CenturyLink is sponsoring an ETSI NFV ISG-approved proof of concept (PoC) solution based on RAD’s dedicated customer-edge D-NFV equipment running Fortinet’s Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) and Certes Networks’ virtual encryption/decryption engine as Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) with Cyan’s Blue Planet system orchestrating the entire ecosystem.
The companies said their D-NFV allows the placement of VNFs where they will be both most effective and least expensive, including at the customer edge. The model enables service providers to quickly and easily roll out new services and implement advanced capabilities without having to put capital expenditures upfront into the data center or redesign the network.
Cyan’s Blue Planet can orchestrate both NFV and multi-vendor Ethernet services.
VNFs at the customer edge are implemented with RAD’s ETX-2, a D-NFV empowered NID, the cornerstone of RAD’s Service Assured Access solution. RAD’s solution integrates an x86 server platform to host value-added service capabilities, as well as network functionalities that run on virtual machines.
Fortinet and Certes Networks provide VNFs that are instantiated on RAD’s ETX-2 by Cyan’s Blue Planet SDN Platform. Fortinet’s FortiGate-VM enforces next-generation firewall security functions that provide network and application layer protection. Real-time security updates are pushed to the FortiGate-VM by FortiGuard subscription services to ensure it is aware of and enforcing protection from the latest security threats. FortiGate-VM is managed by Fortinet’s FortiManager-VM and FortiAnalyzer-VM, which provide centralized configuration, control and security analytics.
The virtual Certes Enforcement Point (vCEP) is a virtual encryption solution that secures data in motion over any public or private network. vCEPs can be dynamically provisioned to create Certes’ CryptoFlow VPNs, fully meshed multi-point VPNs safeguarding data in physical, virtual and Cloud environments. CryptoFlows protect critical data for any application with automatically enforced policies and simplified control of encryption keys.
The solution will be demoed next week at Light Reading’s Big Telecom Event in Chicago (June 17-18, 2014)
“The Distributed NFV concept supports CenturyLink’s managed services strategy by providing a platform for developing unique NFV-enhanced network services and bringing desired functionality directly to the customer premises,” said James Feger, Vice President of Network Strategy and Development at CenturyLink.
