Network

WKU boasts one of the largest campus data networks in the state of Kentucky. The network serves as the foundation for almost all other IT services and the University’s reliance on this network is continually growing. WKU ITS takes great pride in maintaining a reliable high-speed network and has been very successful in that endeavor. The WKU network is monitored 24x7x365 with staff on-call to immediately address any critical faults.

Many computing problems may be perceived as being a “network problem”. While the network as a whole operates continually, that is not to say that there aren’t localized problems that can occur to affect your service. If you feel you are having a problem please report it to the WKU ITS Service Desk. There are a number of possible causes to computing problems and the IT staff will help you diagnose and ultimately resolve those issues.

WKU’s IT staff are here to help make your technology experience at WKU as smooth as possible and to let you use that technology as a tool in your educational endeavors.

Network Statistics (circa 2015)

• There are over 700 Ethernet switches in service providing over 50,000 Ethernet data ports.
• There are over 1650 wireless access points deployed in and around all University buildings.
• There are three core routers serving the Bowling Green campus, each of these devices is about the size of a large mini-frig.
• The WKU data centers are interconnected with 80Gbps of potential throughput.
• WKU’s Internet and Internet2 connectivity have grown considerably over the years. Our current peak traffic loads are over 2.2Gbps.
• We locally cache ~40TB of the most popular content including Netflix, Windows Updates, Apple IOS updates, etc. 
• There are over 1700 miles of Category 5e and Category 6 cabling used throughout the University buildings.
• Approximately 600 miles of fiber optic strands exist to interconnect the campus buildings.
• Over the course of the Fall 2015 semester, we saw over 50,000 unique wireless devices on the network. 10,000 concurrent connections was not uncommon.