Direct Engineering Support (DES) is provided to members to enhance the institution’s staff ability to implement transformational changes to ICT resources and infrastructure. The DES initiatives address campus network infrastructure, cyber security, systems design and administration among others aimed at improving ICT services delivery. The DES institutions are chosen based on need of the campus and institutions that need to optimize the campus network to offer better services to the students, faculty and staff. In 2017 KENET conducted several DES initiatives in various member institutions including:

USIU-Africa- KENET proposed to improve Wi-Fi at the auditorium by supplying USIU with Unifi AC-HD wireless access points that are specialized for high density environments. It was noted that seven (7) access points would be ideal to serve the auditorium. These access points use advanced technology which allows it to communicate with multiple clients at the same time, significantly increasing multi-user throughput and overall user experience.

Moi University College of Health Sciences- KENET engineers visited Moi University College of Health Sciences (MoiU CHS) in July 18-22, 2017 to offer Direct Engineering Support (DES). Both MoiU CHS ICT team and KENET Engineers conducted a Campus Network Infrastructure audit, LAN redesign and reorganization to improve network visibility and diagnostics. KENET also donated only one HP switch that was used for setting up the donated wireless access points in the student’s halls of residence and the library. At the end of the DES, the users reported improved Internet experience. The technical staff were also more confident in network configuration and administration.

Maasai Mara University- The KENET team of engineers conducted intense two-day hands on training. The MMARAU ICT team comprised of a total of 9 participants. The KENET team setup a virtual lab that the MMARAU ICT team could use to practice as they were trained. Thereafter the team conducted a DES on the Campus LAN to improve on the network design with the newly acquired skills. The DES involved segmenting the LAN using VLANs and setup of a firewall to secure the campus network. KENET donated two network switches that were used to extend the campus network. Maasai Mara University has benefited greatly from the switches that are donated by KENET. Maasai Mara University has a total of 15 network switches of which 14 were donated by KENET.

Commission for University Education- The DES involved redesign on the network with segmentation for better performance. The KENET team also setup network monitoring tools to offer device visibility. The wireless network was reconfigured with database authentication. This meant that the users each had a unique username and password to join the wireless network. The KENET team also implemented eduroam to enable the users roam across different campuses that offer the eduroam service. The campus network was well segmented and manageable resulting in better performance. Commission for University Education thereafter upgraded the campus bandwidth to meet the demand of the users.

Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute- KENET team of engineers conducted a network audit to identify and resolve any bottlenecks within the network and segment the network with VLANS. KENET thereafter prepared a report with a proposal to improve the campus network infrastructure. At the end of the KENET DES, the user experience on the campus network had tremendously improved as a result of network segmentation and configuration of a caching DNS. The ICT team also had a better understanding of their network layout, campus network best practices.