Infrastructure company Radisys has launched a new range of cloud-ready platforms, which are aimed at operators wanting to deploy software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualisation (NFV).
The three platforms are built from the open standards-based Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA), that use merchant silicon, open source software and a range of third-party blades.
Radisys has preloaded the platforms with Intel long-life processors, which it said reduces the frequency of equipment upgrades, and high throughput data plane load balances, which can deliver up to 1.6TBit aggregate performance across a system.
By using the bladed architecture, the vendor said networks can migrate to SDN by separating the control and data planes within a single piece of hardware and then shift the control plane onto a dedicated platform.
Once operators are ready to deploy NFV, they can abstract the application from the hardware. According to Radisys, this method gives operators greater flexibility, savings in opex and capex and quicker time to market.
Radisys is bringing three types of platform to market; the T40 Compact is designed for applications such as deep packet inspection, security and media optimization, as well as for low-density nodes that needs a carrier grade option.
A “Pro” version can be enabled for mid-density node deployments and can run policy enforcement, security and service gateway application. In addition to two 40G switches, the platform also has a 40G backplane and up to four payload slots, which can sport a range of different network processors and computer resource blades.
Meanwhile, the high-density T40 Ultra has more than 1TB of switching capacity and the ability to launch more than 288 Intel cores.
Gabriel Brown, Senior Analyst, Heavy Reading, commented: “NFV, SDN and the telecom cloud are core components of the software-centric, programmable networks of the future. As operators start to pay close attention to the infrastructure layer, it is increasingly clear that commercial off-the-shelf, network-optimized x86 hardware such as ATCA, in combination with cloud management software, can deliver flexibility and agility without sacrificing telco-grade reliability and performance.”