Chain operation refers to forming a consortium in a certain form, conducting professional division of labor under overall planning, and implementing centralized management on the basis of division of labor. It integrates relatively independent entities into a whole to achieve economies of scale. At present, in the chain industry, although branding promotion, marketing strategies and other business activities have been standardized, there is no unified operation mechanism for the operation management and security monitoring of affiliated branches, with the primary obstacle being the high networking cost.
The networking solution for chain enterprise branches (factories) is proposed against the backdrop of “difficult networking”. It can provide chain operation users with an integrated networking solution for business management and security management, enabling chain enterprises to achieve scientific management at a low cost in terms of space and time, with reliability and security guaranteed.
This solution empowers chain enterprises to realize a networked and centralized management mode, and the most typical business scenarios requiring networking are as follows:
Surveillance videos of branches have significant practical value: improving service quality and work efficiency of branches, resolving internal conflicts in cash register areas, maintaining employees’ work performance, preventing theft, avoiding unnecessary disputes with customers, and ensuring security during non-business hours.
2) Integrated Operation: Comprehensive management systems of chain branches, etc.
Chain management systems cover a wide range of functions. For example, chain catering enterprises can manage memberships, store inventory, ordering systems, queue number calling, convenient payment, transaction bookkeeping and account analysis. To enable the headquarters to accurately master and control the above information of branches, such data must be transmitted back to the headquarters.
3) Centralized Management: Employee attendance management systems, etc.
The attendance management system meets the daily attendance management needs of branch employees, making the attendance process faster, safer and more efficient. Report management includes attendance reports, detailed attendance management reports and employee information reports, allowing the headquarters to conduct real-time management of employees’ actual working status in branches and improve the efficiency of attendance management.
In summary, reliable networking enables the headquarters to implement centralized management of branch video surveillance, catering management systems and other IT & intelligent management systems. Centralized management by the headquarters can greatly reduce waste, improve efficiency and benefits, and lower security risks. Therefore, network interconnection between the headquarters and branches is indispensable. The key question is how to achieve simple, convenient and highly secure networking.
In view of the actual situation of chain enterprises and combined with Guoxin Longxin’s valuable experience accumulated in the IoT industry for many years, a solution based on cloud platform and multi-mode gateway is proposed.
A cloud computing platform, also referred to as a cloud platform, is a service based on hardware and software resources, providing computing, network and storage capabilities. Cloud computing platforms are divided into three categories: storage-oriented cloud platforms focusing on data storage, computing-oriented cloud platforms focusing on data processing, and comprehensive cloud computing platforms balancing both computing and data storage & processing. With the development of cloud computing, almost every enterprise is using or planning to use cloud computing, which includes three deployment models: public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud.
The cloud exists “in the sky”—how to connect on-site business to the cloud? Public cloud usually adopts the Internet, commonly via telecom operators’ broadband access; private cloud typically uses VPN or dedicated line access, such as telecom operators’ dedicated lines, or self-built optical fiber/wireless private networks by users. Thanks to exclusive usage and isolation from the public network, private cloud boasts significantly higher bandwidth, reliability and security than ordinary broadband. Both public and private clouds face the challenge of how edge nodes access the cloud.
Guoxin Longxin’s 4G/5G MAN dual-mode wireless gateway system is a powerful tool to solve the cloud access of cloud computing edge nodes.
The iMAX-4GW300 is the first iMAX wireless MAN & 4G LTE dual-mode wireless gateway system under the iMWB brand. It supports both iMAX wireless MAN technology and 4G LTE simultaneously, and is equipped with multiple Ethernet interfaces, serving as a multi-network convergence gateway. While achieving high bandwidth, high reliability and high capacity through wireless private network technology, it also supports 4G LTE public network access from telecom operators, which improves the adaptability of system wireless networking and flexibly provides users with the optimal wireless networking solution.
The iMWB-5GW1000 is a 5G multi-mode wireless gateway system that supports both 5G Wide Area Network (SA & NSA) and WiFi6 Wireless Local Area Network coverage (2.4GHz & 5.8GHz) simultaneously, and is equipped with two Ethernet interfaces, which can be used as an edge VPN access gateway for the cloud switching platform. While delivering high bandwidth, high reliability and high capacity via WiFi6 wireless technology, it also supports 5G public network access from telecom operators, providing users with the optimal wireless networking solution in a more flexible manner.
In addition, for users who need to build a private cloud with wired broadband networking, Guoxin Longxin offers a cost-effective edge VPN gateway option – the Layer 3 routing VPN gateway product iMWB-ROUTE400G. This device is a 5-port intelligent managed routing VPN gateway with full Gigabit interfaces and intelligent management capabilities. It supports Layer 3 routing configuration and can be used as an enterprise-grade router or a VPN access terminal.
For chain enterprise users relying on dedicated line networking, VPN and routing configuration can certainly be implemented, and then network interconnection between remote branches and the headquarters can be achieved through forwarding via the private cloud platform.
As chain branches are widely distributed geographically and have diverse public network connection methods, the technical advantages of 4G/5G gateways are well demonstrated.
For users who need to access the cloud platform via the Internet through the public network, Guoxin Longxin’s 4G/5G multi-mode gateways (or edge gateways) can connect to the cloud platform via Internet broadband or telecom operators’ 4G wireless networks to form a unified national network with security and stability guaranteed.
The topology diagram of a typical large-scale remote networking for chain enterprises is as follows:
4G/5G multi-mode gateways support diverse uplink access to the cloud (via LAN, Internet broadband or telecom operators’ 4G/5G wireless networks), meeting the requirements of multiple network access methods as well as high-reliability network access with multi-link parallel transmission.
For chain enterprises with multiple branches on the same street or in the same area, as long as line-of-sight conditions are satisfied, the proprietary wireless WMAN private network mode of Guoxin Longxin’s 4G/5G multi-mode gateways can replace optical fibers to realize direct connection between adjacent branches, thus reducing the Internet networking costs of branches and making it a truly versatile networking solution.
The iMAX-4GW300 supports routing, firewall and VPN technologies, providing users with a variety of secure technical measures to safeguard the security of business networking, especially when accessing the public network. For more technical advantages and application features of the iMAX-4GW300, please refer to the article Combined Communication & Control, Ideal Choice! Cost-effective Solution for Remote Networking and Control.
Whatever networking method your branches adopt, there will always be a tailored solution for you. Specific solutions shall be designed based on in-depth research and communication with users. Leveraging our extensive experience and solid technical expertise, Guoxin Longxin will customize the most optimal networking solution for your business needs.
