Staples bets on ATM, frame relay to deliver goods

By Jim Duffy
Network World, 10/11/99

FRAMINGHAM, MASS. - Staples is fond of proclaiming: "Yeah, we've got that." And to deliver on that promise, the office products retailer just spent $2 million on a new ATM and frame relay network.

The driving force behind the network upgrade is the deployment of new applications that will improve a shopper's experience and overall customer service, says Jed Dineen, Staples' network architect. The network is also helping Staples save $120,000 annually on voice circuits, and increase bandwidth capacity for peak service times, Dineen says.

At its new company headquarters, Staples has installed a Nortel Networks' ATM campus network, moving from a switched and shared 10M and 100M bit/sec Ethernet network that was housed in three old buildings. Staples also replaced a 19.2K bit/sec satellite network for its 800 to 1,000 stores with a frame relay network to increase capacity during peak business hours. Each store now has a Nortel Advanced Remote Node router as its entry point into the frame net.

Among the new applications supported by the network are programs in Staples store kiosks that let customers build, configure and customize an IBM, Hewlett-Packard or Compaq computer before they buy it. The kiosks improve a shopper's selection options while reducing inventory and cost for Staples.

"This application wouldn't have functioned in the old environment," Dineen says. "The new network allows for an improved shopping experience, lower costs and an improved selection of goods for sale. Staples reduces the cost and hassle of doing business for our customers."

The firm has started or completed the deployment of more than 15 customer service-oriented applications since installing the net, he says. The net allows the firm to plan for increased capacity as applications are approved and should serve Staples well into the future, he says.

For example, the new frame relay network lets Staples increase a store's network access bandwidth and committed information rate (CIR) during peak transaction periods, he says. A phone call to service provider AT&T can increase the pipe at 100 stores from 64K bit/ sec with a CIR of 16K bit/sec, to 128K bit/sec with a CIR of 32K bit/sec or 64K bit/sec for increased traffic loads, he says.

The T-1s have also helped Staples reduce WAN costs for voice. Four separate voice circuits in each store were replaced with four 64K bit/sec DS-0 channels in a T-1 for an annual savings of $120,000.

Frame relay circuits from the stores come into two Nortel Backbone Concentrator Node (BCN) routers at headquarters. The BCNs are also equipped with Nortel's ATM Routing Engine modules to handle routing around Staples' ATM campus net, which is based on two Nortel Centillion 1600s in the core and a System 5000BH ATM switch in each of the building's 27 wiring closets.

The 5000BHs are connected to the 1600s via redundant, load-balanced OC-3 uplinks. The 1600s also have redundant LAN Emulation and Broadcast and Unknown servers on each chassis. If one server goes, another performs media access control-to-ATM address resolution and broadcast services.

Staples went with ATM over other high-speed LANs, such as Gigabit Ethernet, due to the maturity of the technology. The decision was made 18 to 24 months ago when Gigabit Ethernet standards were still in flux.

"I wasn't going to roll close to $2 million of Staples' money on maybe - maybe it'll work, maybe it'll be standardized, maybe it'll be wonderful," Dineen says, referring to Gigabit Ethernet. "Staples is committed to staying one giant step behind the bleeding edge. It ain't a science project."

Staples' choice of ATM doesn't jibe with Nortel's campus LAN strategy, which is to migrate ATM users to Gigabit Ethernet. Nortel essentially sees ATM as a WAN-only technology and is not investing heavily in campus ATM. Also, Nortel's Centillion 1600 switch is a private-labeled version of NEC's core ATM switch. Nortel or NEC could allow that OEM arrangement to expire.

Dineen remains undaunted.

"I made a big investment in ATM," he says. "They sold me ATM. They're going to keep supporting ATM for a while because I made a big bet on it."