BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition for service provider infrastructure
Learn how BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition helps service providers modernize DNS and CGNAT on Kubernetes—boosting efficiency and reducing resource use without sacrificing performance.
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Modernize telecom cloud infrastructure without sacrificing performance
Service providers are under increasing pressure to scale DNS, Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT), and edge networking services while controlling infrastructure costs, improving workload density, and maximizing Kubernetes resource utilization. As broadband, 5G, AI-driven services, and distributed edge deployments continue to expand, infrastructure efficiency has become just as important as raw networking performance.
F5 BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition is the Kubernetes-native edition of BIG-IP, enabling networking services such as DNS and CGNAT to be deployed as cloud-native network functions in modern telecom cloud environments.
To quantify these benefits, F5 commissioned The Tolly Group to independently evaluate BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition running DNS and CGNAT workloads on Red Hat OpenShift and compare it with traditional virtualized network function (VNF) deployments. The results demonstrate that service providers can achieve comparable or better performance while dramatically reducing CPU utilization, memory consumption, and overall infrastructure resource requirements.
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Access the complete benchmarking methodology, detailed performance results, architectural analysis, and independent validation showing how BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition improves infrastructure efficiency for service provider Kubernetes environments. Complete the form to receive your complimentary copy.
What These Results Mean for Service Providers
The infrastructure efficiency gains validated by The Tolly Group extend beyond benchmark results—they help service providers improve how Kubernetes-based telecom cloud environments are deployed, operated, and scaled. By reducing CPU and memory requirements while maintaining carrier-grade performance, BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition enables operators to maximize existing infrastructure investments and prepare for future growth. The result is a more scalable, cost-efficient foundation for modern cloud-native networking services.
Key customer outcomes include:
- Increase workload density by running more cloud-native network services on existing Kubernetes infrastructure.
- Maximize Kubernetes resource utilization through significantly lower CPU and memory consumption.
- Reduce infrastructure footprint while maintaining carrier-grade DNS and CGNAT performance.
- Lower power and operational costs by making more efficient use of compute resources.
- Delay hardware expansion and extend the value of existing infrastructure investments.
- Accelerate telecom cloud modernization by transitioning from traditional VNF deployments to cloud-native network functions (CNFs) on Kubernetes.
Why Infrastructure Efficiency Matters
As service providers modernize their telecom cloud infrastructure, they face increasing pressure to support growing subscriber traffic, distributed edge deployments, and AI-enabled services, all while controlling infrastructure costs. Simply adding more compute is no longer a sustainable approach. Improving infrastructure efficiency enables operators to maximize Kubernetes resource utilization, increase workload density, reduce CPU and memory consumption, and delay costly hardware expansion. Independent validation from The Tolly Group demonstrates how F5 BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition helps service providers modernize DNS and Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT) services on Kubernetes while delivering carrier-grade performance with significantly greater infrastructure efficiency than traditional virtualized network function (VNF) deployments.
Explore the Key Findings
Independent testing evaluated BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition against traditional VNF deployments using common service provider DNS and CGNAT workloads.
DNS Performance
1.9x higher DNS throughput
DNS is one of the most critical services in a modern telecom cloud, supporting subscriber connectivity, application access, and service discovery across distributed edge and Kubernetes environments. As subscriber traffic and AI-enabled services continue to grow, DNS infrastructure must scale without driving up CPU utilization or infrastructure costs.
Independent testing by The Tolly Group showed that BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition sustained nearly twice the DNS query throughput of a traditional VNF deployment while simultaneously reducing CPU utilization, memory consumption, and latency. This enables service providers to increase workload density, maximize Kubernetes resource utilization, and support more DNS traffic using existing infrastructure—helping reduce operational costs while maintaining carrier-grade performance.
Infrastructure Efficiency
Up to 91.5% lower CPU utilization
CPU resources are one of the most valuable assets in a modern telecom cloud. As service providers scale DNS, Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT), and other cloud-native network services, high CPU utilization can limit workload density, increase infrastructure costs, and accelerate hardware expansion. Improving infrastructure efficiency allows operators to support more services on existing Kubernetes clusters while reducing power consumption and operational overhead.
Independent testing by The Tolly Group demonstrated that BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition reduced CPU utilization by up to 91.5% compared to traditional VNF deployments for DNS workloads. By freeing valuable compute resources without compromising carrier-grade performance, service providers can maximize Kubernetes infrastructure utilization, increase workload density, and delay costly infrastructure upgrades.
Resource Optimization
98.5% lower memory consumption
Memory efficiency is a critical factor in maximizing workload density across Kubernetes clusters. As service providers consolidate networking services and scale distributed edge deployments, high memory utilization can limit the number of workloads each node can support, driving additional infrastructure costs and reducing operational flexibility.
Independent testing by The Tolly Group demonstrated that BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition required 98.5% less memory than a traditional VNF deployment while delivering comparable L4+CGNAT throughput. By dramatically reducing memory requirements, service providers can increase workload density, make more efficient use of existing infrastructure, and scale cloud-native networking services without proportionally increasing hardware investments.
Telecom Cloud Modernization
Modernize telecom cloud infrastructure without sacrificing performance
Service providers are modernizing critical networking services to Kubernetes to improve agility, scalability, and operational efficiency. However, modernization efforts must also deliver measurable infrastructure benefits—not simply replicate traditional virtualized network functions on a new platform. Success depends on achieving higher performance while making more efficient use of compute and memory resources.
Independent validation by The Tolly Group demonstrates that BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition enables service providers to modernize DNS and Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT) services on Kubernetes while significantly reducing CPU utilization and memory consumption, increasing workload density, and maintaining carrier-grade performance. This allows operators to scale cloud-native network services more efficiently while maximizing existing infrastructure investments.
Independent Validation at a Glance
The Tolly Group independently evaluated BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition running DNS and CGNAT services as cloud-native network functions on Kubernetes and compared the results with traditional virtualized network function deployments.
91.5%
Lower CPU Consumption
BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition required significantly less CPU capacity for DNS workloads, enabling service providers to increase workload density and maximize infrastructure utilization.
98.5%
Lower Memory Consumption
For L4+CGNAT workloads, BIG-IP Cloud-Native Edition delivered comparable throughput cgnatwhile dramatically reducing memory requirements compared to traditional VNF deployments.
1.9x
Higher DNS Throughput
Independent testing demonstrated nearly twice the DNS query throughput while simultaneously improving infrastructure efficiency and reducing latency.