ECI, a global provider of Elastic Network solutions for service providers, critical infrastructures and data centre, announced the launch of its Hybrid Virtualization Platform, designed to support multiple NFV-based use cases to help communication service providers simplify operations, reduce opex and enhance SLAs.
By supporting delay-sensitive services and enabling improved security and termination of flows at the network edge, the new ECI platform is designed to support a variety of applications including modernised business services, as well as future Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G services. The platform features ECI’s vE-CPE family, which is set to provide virtualisation across customer premises (uCPE) and service provider Edge PoP (MEC).
ECI noted that modern networks feature a complex array of customised hardware, making it potentially costly for service providers to maintain. In addition, launching new services may require significant investments in planning and provisioning hardware and infrastructure. The adoption of virtualised infrastructure, where key network functions run as software (VNFs) on commercial computing platforms, addresses these issues.
The Hybrid Virtualization Platform comprises the Mercury NFVI platform, open source NFV management and orchestration (MANO), which runs ECI’s carrier-grade PaaS system, and a suite of virtualised network functions (VNFs) that includes edge routing, session border control, WAN optimisation, LAN monitoring and caching functions.
ECI’s new hybrid solution is designed to offer service providers the following capabilities:
1. Flexibility via support for application delivery on fixed, mobile and converged networks, with ability to evolve to address the future needs of IoT and 5G backhaul.
2. Agility, with the ability to mix and match multiple functions on the same platform to create new service packages delivered in pay-as-you-grow models.
3. Faster time to market via the Mercury NFVI solution that allows remote service life cycle management, from provisioning to turn up.
4. Reduced opex by streamlining service creation using software-driven processes.
ECI’s Mercury platform is designed for fixed, mobile and converged networks, and alleviates the demands on the network core by increasing the capabilities and intelligence of MEC (Mobile Edge Computing) to the customer premise via uCPE or to the eNodeB. The Mercury NFVi platform is available as both a stand-alone appliance and as a blade that can be integrated into ECI’s Neptune packet-optical transport system.
