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Empowering Retail Chains with PicOS®: A Unified Network Solution

SheldonUpdated at Dec 28th 20241 min read

In the 1990s, the courtesy of the internet and ecommerce irrevocably reshaped the retail industry, which intensified competition for consumers’ wallets— a trend that persists even today. In order to maintain a competitive edge in the fast-paced retail environment, retailers strive to offer exceptional products and services, while also requiring faster and more cost-effective network deployment and construction. To meet these needs, FS has introduced the retail chain network solution, including PicOS® switches and the AmpCon™-Campus management platform, enabling retailers to enable better customer satisfaction and higher operational efficiency at lowered IT costs.
Challenges Facing Retail Chains
The network environments of chain retail stores are typically quite simple, usually consisting of both wireless and wired connections with a small number of devices at each site. However, these networks often span multiple regions, presenting a unique set of challenges for maintaining an efficient network:
Unstable Network Connections
: Store employees and customers require instant access to inventory and seamless checkout services. However, an unstable network connection can disrupt continuous and reliable device operation, potentially hindering sales activities, reducing employee productivity, and negatively impacting store sales and customer experience.
Complex Management and Maintenance:
With multiple store locations, network topology can become complex, complicating management and maintenance efforts. Furthermore, as stores expand, the absence of a unified network management platform means each location must be configured and deployed individually. This repetitive setup process consumes significant time and resources, resulting in low efficiency and high costs.
Data Security Concerns
: As retail organizations shift towards cloud-centric architectures, the demand for secure hybrid work environments is growing. Simultaneously, security measures must advance to protect customer data and transaction integrity, particularly in the face of increasing cybersecurity threats.
FS Retail Chain Network Solution Overview
The FS Retail Chain Network Solution, powered by PicOS® enterprise switches, is designed to meet the diverse networking needs of retail stores across various regions. This solution ensures consistent and streamlined operations at all locations and can be customized to fit the size of the store, providing tailored network topologies for small, medium, and large retail establishments.
For small and micro retail stores, simplicity and efficiency are key. The network topology prioritizes streamlined operation with minimal hardware. An NSG-2230 firewall serves as the gateway, directly connected to the access layer switch S3410L-24TF-P, which supports essential devices like wireless access points (APs) and security cameras. This configuration is cost-effective and sufficient to handle the basic network requirements of a small retail environment.
Medsize stores demand enhanced scalability and higher performance to accommodate more devices and users. The solution includes the continued use of the NSG-2230 firewall, complemented by PicOS® S5810-48TS-P switches configured for MLAG (Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation) to enable redundant and resilient connectivity. This setup supports multiple wireless APs, cameras, and POS (Point of Sale) systems, ensuring seamless operation in networks with up to 300 users. The design provides higher bandwidth and better multi-terminal access, making it ideal for mid-sized retail networks.
Large stores often require more complex network configurations to handle expansive areas and advanced applications. The setup involves high-performance NSG-5220 firewalls in High Availability (HA) mode and distribution layer switches S5860-20SQ connected via MLAG. The distribution switches link to PoE+ access switches that power APs, cameras,and servers, ensuring continuous operation. This architecture delivers redundancy and scalability, accommodating diverse business needs and large-scale operations.
The entire network solution is managed under the unified AmpCon™-Campus platform, supporting centralized configuration, automated deployment, and remote fault recovery. This meets retailers' needs for rapid expansion and efficient operations, helping them stay ahead in a highly competitive market.
Why Choose FS Retail Chain Network Solution?
FS Retail Chain Network Solution is tailored to meet the demands of modern retail, providing security, flexibility, and automation. This comprehensive approach helps retailers enhance customer satisfaction, boost employee productivity, and streamline IT operations. It stands out for several reasons:
Reliable Network Connectivity
Stable and efficient network infrastructure is the backbone of successful retail operations. Weak in-store connectivity can lead to lost sales and frustrated customers.
FS retail chain network solution ensures stable and reliable connections. It leverages PicOS® enterprise switches powered by industry-leading Broadcom chips and equipped with redundant hot-swappable power supplies and intelligent fans to offer exceptional reliability and minimize downtime. Designed for versatility, these PicOS® switches provide seamless performance for small retail networks while supporting advanced MLAG technology in medium and large retail environments. This enables device-level link redundancy and load balancing, making them the ideal choice for networks requiring enhanced scalability and resilience.
With this stable connectivity, the solution accelerates POS transactions, streamlines back-of-store operations, and optimizes inventory management. Retailers can quickly verify product availability, check stock levels in real-time, and minimize unnecessary customer wait times, improving overall store efficiency and ensuring a smoother shopping experience.
Better Shopping Experience
This solution enables seamless data sharing across multiple stores, ensuring a consistent user experience through a unified membership system and coordinated sales promotions. Customers enjoy a fast, convenient, and pleasant shopping experience, while retailers benefit from more repeat customers and positive brand awareness, driving long-term business growth.
Secure Data and Privacy
Security is a top priority in retail networks. FS solution mitigates business risks by securing customer and employee data, preventing data breaches, and ensuring revenue stability.
The
PicOS® enterprise switches
are equipped with advanced security features, including ACLs, 802.1X authentication, SSH, DAI, and DHCP Snooping.
The
next-generation firewalls
offer comprehensive L2-L7 network security through advanced IPS, URL filtering, and antivirus capabilities, providing real-time detection and defense against network attacks and malware.
These safeguards address the growing security challenges posed by IoT devices in retail environments, ensuring the protection of sensitive business and customer information.
Centralized Management
With a single solution, you can achieve unified management and monitoring of multiple stores, and efficiently manage hundreds of locations. This enhances overall operational efficiency and management capabilities.
The AmpCon™-Campus management platform also supports features like topology auto-discovery, telemetry, and automated lifecycle management. This centralized tool enables real-time network monitoring with automated troubleshooting and remote recovery, reducing operational workload and costs.
Rapid Expansion
Opening new stores often requires quick network setups, where delays can lead to revenue losses. The AmpCon™-Campus platform utilizes template-based configuration and ZTP to automatically load deployment files, including system software, patch files, and configuration files, onto newly delivered or unconfigured devices when powered on, without requiring onsite manual intervention.
Additionally, with its push-button deployment feature, even non-technical employees can use the quick startup to deploy hundreds or thousands of PicOS® enterprise switches at once using simple GUI-based English commands.
This approach enables rapid store launches and seamless network connectivity across multiple locations, whether expanding into new regions or scaling existing operations. FS retail chain network solution empowers businesses to grow efficiently while maintaining operational consistency, ensuring retailers can meet their expansion goals and capture larger market shares.
Conclusion
FS PicOS® retail chain network solution empowers retail businesses to overcome network challenges and achieve operational excellence. Whether you operate a single store or a global chain, FS provides the tools and expertise to keep your network running smoothly.
Learn more about FS retail chain network solution here. Start a new journey with FS today!