Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Enhances its Campus Network with H3C’s Wi-Fi 6

Data Brief

Upgrade internal cloud server and network switches facility

Increase internet bandwidth capacity from 1Gbps to 10Gbps

Enabling 21,000 students to attend online lectures with minimal interruption

Client's Testimony

“We work hand-in-hand with cloud and network equipment solution providers like H3C in providing a conducive online learning environment for our students and staff. To provide economical and quality education to the community, we are glad that H3C has been actively supporting us in this digital transformation journey. As a result of this, our university has been operating smoothly for the past 18 months with minimal interruption.”

Ir. Prof. Dr. Yow Ho Kwang

Vice President of Internationalisation and Academic Development

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)

As the pandemic hit, like many other educational institutions, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) had to shift their physical lectures to online lectures. Offering up to 121 academic programmes to more than 21,000 students locally and internationally, the usage of remote online lectures has brought a tremendous increase in data traffic to the University’s internal cloud server. To cater for this huge surge in data traffic, UTAR has increased their internet bandwidth capacity with H3C as its internet service provider and also upgraded its internal cloud server and network switches facility with the help of H3C.

UTAR first reached out to H3C in 2020 in search of improving and upgrading its campus network and wireless system as the COVID-19 pandemic has urged them to take another step in their digitisation transformation process. In May 2021, UTAR acquired and deployed H3C’s products and solutions on one of their campuses, the UTAR Kampar campus. On 23 September 2021, H3C signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UTAR, further elevating their partnership while propelling Malaysia’s digital economy forward in the education industry.

H3C has started strategic cooperation with UTAR to share its expertise and joint development of research, as well as facilitating exchanges of ideas and facilities. H3C has also provided a campus network, Wi-Fi 6 solution and Cloudnet solution to UTAR using the latest public cloud management platform to monitor and manage their network devices. In addition, one of H3C’s partners, Extreme Broadband Sdn Bhd, a local internet service provider, has provided broadband internet service to UTAR.

Wi-Fi 6 campus network provides seamless connectivity for UTAR students

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman is a leading not-for-profit private university in Malaysia which was established under the UTAR Education Foundation and registered under the Malaysian Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996. As one of the top universities in Malaysia, they provide affordable quality education to the community, ranging from Foundation, Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes.Advancing into the digital future, UTAR has acquired H3C’s Future-Ready Wi-Fi 6, specifically designed to meet the challenges of the current and future wireless network users. It has helped UTAR to ensure they deliver seamless wireless connectivity to their faculty and students to conduct or attend daily online classes. The Wi-Fi 6 Solution is one of the fastest Wi-Fi 6 in the market which H3C is proud of. It delivers the highest performance with the highest single-client wireless throughput, representing the fastest Wi-Fi connection speed that has been tested by The Tolly Group, world-leading testers.

Besides that, H3C’s Wi-Fi 6 integrates cutting-edge technologies such as AI, Big Data, Cloud, freeing networks with accurate, smart and simple operations and maintenance. It is also IoT-ready for multiple IoT protocols with flexible IoT expansion which reduces construction costs and simplifies O&M. Often used in densely packed lecture halls, electronic classrooms and large-scale campuses, H3C’s Wi-Fi 6 campus network with Software-Defined Radio Frequency ensures a signal wherever you go, making it the best solution in supporting UTAR's digital transformation journey.

Cloud empowerment contributes to a simplified network management

Another widely implemented solution by UTAR is H3C’s Cloudnet Solution, cloud-based unified wireless and wired networking management service. This management tool provides a simplified yet scalable management for UTAR as the University is shifting its classes to online. With their data stored safely in the cloud, it is more secured and visible, with the management of OpEx optimized OMs. The Cloudnet platform adopts an advanced full-containerization solution and a fully distributed deployment architecture design. Based on this, the computing resources can be adaptively adjusted and allocated according to UTAR’s business characteristics, and achieve the flexible expansion and user-unaware business iterative.

Cloudnet empowers the University’s network through U-Center unified operation and maintenance cloud, enabling minimal network deployment at the same time achieving minute-level deployment, with zero on-site operation and maintenance. By managing and monitoring multiple network services, the platform breaks the data barriers between services caused by isolated and vertical service deployment, shortening the time spent for UTAR’s internal operation to go online. Moreover, AI empowerment enables minimal network operation and maintenance, intelligent network optimization, fault prediction, and provides the University with an excellent user experience.

With the use of Cloudnet to empower the Campus’s network management, it enhances UTAR’s business innovation through strong data operation capabilities. Ultimately, improving the effectiveness of its campus operations. H3C’s Cloudnet Solution is a new generation network solution for the digital transformation for enterprises like UTAR by providing them simple network deployment, ultimate network experience and strong value-added services.

H3C’s WA6622 speeds up UTAR’s network infrastructure 10 times faster

The network infrastructure for the UTAR Kampar campus has been in place for more than 14 years with the network backbone capacity supporting up to 1Gbps connection. After the COVID-19 outbreak, Malaysia has imposed a nationwide lockdown, forcing the faculty members and university students to work or study remotely from home. The impact of the pandemic has resulted in UTAR’s current capacity to no longer support the high amount of network needed for bandwidth-intensive activities such as online courses and video conferences.

To increase the bandwidth and speed of the network infrastructure, H3C has provided UTAR with its latest generation wireless access points, WA6622, for a stable networking experience. The product has assisted the University to upgrade its connectivity from 1Gbps to 10Gbps, aiding lecturers to stream online classes without interruptions. Lecturers can also forward assignment files to their students without the need to worry about the file size or internet speed. On the other hand, students can experience real-time online lectures while also receiving or downloading assignments at any time and at anywhere.

H3C WA6622 access points have dual-radio 802.11ax technology standards. They provide a transmission speed of at least two times faster than 802.11ac products. This makes the product suitable for high-density access scenarios, such as university campuses, e-schoolbag applications, and stadiums. The high throughput and low latency of the WA6622 with built-in antennas also support multi-rate uplink ports with a maximum speed of 5Gbps or 10Gbps. They are compact in appearance and support both wall mounting and ceiling mounting.

High confidence in digitalizing UTAR campus by providing professional support

Ever since the pandemic started, many educational institutions had to undergo digital transformation to meet the needs of online education and adapt to the COVID-19 situation. It is the same for universities like UTAR which has started digital transformation many years ago and has made continuous improvements to its digitization efforts every year. Affirming H3C’s role in this partnership, Ir. Professor Dr. Ewe Hong Tat, President and CEO of UTAR said, “With H3C coming on board, we are confident that we will be able to digitalise our campus operations to adapt to Malaysia’s rapidly changing economy and cater for the fast-moving ICT changes.”

UTAR has made impressive strides in establishing a strong reputation as a comprehensive university with the dedication to achieving excellence in teaching and research. In addition, H3C will work with UTAR to implement the talent enablement programmes, including training certification programmes, H3C network laboratory and also internship training programmes. H3C would like to shape the future of talents to understand the world of the digital economy as the company believes that innovation, digitalisation and collaboration will light up the future. H3C takes customer-oriented as its core mission, focusing on fully supporting customers' business innovation, and strives to contribute the most to the continuous development and value enhancement of its customers.