For the fourth year, Ezohiko handled the network and WiFi infrastructure for Aluna Festival. This edition, which set an attendance record with 74,000 festival-goers, brought a specific challenge: keeping 700 connected devices online, most of them cashless payment and access-control terminals operated by Weezevent. Despite several power outages on site, the infrastructure held up with almost no downtime.
KEY FIGURE
700 connected devices, mostly cashless payment terminals, and a single network outage across the three days — a cable severed by a door, not a power or WiFi failure. An edition that also drew a record 74,000 festival-goers.
Four editions, an infrastructure that keeps scaling up
Ezohiko has supported Aluna Festival’s network and WiFi infrastructure since 2022. Each edition has grown the setup: 26 WiFi access points and 18 switches in 2023, 30 access points and 24 switches fully wired in 2024. This year, the main challenge was no longer WiFi coverage but electrical and network reliability behind the site’s 700 connected devices — the large majority being cashless payment terminals used continuously by festival-goers. This edition also set an attendance record, with 74,000 festival-goers on site — and next year, the festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary.
A fibre backbone maintained year-round by Aluna Camping
This year, two additional switches and six new U6-Mesh (WiFi 6) access points reinforced the festival’s network. Most switches are now connected via fibre optic — a mix of multimode and single-mode fibre depending on the camping zone, reflecting the site’s cabling history.
This continuity owes a great deal to the work carried out year-round by Aluna Camping, which prepares and maintains the site’s wired infrastructure well beyond the festival dates, in preparation for the next edition. Thanks to Mathieu Lescoche, director of Aluna Camping, and his teams, for this groundwork.
PoE on UPS-backed switches and a climate-controlled network core
With this many devices to keep online for three days straight, preparation made all the difference.
The vast majority of equipment was deployed over PoE (Power over Ethernet), powered by switches themselves connected behind UPS units. If power is cut to an electrical cabinet, the switches and the devices they feed stay online for as long as the UPS holds — more than enough to absorb brief outages and switch to a backup source if needed.
This year, the core of the system — router, controller and supervision equipment — was installed in a climate-controlled room within the technical village, away from the heat that had caused issues during the 2024 edition (PoE links drawing excess power above 37°C).
We also redesigned the switch distribution across the technical village: rather than reusing previous years’ layout, each zone was resized based on the actual number of cashless terminals it needed to serve, avoiding both under-provisioning and wasted equipment.
Two Starlink links to secure internet connectivity
Cashless payments and access control both depend on a stable internet connection — no network, no payment. For this fourth edition, two Starlink links backed up the site’s fibre connection:
- One Starlink unit as backup for the technical village’s main connection, ready to take over in case of an internet outage
- A second Starlink unit dedicated to an isolated site too far from the optical loop to connect cost-effectively
This dual approach kept the service running through the outages that occurred during the event, without relying on a single point of failure.
Several power cuts, almost no network downtime
The site experienced several power cuts over the three days of the festival. Thanks to the combination of PoE switches, UPS units and dual Starlink connectivity, these outages had virtually no impact on the network: cashless terminals stayed operational and supervision flagged no equipment as being down for an extended period.
The only incident of the edition had nothing to do with power or IT: a network cable, fallen loose from its clip, got caught and severed by a door. A useful reminder — even the best-planned infrastructure remains exposed to the very physical hazards of an outdoor site, and securing cable runs is as much a part of preparation as the network design itself.
Why does this matter for your business?
A festival with 700 connected devices is, in many ways, an SME’s entire IT estate relocated to a field for three days: the same continuity requirements, the same power-connection constraints, the same need for real-time supervision. The choices tested at Aluna — UPS-backed PoE, internet redundancy, a climate-controlled server room even if temporary — are the same ones we deploy to secure our clients’ networks, which is also what lets us manage their infrastructure remotely and anticipate their needs.
A WORD ON THE TEAM
On site, cashless payments and access control were operated by Weezevent, led by Rachel Nezamivand Tcheguini, project lead at Weezevent. Thanks to Didier Viricel, the festival’s co-director, and to Solène Sénéclauze, who leads production and administration, for their renewed trust — as well as to Jean Boucher, president of the Festiv’Aluna association, and to Corenthine Boucher, sponsorship and partnerships manager. Thanks also to Mathieu Lescoche, director of Aluna Camping, whose teams prepare and maintain the site’s wired infrastructure year-round.
Frequently asked questions
Why power network equipment with PoE behind a UPS?
PoE (Power over Ethernet) powers a device — a WiFi access point, camera or payment terminal — directly through the network cable, with no dedicated power socket required. Placing PoE switches behind UPS units means a power cut on site doesn’t immediately drop the connected devices: the UPS keeps them running long enough to switch to a backup source or wait for power to return. It’s a configuration we recommend for any site with critical equipment — security cameras, payment terminals, WiFi access points.
Can Starlink replace a wired connection for an event?
Starlink is an excellent choice as a backup connection, or to serve an isolated site that would be too costly to connect via fibre. For the core of a high-traffic event network, a wired fibre connection remains the better primary link: it offers more stable throughput and lower latency. Fibre plus a Starlink backup is, for now, the most reliable combination for an outdoor site.
How do you secure cashless payment terminals at an outdoor event?
Three things are essential: redundant power (PoE plus UPS) to avoid outages, a doubled-up internet connection (fibre plus a Starlink or 4G backup) so payments never drop, and real-time supervision to spot and isolate any failing device before it affects the service. That’s exactly the infrastructure deployed for the 700 connected devices at this year’s Aluna Festival.
How much network equipment does a festival the size of Aluna need?
For this fourth edition, the infrastructure had to support roughly 700 connected devices, mostly cashless payment terminals, spread across the technical village and points of sale. Sizing depends directly on the number of points of sale, expected attendance, and secondary uses such as CCTV, access control and visitor WiFi.
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