F5 Delivers Industry’s Highest Performing Security Solutions for Next Generation Mobile Networks

Massively scalable platforms, virtual solutions, and new 100 GbE VIPRION® blade support the Internet of Things and network migrations to 4G and 5G

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BARCELONA – F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) today announced new solutions that enable service providers to most efficiently scale and protect network architectures. As service providers evolve their networks to support 4G, 5G, and beyond, highly concurrent security platforms and scalable virtual network functions (VNFs) are needed to support new architectural footprints and deliver continuous protection for innovative services. F5 continues to extend its industry leadership by providing highly concurrent platforms, specifically positioning service providers to strengthen their overall security posture in next generation networks while maintaining high levels of availability, quality of experience for users, and investment protection for organizations.

The Internet of Things (IoT), the capacity required to migrate from 4G to 5G networks, and the need for omnipresent security against an onslaught of hackers and malicious payloads are current focal points for organizations. F5 products and VNFs are ideally positioned to address these trends and support the accompanying rapid growth of devices, applications, and connection requests. Company solutions also integrate seamlessly with OpenStack to set up multi-tenant and single-tenant cloud network environments, along with valuable services such as firewall capabilities. F5 will explore these topics and more at this week’s Mobile World Congress event.

Unmatched Performance and Scale to Support Critical Service Provider 4G and 5G Use Cases

To accommodate service providers’ need to rapidly expand their networks, address massive connectivity and concurrency requirements of IoT, and promote network expansion into 4G, 5G, and beyond, F5 is adding to its VIPRIONofferings with a new 100 GbE hardware blade, B4450, that boasts unparalleled scalability and performance. The NEBS-compliant B4450 blade delivers industry-leading high concurrency—up to 1.2 billion concurrent connections and more than 20 million connections per second with F5’s eight-blade chassis. The blade eases the transition from 4G to 5G networks, as well as improves the performance of elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) and 2K keys with SSL. Performance on this level enables networks that support the explosive growth of subscribers and data use, addresses the rise of IoT connectivity, and promotes the effectiveness of DNS, IPv6 migration, and SGi firewall use cases in service provider environments.

With industry-leading concurrent connections and throughput, the VIPRION B4450 blade helps service providers ensure that their network, data, and subscribers remain secure. The blade enables service providers to deploy the most scalable SGi firewall available. It can also help inoculate against a variety of distributed denial of service (DDoS) threats by quickly distinguishing between malicious and legitimate connections. As a purpose-built solution, the blade takes advantage of industry-leading components, including leveraging Intel’s QuickAssist Technology for hardware-based encryption and compression acceleration.

High-Capacity VNFs to Drive Mobile Network Transformation

At Mobile World Congress, F5 is also showcasing upcoming additions to its software-based BIG-IP® VNF offerings, highlighting advanced performance capabilities. Attendees will see demonstrations of a beta version of F5 BIG-IP virtual edition (VE) compatible with the Intel Ethernet Controller XL710 (40 GbE), as well as a prototype version of BIG-IP VE compatible the Intel® Ethernet Multi-host Controller FM10000 Family operating up to 100 GbE.

The combination of F5 and Intel technologies helps customers promote software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) deployment scenarios that require the use of standard server platforms. For more information on the flexible technologies F5 and Intel are demonstrating at Mobile World Congress, a companion blog post outlines the details.

Supporting Quotes

“Service providers and enterprises are after elegant ways to combine hardware, software, and cloud resources without compromising performance or security,” said Dr. Mallik Tatipamula, VP, Service Provider and Cloud Solutions, F5. “F5’s broad portfolio of hybrid application delivery offerings and our technology roadmap are tightly aligned with service provider priorities to offer competitive advantages for subscribers through value-added services.”

“Service providers need highly scalable, virtualized solutions for securing their networks during migration to 4G/5G networks, and to enable the Internet of Things,” said Dr. George Kimura, President and CEO of NTT-AT. “We are glad to see F5’s leadership in introducing these solutions to address service providers’ network migrations.”

“As service providers evolve to support dramatic rates of growth in traffic driven by diverse applications, the Internet of Things, and rich multi-media services, they need highly scalable, reliable, and robust security solutions to address not only current 4G needs, but also support smooth migration to 5G,” said Paul Parker-Johnson, Principal Analyst at ACG Research. “With continuity in functionality between its physical and virtual offerings, F5’s advanced, programmable platform has proven itself to deliver powerful TCO advantages that help operators protect their investments and future-proof their transition from 4G to 5G. Based on a recently concluded ACG analysis, F5's offerings provide industry-leading connection rates, throughput, and concurrent connection capacities—achieving greater than 60% better TCO compared to alternative offerings.”

“F5 has a steady cadence of Intel technology adoption, which propels network transformation for all types of cloud and service providers,” said Bill Rollender, Intel Product Line Director for Communications Infrastructure and Networking Products. “By leveraging Intel Architecture (IA) and Intel QuickAssist Technology, F5 demonstrates its commitment to providing virtual optimized hardware and software applications capable of adapting to both workload and network demands.”

Availability

The VIPRION B4450 hardware blade will be available in the second quarter of calendar year 2016. Availability details for the forthcoming F5 virtual edition products demonstrated at Mobile World Congress will be announced at a later date. Please contact a local F5 sales office for additional product and service availability information pertaining to specific countries.

About F5

F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) makes apps go faster, smarter, and safer for the world’s largest businesses, service providers, governments, and consumer brands. F5 delivers cloud and security solutions that enable organizations to embrace the application infrastructure they choose without sacrificing speed and control. For more information, go to f5.com. You can also follow @f5networks on Twitter or visit us on LinkedIn and Facebook for more information about F5, its partners, and technologies.

F5 is a trademark or service mark of F5 Networks, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

# # #

This press release may contain forward looking statements relating to future events or future financial performance that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of such terms or comparable terms. These statements are only predictions and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these statements based upon a number of factors including those identified in the company's filings with the SEC.