Many hotels have been running for some years, and the old WIFI certification system was built a few years ago, with old functionality, non-compliance or maintenance by the manufacturer. To change the system, but the hotel is open every day, it can't be shut down and your customers are still online. How to smooth the old system out of business without interrupting the customer's access to the new hotel WIFI authentication system is a practical question.
Get a look at the old system before it's upgraded.
Before we do it, let us get a complete picture of how the old system is deployed, where NATSHEL_AUTH_GATEWAY is and how PMS interfaces with GATEWAY, where logs exist, what network structures are. The old system often loses files, the people who built it go away, and many things are touched on site. This step, if one can't stop at half-assed with the old system, could easily be stomping on unexpected dependence in the transition and causing customers to break online. Time spent drawing the status of the old system into a clear picture, showing all key nodes and dependencies, which is the basis for smooth upgrades.
The new system will be built in parallel.
The core idea of smooth upgrades is parallel. Putting the new system together with the old system, which continues to run its clients at this stage, and collating it next to each other, connecting it, testing it. Network access, PMS interface, authentication processes are all being adjusted and validated in parallel. When the new system is fully ready, tested and changed. The benefit of parallel construction is that it gives sufficient preparation and validation time, without rushing, the old system is still running. Don't come up and tearing down the old system, so that when the new system is not well-tuned, guests will be out of the net.
The guest stream is a switch.
The moment of real change, when the flow is lowest, usually at night or early morning, and the occupants are mostly asleep and in public areas. This time shift, even with short fluctuations, affects the guests least. It should be written before switching to list steps, who does, does, how to verify, and how to back up problems. The switch should be done step by step, and then check the next step after step.
The old system's data should be moved.
Some data may be kept in the old system, such as historical logs that are still in retirement as required by compliance. When switching, these data cannot be discarded with the older system, the migration is moved to a new system or to a separate archive and will be readily available during the retention period. The format, integrity, and validation of data after migration are confirmed before moving. The logs for compliance are sometimes long, but they are not deleted from the old system.
Switch to the old system. Don't rush it.
When the new system is switched off, the old system will be removed and retained for a period of time as insurance for retirement. In case the new system becomes operational for days, it will quickly be able to get back into the old system when it has been running for some time, confirming that there are no remaining problems and then officially de-linking the old system. The time to keep the old system is an observation period and a step away from it.
Toggle to notify the person before and after.
The upgrade involves front desk, engineering department, and possibly group IT and manufacturers, and is notified before the switch to know when it can be done or when it is cut, and how to meet customers. The new system may operate differently from the old one, which has to be trained in advance, or the front desk will be confused as soon as the guests come to ask. Information is synchronized, all parties cooperate, and the switch is smooth. Don't get bored, the front desk is blinded, and the experience is broken. Communication is an important part of the technology that goes beyond smooth upgrading.
Upgrading is also an opportunity to optimize the architecture.
The change of systems is not just a new one, but an opportunity to rework the network architecture and to make up for historical arrears. Some of the legacy of the old system era can be addressed by this upgrade, such as: network isolation, log retention irregularities, and blind areas.
The hotel WIFI certified the smooth upgrade of the Internet system."Parallel construction, low-cryptic transition, data adaptation, old system observation period, communication in place"The core principle is that there is no risk to the hotel in operation, no interruption of the customer's Internet access, and always room for retreat. By this idea, a steady move, old systems can be replaced with little sense of being a guest.