Khon Kaen University Accelerates into the Digital Era with Huawei's High-Speed AirEngine Wi-Fi 6 Network and State-of-the-Art Management System

A Top University in Thailand's Northeast

Established in 1964, Khon Kaen University (KKU) is the largest university in Thailand's northeastern region and one of the leading academic institutions in the country. Its two campuses currently welcome nearly 40,000 students who are enrolled in nineteen faculties across five colleges.

As part of its strategic vision to become both a smart campus and smart university, KKU's leadership have adopted a comprehensive, transformational digital plan, one that starts by making wide-ranging improvements to its Wi-Fi network. So, in late 2022, Huawei Thailand began installing the first of 6000 AirEngine Wi-Fi 6 Access Points (APs) and also implemented new network management software for KKU, based on the university's pre-designed system. The project is due to complete in 2023.

KKU's Smart University Concept

To implement its digital strategy and transform itself into a smart university and smart campus, KKU's transformation plan has three key steps.

First, connect all of the university's faculties and colleges through a state-of-the-art Wi-Fi 6 network and cloud services to allow easy network access, campus-wide.

Next, set up an efficient Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to ensure intelligent and uninterrupted connectivity, reduce redundant work and processes through automation, and provide real-time monitoring and support, such as traffic management in and out of the university campus

Finally, enable the KKU Faculty of Medicine's vision to become the hub for Thailand's 20 hospitals in the northeastern region.

State-of-the-Art Solutions

Huawei solutions and key network technologies — namely, AirEngine Wi-Fi 6 and iMaster Network Cloud Engine (NCE) — are now supporting KKU's transformation.

A fully wireless, high-speed AirEngine Wi-Fi 6 network made up of 6000 APs, including 5900 AirEngine 5761-21 and 100 AirEngine 6760-51E devices, provide ultra-low latency anytime, anywhere. Indeed, KKU is Huawei's largest AirEngine Wi-Fi 6 project to date in the education sector.

Huawei iMaster NCE is the industry's first centralized all-in-one platform for network design, deployment, automation, and intelligence, integrating management, control, analysis, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) functions to enable easy and low-cost Operations and Maintenance (O&M). This makes Information Technology (IT) system monitoring and maintenance far faster and much easier.

Together, these technologies unlock a wealth of digital solutions in education, including online learning and training, interactive video learning, and virtual classrooms. They also support KKU's strategy to develop smart medical services, such as telemedicine, helping it become a medical hub in Thailand's northeast.

Main Equipment Provided by Huawei

• 5900 AirEngine 5761-21 APs

• 100 AirEngine 6760-51E APs

• 500 CloudEngine S5735-L series access switches

• iMaster NCE platform

Reaping the Rewards

KKU's Wi-Fi 6 and management network are fully managed from a centralized Intelligent Operation Center (IOC), providing seamless, digitally-organized back-office operations. Among other improvements and advantages, KKU's main benefits are clear.

• Outstanding performance with a high-quality AirEngine Wi-Fi 6 network, providing double the bandwidth compared to Wi-Fi 5.

• High access capacity of 100 Mbit/s everywhere on campus.

• Fast download speeds: 100 MB takes just seconds.

• An optimized user experience: the AI platform predicts, identifies, locates, and rectifies issues within minutes instead of hours.

• Huawei iMaster NCE helps manage, deploy, and adjust the network far faster than manual operations can.

• Easy and cost-effective maintenance thanks to the system's centralized control.

"Without embracing digital transformation, we would struggle to keep pace with the rapid changes happening around us," commented Associate Professor Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), President of KKU. "Therefore, it's important for KKU to embrace a forward-thinking policy that allows it to remain relevant and keep up with the times."