Patent ID: 8500556

Claim:
A gaming system, comprising: a gaming device only having a single Ethernet communication port; a plurality of peripheral devices located within the gaming device, wherein the plurality of peripheral devices use the single Ethernet communication port to communicate with a plurality of system hosts; and an intelligent multiplexer in simultaneous communication with the plurality of system hosts, wherein the intelligent multiplexer communicates with the gaming device only through the single Ethernet communication port and enables the single Ethernet communication port to function as if the single Ethernet communication port is a plurality of ports, and wherein the intelligent multiplexer arbitrates communication between the peripheral devices and the system hosts by controlling the timing of when each of the system hosts communicates with the gaming machine using fixed time response windows, wherein the intelligent multiplexer enables the system hosts to communicate with the gaming machine using requests that are made in accordance with the fixed time response windows, wherein a fetching period is the time required for the gaming machine to respond to a request, and wherein the multiplexer is capable of arbitrating the requests even when the fixed time response windows are shorter than the fetching period.