Upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 Network Solution Helps Hotel Enhance Guest Experience

Background

A hotel owner with a business of managing 300 rooms was seeking for a better Wi-Fi network solution. With the business continuing to grow, the hotel was planning to upgrade the legacy network, aiming to provide clients with higher-speed wireless internet access under the premise of cyber security as well as easy network management, so as to finally enhance client satisfaction and improve brand loyalty.

Challenge

• On the one hand, there were only limited numbers of access points (APs) deployed on each floor of the hotel, which could not satisfy all the hotel staff and guests on three floors, and some guests had complained about the poor performance and slow speed; on the other hand, the hotel is at a period of fast development, the previous network infrastructure apparently can not meet the needs for larger scale and more guest numbers.

• Except for the requirement of high-speed network access for guest rooms, there are voice control systems, IP cameras, and other smart devices within the hotel, thus the new network deployment should take all the end devices in various areas into consideration.

• Cyber security is a key element the hotel attaches great importance to. However, the legacy network system lacks comprehensive security protection methods. For protection against big security problems such as information leakage, the hotel network was bound to upgrade immediately.

• Since there was no professional IT staff in the hotel, it always took a long time for having technicians to inspect and configure devices on the field when the network infrastructure went wrong.

Solution

In this network upgrade, a high-performance core switch with rich choices of interface speeds was deployed in the control room, which meets needs for the connection of multiple kinds of devices as well as network expansion.

The ingress network is guarded with FS multi-service security gateway's traffic control, load balancing and behavior auditing features, keeping it secure and stable.

40 Wi-Fi 6 APs are spread over the three floors, offering extended Wi-Fi range with no dead zones and fully meeting the needs of guests to have a high-speed internet access experience.

FS deploys an enterprise-class wireless LAN controller to control the APs, which enables the hotel to monitor and manage large AP deployment using only one controller with increased visibility and centralized management.

With the solution, the hotel saves labor and expenses for extra cabling thanks to PoE access switches supporting fully loaded PoE. The VSU technology of these switches increases the switch port density, making preparation for scaling hotel network in the future.

To improve the working productivity of the hotel through better network and devices, the solution introduced another access switch deployed in hotel office for computers, printers, servers, NAS, etc.

Customer Benefits

• Optimized wireless network experience: By upgrading network with Wi-Fi 6 wireless products, the hotel is fully covered with fast Wi-Fi network. VIP guest's rights and experience as priority are guaranteed via smart traffic control. The overall Internet access complaints after deploying FS solution dropped significantly compared to before.

• Enhanced hotel network security: Deployment of the multi-service security gateway helps minimizing cyber threats, which effectively protects cyber security and stability of the hotel network and prevents hotel guests' information from hackers' attacks.

• Simplified management and maintenance: The combination of deploying Wi-Fi 6 access points and a wireless LAN controller enables simpler network management, thus increasing the efficiency of hotel administration and improving the hotel's competitiveness.

• Future-proofed wireless system: The latest Wi-Fi 6 technology and rich switch features such as VSU functionality ensure the long-term development of the hotel and protect return on hotel investment.