Huawei equipped X5 stores with high-speed wireless communications

2021: Wireless Equipment

On November 10, 2021, Huawei announced the equipment of X5 Group stores with high-speed wireless communications.

In each new X5 retail store, a reliable high-speed data network, including routers, switches, and Wi-Fi access points for wireless terminals, must be provided in order to connect your sales equipment to the company's data centers and external services (loyalty programs, bank card payments).

Distribution centres (RCs) are one of the most important elements in the supply chain for network trade. In order to provide retailers with products in a timely manner, a reliable information and communication infrastructure is needed that can withstand a constant high load and provide a continuous logistics process. To do this, the RC uses switches for servers and access levels, as well as Wi-Fi solutions with redundant controllers to ensure the operation of wireless data collection terminals, dynamic inventory devices throughout the warehouse.

To solve such problems, high-performance switches with a Versatile Routing Platform (VRP) were introduced in the newly opened stores, supporting intelligent stack technology (iStack), layer 3 routing protocols (for example, RIP and OSPF), as well as capable of functioning as an automatically configured and run Super Virtual Fabric client (SVF).

To build wireless Wi-Fi networks in new stores, X5 also uses a solution from Huawei. One of the important selection criteria was the presence in the vendor's portfolio of solutions with support for the simultaneous operation of 10 thousand or more access points per Wi-Fi controller. This requirement was due to the need to centrally configure and manage the company's Wi-Fi networks at the same time on a large number of X5 retail facilities. To meet this requirement, it was decided to build a wireless Wi-Fi network using high-performance Huawei AC6800V wireless access controllers designed for campus networks of large enterprises, their branches, as well as educational institutions.

With the Huawei server platform, the device can manage up to 10,000 access points, and performance reaches 60 Gb/s. These controllers can be clustered, thereby increasing the number of Wi-Fi access points they manage to several tens of thousands. As a wireless access point, X5 needed affordable devices that had enough coverage with a guaranteed signal in stores.

In the context of rapidly changing economic conditions and the development of innovations, in order to maintain competitiveness and meet the needs of customers in a timely manner, retail enterprises have to be the most flexible in building and conducting business, opening up multi-channel opportunities, "said Andrei Zvekov, Director of Infrastructure at X5 Group. - Testing of Huawei equipment showed that its implementation will allow us to use resources more efficiently, increase stability and control of internal processes. Such solutions are a necessity in the era of digitalization and high competition in the retail sector.