widely used in the industry
– Created nearly 20 years ago; evolved to become most
common protocol
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GSA’s 3 Protocols
S2S
Coin
Acceptor
GDS
G2S
Voucher Manager
Kiosks
S2S
Coin
Hopper
Point of
Sale
Player Tracking
Note
Acceptor
Game
Control
S2S
Advanced
Slot Accounting
Printer
Coin/Bill
Counters
S2S
Touch
Screen
Progressive
S2S
Class II
Servers
EGM
Host Systems and other S2S devices
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Agenda
 Looking at Slot Machines (EGMs)
• What about Systems?
• GSA’s Certification Program
• Making Certification Effective
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Current EGM World
• Every EGM has a version of SAS for every SMIB
• Every SMIB has a version of SAS for every EGM
• System to SMIB – homogenized, but proprietary
• All are typically developed in a vacuum
• New versions are developed to solve problems
when teams finally connect in the field
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Slot Floor Network - Today
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Why is SAS Difficult?
• 19,200K polled protocol with odd start bit
• Polling requires responses at inconvenient times
• Responses must meet strict timing requirements
• Multiple interpretations of the SAS protocol
make interoperability testing a requirement
• SAS Certification testing started in 2005, 16
years after protocol came out!
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SAS Certification
• GSA Creates a SAS working group
• Operators then ask for certification to reduce
problems in the field
• Most existing applications failed certification
• Certification only tests EGMs…
• EGMs are now more conscious about doing their
implementation correctly
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SAS Problems Fade Away
Why is G2S better?
• G2S is made to be easily extended to
accommodate new features and functions
• G2S is event driven – the EGM (or system)
acknowledges immediately, and then replies as
soon as it is able
• G2S uses proven Internet technology such as
TCP/IP and Web Services, and is designed for
reliability in a high traffic network
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More Benefits of G2S
• G2S is made up of “classes”
– The classes separate the protocol into smaller
parts with each performing a specific function
• The name of the class is typically the function it provides
– Classes can represent
• physical devices (money acceptors, printers etc.)
• business needs (such as vouchers or handpay)
• Or protocol function (Communications, configuration)
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More Benefits of G2S
• Every Class has an owner
– Owner - the computer/Server that owns and is
responsible for managing the class
• But any server can be a guest (read only access)
– subscribe to meters and events
– request status, logs and profile information
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Agenda
• Looking at Slot Machines (EGMs)
 What about Systems?
• GSA’s Certification Program
• Making Certification Effective
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What about Systems?
• Every System vendor has their own suite of
protocols for connecting to peripherals
• Every peripheral (like a kiosk) has a suite of
protocols for connecting to different systems
• Everything eventually works together but it’s
hard to make changes
– New vendor
– New feature
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GSA’s S2S Protocol
• With GSA’s S2S protocol, there’s now one
“standard” System to System protocol
• Provides a standardized way for communications
to occur
• S2S can be easily extended to accommodate
new features and functions
• S2S uses proven Internet technology such as
TCP/IP and Web Services, and is designed for
reliability in a high traffic network
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However…
• Even with S2S we have differing implementations
• Seminoles are using a variant of S2S 1.1.5
• Choctaws – S2S 1.10 with non-std transport +
extra classes
• Chickasaws – S2S 1.2 (Yeah!) but developing in a
vacuum (uh-oh!)
• Why is this occurring?
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Solutions
Eliminating non-standard implementations
• Doing it right must become the only way
• Standard reference implementations for S2S
• Certification program is needed
• Achieving certification must have value
• Operators MUST insist on certification
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Agenda
• Looking at Slot Machines (EGMs)
• What about Systems?
 GSA’s Certification Program
• Making Certification Effective
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GSA Certification – Planned
from the Start
• The GSA Certification program is designed to
minimize interoperability problems
• The goal is to achieve one correct interpretation
of the protocol
• Protocol schemas and web services rules can be
used to test messages
• Feedback loop from Operators ensures the
Certification program remains viable (and
relevant)
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GSA Certification
• GSA compliance – testing by 3rd party lab to
ensure that the protocol implementation is
correct
• GSA Compliance testing is NOT Regulatory
Approval
• Protocol certification streamlines the regulatory
process
– Reduces the quantity and variety of tests that
must be performed
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GSA Certification
• All parties benefit through
– Improved speed to market for products
– Products work together when they show up
on your floor
– Plug and Play (easier installs, reduced service
calls)
• If both devices are certified, they should work
together the first time they are connected (like
your PC and printer)
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Certification Program
• Goal = Correct and consistent implementation of
GSA’s standards
• Formal process for the testing and certification
of Gaming Products
• ISO 17025 Accreditation for Testing Agencies
• Products passing certification will be published in
the Certification Register on GSA’s web site
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Reference Implementations
• Simulators and test tools are available to provide
a reference version of the protocol
• Developers can use a simulator to ensure their
EGM or system will talk to a correctly
implemented system (or EGM)
• Test tools are also available so that new code
can be exercised with thousands of transaction
over days
• Developers can pre-test with certification tools
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Challenge Tests
• GSA will employ challenge tests to spot check
testing agencies to ensure they are testing
effectively
• If a certified product fails a challenge test, the
testing agency is notified to review their
process.
• If situation doesn’t improve, test agency can
lose certification
• Goal – ensure process is of high quality
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Agenda
• Looking at Slot Machines (EGMs)
• What about Systems?
• GSA’s Certification Program
 Making Certification Work
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Why Bother?
• Left to their own devices, most folks will take
the easiest path to a solution
• Operators must strongly indicate they prefer less
chaos on their floors
• Developers will realize that doing it right (vs.
fast) is actually more efficient
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What is GSA doing?
• Publishing protocols
• Cajoling
• Slowing the rate of change
• Focus on backwards compatibility
• Working with members to finalize the process
• Interoperability Demonstration at G2E
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Education
• GSA Donated funds to UNLV Foundation to establish a GSA
Certified Engineering Program
– International Gaming Institute & School of Informatics at
the UNLV
– Two GSA Affiliate Professors of Gaming Technology
• Initial Course Focus – G2S Developers
– Covering XML & Web services; G2S Messaging classes
– Transport and Security
– Configuration & Player Management
• Two classes have graduated so far
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Standard Simulators
• G2S Scope (Host) for EGM manufacturers
• EGM Simulator for System developers
• Everyone is looking for faults in the products
• New versions go to everyone
• All of this is happening NOW
• Even though the path is mapped out, it’s hard to
get everyone to follow it…
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G2E 2007 – Interop Demo
Host C
Host A
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Host B
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What can YOU do?
• Stay involved in what GSA is doing
• Become an intelligent consumer
• Ask vendors about GSA protocol progress
• Look for the Inter-op Demo at G2E
• Insist on GSA certifications - - not negotiable,
no variations from the standard
• Consider setting up your own testing facility
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Recap - G2S Certification
• The G2S Certification program is designed to
minimize interoperability problems
• With Certification testing, there is only one
correct interpretation of the protocol for all
EGMs and Systems
• Operator involvement will ensure that the
Certification program is effective
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Questions?
WWW.GAMINGSTANDARDS.COM
CasinoFest4: GSA Certification