Aerohive Networks, creators of the controller-less "cooperative control" wireless LAN (WLAN) architecture, said 7-Eleven has deployed its wireless LAN in its Oklahoma City corporate office and chain of convenience stores.
Infoworld recently chose Aerohive as among the Top 10 high tech startup companies, primarily because of Aerohive’s innovations in creating a centrally managed wireless network that’s built around a “controller-less” architecture that can scale to thousands of access points.
Aerohive said its product offers lower costs, ease of network management, PCI security compliance, and exceptional resiliency. The wireless LAN enabled 7-Eleven to deploy a sophisticated inventory control system, saving the company a substantial amount of money.
7-Eleven rejected controller-based wireless LAN architectures because purchasing a network controller to sit alongside the single access point deployed in each 7-Eleven store would be far too expensive. Alternative controller-based architectures, including arrangements in which the stores would share one or more controllers, were also rejected as being too costly or complicated.
"Combined with the cost, network management, and security benefits the cooperative control architecture delivers, the outstanding service and professionalism of the Aerohive team sealed the deal for us,” said Gayle Crouch, IT director at 7-Eleven.