Telco Systems, FatPipe Networks Build SD-WAN to Run on x86, ARM Architectures

Telco Systems and SD-WAN vendor FatPipe Networks built a hardware agnostic SD-WAN offering. The joint product enables users to launch SD-WAN services over both Intel and ARM architectures allowing it to run additional virtual network function (VNF) services. The open SD-WAN product leverages Telco Systems’ universal customer premises equipment (uCPE) that works with its NFVTime operating system and FatPipe’s SD-WAN. Telco Systems’ NFVTime platform can run on uCPE hardware that supports Intel x86 and ARM architectures. It includes its own NFV infrastructure (NFVi) operating system and a marketplace of VNFs from third party vendors, including VNFs for SD-WAN. The NFVi operating system can turn any commercial off-the-shelf x86 and ARM white box hardware device into a fully operational uCPE. Used in concert with FatPipe SD-WAN, NFVTime accelerates SD-WAN deployment at sites by maintaining service agility. It expands SD-WAN service offerings with additional VNF services on Intel and ARM hardware. FatPipe has an SD-WAN VNF that will run across Telco Systems’ NFVi operating system. In doing so, SD-WAN services can be deployed over an open uCPE and use additional VNF service chaining with zero touch provisioning. These include vRouter, vFirewall, vProbe, vSecurity and more. It has a second multi-function VNF — which has SD-WAN, WAN acceleration firewall, VPN, and more — that reduces bandwidth needs for satellite traffic and optimizes performance. According to Raanan Tzemach, Telco Systems’ vice president of product management, the decoupling of software and hardware enables service providers using the joint offering to mix and match components, without being tied to hardware. The greater number of options, including the options for VNFs, give providers more flexibility, he said. Telco Systems’ NFVTime ecosystem includes all major VNF vendors. Tzemach said it has certified SD-WAN VNFs from Telefonica, Nuage, Orange, Cisco-Viptela, and more. The problems with a lot of SD-WAN VNFs, he said, is that they have some performance issues or only run on Intel architecture.