Student Residence Network

The network of a student residence or young workers' hostel (CROUS, private residences such as Nexity Studéa and Cardinal Campus) must provide WiFi + in-room Ethernet, strict isolation between residents, high bandwidth (streaming, gaming), and optional premium billing. 2026 guide.

Student residence requirements

• 100% coverage: bedrooms, kitchens, common rooms, laundry room, garden
• Resident-to-resident isolation: PVLAN mandatory (confidentiality, GDPR)
• Bandwidth per resident: 100-200 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up
• Peak hours: 8 p.m.-1 a.m. (streaming, online gaming)
• Residents: 50-800 rooms
• Budget: €80-500k HT depending on size

Architecture

• Core: FortiGate 100F/200F HA
• Distribution: FortiSwitch-148E per building or floor
• AP: 1 per 2-3 rooms (corridor) or one wall-plate per premium room
• In-room Ethernet: one Cat 6A port per room in addition to WiFi
• Residence bandwidth: 2× dedicated 10 Gbps FTTH

Segmentation

• VLAN 10: ADMIN (residence administration office)
• VLAN 20: TECHNICAL (maintenance access)
• VLAN 50: WIFI-STUDENTS (all residents, PVLAN isolation)
• VLAN 60: ETHERNET-STUDENTS (same configuration, PVLAN)
• VLAN 70: IOT (in-room automation, cameras in common areas)
• VLAN 80: GUEST-WIFI (temporary users)

Private VLAN (PVLAN)

Room-to-room isolation without creating 800 VLANs:

• Primary VLAN 50: communication with the gateway only
• Isolated VLAN: each resident can access the internet + admin services, but not other residents
• Cisco configuration: switchport mode private-vlan host
• Prevents an infected resident device from compromising other residents

Authentication

• Captive portal: username + password provided at check-in
• PMS integration (Salto, Assa Abloy, Mircom)
• Alternatively, a dedicated SSID for each resident with a unique WPA2-PSK (PMR)
• Alternatively, 802.1X if the organization has a resident AD

Gaming and streaming

• Top bandwidth consumers: YouTube, Netflix, Twitch, PlayStation/Xbox
• Per-resident peak: 20-50 Mbps for streaming + 5-10 Mbps for gaming
• 500 rooms × 30 Mbps peak = 15 Gbps in the evening, manageable with 2× 10 Gbps FTTH + LAG
• Fair use: capped at 100 Mbps per resident (sufficient for 2× 4K streams)

Usage monitoring

• Per-resident tracking: bandwidth consumed (monthly, daily)
• Abnormal-usage alerts: 500 GB/day = suspected P2P activity
• Block Torrent/P2P by default (DMCA, HADOPI)
• Reports for residence administrators

Order from OPTINOC

Turnkey student residence network: FortiGate + FortiSwitch + FortiAP + PVLAN. PMS integration. 50-1000 rooms. Quote within 48 hours.