Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming October 2017 40 “When a momentary drop in video capture or failure to retain footage for a specified regulatory period can lead to enforced closure or fines that wipe hundreds of thousands of dollars off total earnings, 99.99% reliability is not sufficient.” virtualization is an important mechanism casinos can employ to eliminate downtime and data loss. There are two main routes casinos can take, though they are by no means mutually exclusive. One is to create a secondary virtual server, or Virtual Machine (VM), by replicating data across multiple hardware components – should server “A” fail, server “B,” a perfect replica, takes over. However, the switchover to a VM (when needed) is not always immediate and can take up to a couple of minutes which is why casinos are increasingly interested in faster, software-driven server virtualization. In the case of our own Synergy 3 command and control solution, for example, “hot swap” server replication ensures that – in the event of a primary server issue – continuous data access and control capability is maintained, through failover to a virtual backup platform, until the primary server is brought back online. At this point, all data captured is copied back to the primary server for complete synchronicity, therefore making the user experience seamless for the control room operator. It is important to point out that hot swapping does not simply guard against core server failure. With an integrated security management solution driving the data capture and storage “decision process,” any hardware malfunction – such as a primary storage server or encoder problem – will automatically divert recording to the most appropriate temporary location while maintaining full viewing, control and playback capabilities. One trend we are starting to see, particularly in Asia, is for footage from cameras covering high-risk zones to be recorded to a primary storage server, a hot swap location and a secondary (JBOD) hard disk drive recording location. As well as offering an additional layer of redundancy, this setup also enables the hard disk drive to be removed and plugged into a drive caddy for immediate video playback with no impact to the primary recording. This is especially useful in cases where security teams or third-party officials may need rapid access to footage during an ongoing incident. Focus on continuous coverage for cameras. In most cases, a combination of core redundancy measures will provide the comprehensive protection casinos need to guard against coverage loss. However, when a momentary drop in video capture or failure to retain footage for a specified regulatory period can lead to enforced closure or fines that wipe hundreds of thousands of dollars off total earnings, 99.99% reliability is not sufficient. What happens, for instance, if a vital camera goes down? A useful, but often overlooked measure in this instance is to employ a redundant camera framework based on presets programmed into the command and control solution. Should a specific camera fail, this set-up automatically detects the issue and ensures that particular field of view is covered by repositioning the redundant PTZs accordingly. This is not a failsafe suitable for all cameras in all settings, but it is a useful and proven safety net for protecting high-risk areas such as cash cages and specific gaming tables. Feature In Focus