Orchestration, Abstraction, and Programmability
Network functions virtualization (NFV) architectures provide the necessary network flexibility to enable new service delivery models and elastic network scaling to reduce total cost of ownership.
Fundamentally, NFV begins with the shift toward the virtualization of network components currently deployed on purpose-built hardware. As you evolve your networks to NFV, the abstraction of the control-plane and data-forwarding plane simplifies the creation and management of new services. At the same time, you benefit from a programmable network based on industry standard open APIs that give you greater flexibility and agility.
F5 packaged NFV solutions include the F5 VNF Manager, which enables a fully automated solution with full lifecycle management—from service instantiation to auto-scaling to decommission.
F5’s Broad Portfolio of VNFs
Whether your goal is to deploy a completely virtualized network or a hybrid network where only some of the functionality will be virtualized, BIG-IP products are available as both carrier-grade, purpose-built hardware and virtual editions (VEs) on COTS hardware.
VNFs available on the BIG-IP platform include Virtual Firewall, Virtual Gi LAN, Virtual CGNAT, Virtual Application Delivery Controllers, Virtual Policy Manager, Virtual DNS, Virtual DNS Security, and more.
F5 makes network virtualization easier with fully automated packaged NFV solutions. These are ready-to- install solutions, purchased as consumption-based options from 5 to 50 Gbps increments, which greatly simplify network planning, sizing and purchasing. These packaged VNF services include the F5 VNF Manager, which enables a fully automated solution with full lifecycle management from service instantiation to auto-scaling to decommission. Realizing the full benefits of an automated, virtualized network has just come closer.
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The Open Architecture Advantage
To sustain a profitable business model while experiencing tremendous growth in traffic, the world’s largest operators are turning to NFV with OpenStack in an open architecture.
One Tier-1 U.S. operator has collaborated with multiple vendors to create an NFV architecture design. Together, they engaged ACG Research to analyze the economics of two designs: the open architecture platform and a more “tightly bundled alternative.”
Over five years, the cumulative TCO of the open architecture platform is estimated to be 53% lower and three times faster in deploying new service offerings, when compared to the bundled approach.