Extreme Networks announced that Sierra Trading Post, a top 100 retailer of name brand overstocks, has selected its high-performance data center and converged network solutions enabling it to deliver top-quality merchandise and 24x7 customer support for its wide range of apparel and merchandise.  

Sierra Trading Post offers dress, casual and outdoor clothing, footwear, home furnishings, accessories, and related gear across its four retail locations and online store. Due to its momentum in online sales and a globally trusted brand, the company has built more than 500,000 square feet of facilities at its headquarters in Cheyenne, Wyoming, allowing it to expand its enterprise and work with more than 2,000 vendors.

Sierra Trading Post implemented a high-performance 10 Gigabit Ethernet network from Extreme Networks to replace previously used Catalyst 6500 switches. The retailer has built a foundation for storage convergence using iSCSI (via open standards storage technology) that leverages advanced features of the ExtremeXOS operating system.  The network boosts speed and simplifies operations through advanced SummitStack switch stacking capabilities

"Transitioning away from a large vendor solution meant that we were raising our expectations to gain more from our investment, including a more individualized level of service and a solid and flexible network," said Cedric Fairweather, IT operations manager for Sierra Trading Post. "Extreme Networks really came through on all aspects of our new network, from providing cutting-edge design recommendations, to delivering high caliber implementation and services. We are very pleased to have made the change and look forward to enhancing our business operations through Extreme Networks."  

To handle its volume of online traffic, system redundancy with fast failover and no points of failure in its network were the top priorities for Sierra Trading Post, helping the retailer support a growing website that attracts millions of users annually and thousands of transactions daily.

The Sierra Trading Post network was built with a combination of Extreme Networks Summit X460 and Summit X650 fixed switches that deliver impressive performance, resiliency and availability. The 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections outfit the network core connecting rack switches in the aggregation layer.

The network provides highly flexible design options with easy set-up and configuration for Sierra Trading Post's IT staff. The bottom line is a boost in performance and simplicity that saves money due to features and functionality that are robust and consistent.