COUNTRY FOCUS: BAHRAIN
U
niversity of Bahrain (UoB),
the only national higher
education institution in the
Kingdom of Bahrain that offers
mainly undergraduate Bachelor
degrees and some postgraduate
degrees, has implemented a
state-of-the-art wireless network
infrastructure from Aruba, a
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
company, that provides high
performance connectivity for
over 26,000 students and 1,800
staff. Kanoo IT (a division of E. K.
Kanoo Group), Aruba’s integration
partner in Bahrain carried out
the implementation and was
instrumental in the success of
the project.
With a campus that sprawls over
5 sq. km in area and up to 10,000
simultaneous users on the Wi-Fi
network, high-density, security, ease
of installation and configuration,
and rapid troubleshooting were key
requirements for success.
One of the biggest challenges during
deployment was the sheer scale of the
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INTELLIGENTCIO
project. Over 80 buildings had to be
included for coverage and access to
these could be hampered by security
policies, university operational hours
and other such factors.
To overcome this, Kanoo IT, led
by Noufal Nannambra, Network
Pre-Sales Manager, proposed the
use of Aruba’s 7200 series mobility
controllers. Utilising these would
allow the University’s engineering
teams to simply install the APs as
per their convenience, while the IT
team could then remotely manage
the setup and configuration. The
integrator’s expertise in design has
also enabled UOB to realise the
true potential of the powerful Aruba
mobility controllers.
The coverage and high-density
characteristics of Aruba’s 802.11n
access points has meant that APs
installed in the hallways can provide
ample coverage for the classrooms.
So if any physical maintenance is
required on an AP, it can be carried
out without disruption to classes
in session.
Aruba’s solutions greatly simplify the
administration and management of
the wireless network. Each of the 450
APs can be centrally monitored and
controlled and even updates can be
pushed out centrally without the need
for manual intervention.
Furthermore, the solution supports
a wide number of mobile device
platforms. “This has been of
paramount importance since we
see all types of devices and mobile
operating systems connecting to
our network. Yet, we never see users
facing challenges due to this factor,”
states Alabdi.
With the first phase of the upgrade
successfully completed, 70% of UOB’s
campus now enjoys Wi-Fi coverage.
“Our plan is to extend this coverage
in phases based on the requirements
of the various departments within the
campus. With the continued support
from Aruba and Kanoo IT, we look
forward to expanding our network
infrastructure, allowing it to match
the growth and usage within the
University,” he adds.
www.intelligentcio.com