Ensemble, a division of ADVA Optical Networking, has launched a major upgrade of its NFV platform, a software-based suite designed to enable the low-cost deployment of universal CPE (uCPE) solutions, adding key enhancements for telco-scale virtualisation.
With the enhancements, service providers are able to combine multiple virtual network functions (VNFs) on a single uCPE, rather than stacking multiple boxes, to gain lower total cost of ownership. The new NFV platform also features LTE wireless support and zero touch provisioning, designed to eliminate the need for site visits for service activation. These capabilities allow the shipment of servers directly from COTS suppliers to end customers.
The latest Ensemble release provides enhanced provisioning capabilities and includes significant resource optimisation, enabling service providers to reduce NFV infrastructure footprints to a single Intel Atom core. The update is also designed to address the issue of how to expand OpenStack beyond the data centre. By incorporating local OpenStack controllers it effectively embeds the cloud in compute nodes and helps to address the problems that service providers face.
In addition, Ensemble advances the use case of SD-WAN by allowing service providers to deploy SD-WAN as a VNF on a COTS server, rather than utilising a traditional closed appliance.
- Separately, ADVA’s Ensemble announced that Verizon has selected the Ensemble Connector as part of the deployment of its universal CPE (uCPE) solution. Through the agreement, Verizon is using the Ensemble Connector as its NFV infrastructure (NFVI) on COTS white box servers. Ensemble Connector’s zero touch provisioning enables Verizon to drop-ship servers directly from the COTS supplier to the end customer, simplifying supply chain logistics.
