Case study: Ramada – Custom WiFi network

The number of devices requiring WiFi access for a hotelier has risen sharply in recent years: where a family of 4 used to use the family laptop for surfing, we now often have 1 smartphone per person with WiFi access, a laptop, a netbook, a portable video games console that allows online gaming, etc. The network provided for hotel guests has not necessarily evolved at the same pace, and the solution implemented a few years ago had become undersized.
The network made available to hotel guests has not necessarily evolved at the same speed, and the solution implemented a few years ago had become undersized. What we’ve done Each room now contains a wall socket with an RJ45 network socket, a telephone socket for connection to the existing infrastructure without modification, and a WiFi antenna.
Each room now has its own WiFi network, with the antenna’s transmitting power adapted to radiate only into the room, thus limiting interference with other antennas in other rooms.
“Whereas a previous-generation solution consisted of placing antennas in corridors, the box integrated into the wall socket of each room now enables us to free ourselves from the architectural constraints of the building, and more specifically of hotels, where there are often several walls between the antenna and the customer.” Patrick Boulmier Infologo Technical Manager. Designed to be both aesthetic and functional, the recommended solution is inventive, efficient and simple to implement and maintain.
As the power of each antenna can be individually managed, there are numerous possible adjustments, guaranteeing a solution adapted to the configuration of the premises. Hardware We used a ZyXEL XGS-4728F Layer 3 aggregation Gigabit core switch with 24 1000Base-T interfaces.
Horizontal distribution is provided by ZyXEL GS1910-24HP Gigabit Switches on the floors, i.e. 7 in the hotel, to route the network to each room via Ethernet.
A DELL PowerEdge R620 server was also required for this project, to act as a captive portal for log storage.
All this was put in place to facilitate the implementation of the 154 ZyXEL NWA1300-NJ WiFi In-Wall access points.
These have been specially designed for hotel IT installations.
Powered by PoE and equipped with an analog telephone socket and an Ethernet port, they provide hotels with the two most popular interfaces. Software The installed IAC Box software, which can be coupled with Micros Fidelio, will enable the hotel to retain the option of reverting to wireless access billing, or autonomous voucher creation “on the fly” using a dedicated ticket printer.
Finally, to install and configure the hardware and enable centralized administration, we rely on Zyxel’s Enterprise Network Center (ENC) software.
The Enterprise Network Center (ENC) facilitates the management of complex IT networks.
The platform has been specially designed for ZyXEL Ethernet switches and WiFi pro solutions, and supports up to 2,000 devices depending on the license selected.
The ENC’s ability to integrate non-ZyXEL MIBs makes this tool even more powerful. As soon as a connection to the corporate network is established, network technicians, IT managers and administrators can manage the computer network even remotely, via an easy-to-use web interface.
The ENC can thus be administered remotely, regardless of location or time, as long as there is a connection to the network in question.