Case Study

Aristocrat Technologies

Stratus delivers always-on jackpot availability for global gaming solution

Aristocrat is a manufac¬turer of gaming hardware and a global leader in the development of software-based sophisticated gaming products for use by casinos around the world. Aristocrat began corporate life in 1953 as a gaming hardware supplier, and has evolved into a gaming technology group that places high value on software and content. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Aristocrat has offices in the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Japan, South America and Southeast Asia, where staff are focused on meeting customer needs at a local level. A global management structure drives innovation in all business areas.

Quick Facts

 Profile

  • Leading global provider of gaming solutions for over 50 years

Environment

  • Stratus® everRun® FT Software

Windows Application

  • QL Server 2000 Multi-Site Progressive (MSP) System

The Problem

Aristocrat had begun to use a new gaming application called Multi-Site Progressive (MSP) System, where slot machine players at casinos around the U.S. are connected, permitting them to play for combined jackpots. The Nevada Gaming Control, the state regulatory agency, requires redundancy in these systems to minimize downtime on the jackpot links.

The Approach

Aristocrat uses an SQL Server 2000 database running on a Windows server to monitor and increase jackpot levels for each slot machine within the MSP. If the database application goes down, the jackpots cannot continue to be managed and the games must be shut off.

The back-end database must continue to function for their external gaming machines to operate properly within the MSP. If the database shuts down for any reason, the games lock themselves and are not available to the players. Eventually Aristocrat will have hundreds of sites with potentially thousands of games connected to the MSP System. Any amount of downtime at the database level could have a significant financial impact if revenue-generating gaming equipment were switched offline.

The Solution

To protect against such an event, Aristocrat needed more than a highly available system; they needed continuous availability. The choices that Aristocrat evaluated for server redundancy were Microsoft Clustering and Stratus everRun software. Aristocrat selected Stratus® everRun® FT software because it offered an always-on solution that eliminated the failover process of clustering.

“… with potentially thousands of games connected to the system; downtime at the database level could have a significant financial impact … ”
Todd Voight
User Support Lead Northwestern’s Facilities Management IT department

The Results

“Key engineers played a significant role in the deployment and worked hand-in-hand with our in-house engineers to deploy the software successfully,” says Adam Goldstein, Director of Information Technology at Aristocrat. “Since the solution is still very new, we have not reached an ROI point yet. We are looking to expand our deployment of our new MSP product over the next five years and anticipate an ROI within 12 months.”

“Key engineers played a significant role in the deployment and worked hand-in-hand with our in-house engineers to deploy the software successfully.”
Adam Goldstein
Director of Information Technology Aristocrat Technologies

PDF Download

Related Assets

Featured

webinar
Optimizing Edge Devices for Enhanced Cybersecurity
Join Stratus as we provide practical insights on selecting, using, and optimizing edge devices to fortify cybersecurity measures in industrial automation and control. In this webinar, we’ll provide you with…

Featured

webinar
Streamlining Edge Operations
Discover how to enhance your edge deployment strategies during this IntegrateLive! Virtual Workshop. In this session, we’ll show you how to build hardened edge nodes that can run multiple applications…

Featured

webinar
How to Maximize your Edge Data
Take the first step towards unlocking the full potential of your data at the edge. Join Stratus, and our partner Barbara, to gain insights on transitioning from a Connected Edge…

Featured

webinar
Gaining Business Value Through an Edge-Native Infrastructure
The Edge Computing market has evolved in recent years to become a critical element driving innovation in digital business and operations. In this webcast, experts from IDC and Stratus discuss…

Featured

webinar
How to Achieve Operational Excellence in Modern Monitor and Control with Edge Computing
Stratus has partnered with Control Engineering to bring you a thought-provoking webcast where we’ll discuss how to achieve operational excellence in modern monitor and control with Edge Computing.

Featured

Analyst Report
Edge Computing Essentials Drive Digital Operations
Check out this new IDC Analyst Brief to learn why Edge Computing is the foundation for digital businesses and operations, the driving factors for leveraging Edge Computing, key considerations for…