Juniper Networks and Saguna Offer a Joint MEC Solution

Saguna announced its joint solution with Juniper Networks - "Juniper Networks and Saguna joined forces to create a complete, pre-integrated Mobile Edge Computing platform, one that delivers MEC functionality with the underlying system elements required for operation within the demanding radio access network (RAN) environment. 

This joint solution allows end-user applications to achieve high bandwidth with ultra-low latency by enabling service providers to deploy services closer to the edge network using an NFV-based cloud computing environment in the mobile RAN. 

The SRAN solution components include:

• Juniper Networks® ACX Series Universal Access Routers, MX Series 3D Universal Edge Routers and QFX Series Switches – These families of switches and routers have the ability to run a Hypervisor environment within them, allowing the MEC Platform Service, API layers and MEC Edge applications to run within the Juniper hardware in the pre-aggregation/IP-aggregation environment. The MEC Edge applications can also run on an external x86-based device.
   
• Juniper Networks vSRX - To ensure security within the sensitive RAN environment, Juniper Networks vSRX (virtual SRX) acts as a Security Gateway for terminating IPsec tunnels from the RAN and an originator to the centralized Security Gateway. The product also provides Firewall / NAT functions for any user traffic that needs to be offloaded locally.
   
• Juniper Networks Contrail Networking – The cloud network automation platform enables mobile operators to manage the MEC platform and Edge applications from a central location. New applications and services can be enabled or disabled on demand, delivering the primary benefits of an SDN overlay network.
   
• Saguna Open-RAN – Saguna’s MEC platform is a fully virtualized software solution. The MEC standard-based platform creates an open ecosystem for 3rd party MEC applications enabling mobile operators to expand their offering as new MEC services are brought to market. It also supports user mobility and core functionality including charging, policy control and lawful interception to ensure seamless integration into existing mobile network architectures.
  

Saguna Open-RAN

See "Juniper Networks and Saguna’s Service Aware RAN Solution Receives Award at Mobile Edge Computing Congress 2015" - here.

[Technavio]: 33% CAGR for Transparent Caching Market 2015-2019

A new report by Yechnavio finds that the "global transparent caching market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 33% from 2015-2019.

.. over the last five years, global consumer Internet traffic has increased by more than five times. OTT content such as videos, file sharing, web surfing, and online gaming have grown significantly. Web surfing includes accessing web content, emails, and online data, apart from videos.

This is a small CAGR increase compared to the previous report predicting a 31.3% for 2013-2018 (here).

"The traffic is expected to increase from 34.29 Exabytes per month, in 2014, to over 98.16 Exabytes per month, by 2019. An increase in Internet traffic will increase the demand for transparent caching from network operators and MSOs. It will also help the operators provide the highest QoE to their subscribers and achieve cost efficiency.

Key Vendors: Akamai Technologies, Blue Coat Systems, Juniper Networks, PeerApp and Qwilt. 

Other Prominent Vendors: Alcatel-Lucent, Allot Communications, ARA Networks, Brocade, BTI Systems, Cisco Systems, Conversant, Fortinet, Google, Huawei, Level 3 Communications, MaraSystem, SuperLumin Networks, Swiftserve and VidScale".
    

See "Global Transparent Caching Market 2015-2019" - here and "Transparent Caching Market to Grow at 33% CAGR by 2019 Says a New Research Report at ReportsnReports.com" - here. 

Verizon Transfers its Network to SDN Control

While we saw mixed feelings on SDN so far (see "[LightReading]: SDN/NFV Still Doesn’t Show Capex Savings for US MNOs" - here and ["Strategy Analytics]: "Operators are beginning to see the huge potential for SDN""- here), Verizon made a very strong statement with its "key technology partners" - Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Juniper Networks and Nokia Networks.

Verizon announced it is "transforming its network by implementing a software defined network architecture, laying the groundwork for new innovative services and applications. This SDN-based architecture is designed to introduce new operational efficiencies and allow for the enablement of rapid and flexible service delivery to Verizon’s customers.

.. To enable its network vision, Verizon and its technology vendors have co-authored a comprehensive SDN network architecture document, which includes all interface specifications and reference architectures plus requirements for both the control layer and forwarding box functions. This network architecture document will enable Verizon’s key technology partners to develop solutions to achieve the business and technical benefits of an SDN-enabled network.

Much of the foundational work required to deliver on Verizon’s next-generation network has been underway for several years. Verizon has created live lab environments in San Jose, California; Tampa, Florida; and Waltham, Massachusetts, and has commercial data center environments on both the East and West Coasts".

See "Verizon Announces Software Defined Networking Strategy" - here.

Juniper (W/Maxeler Technologies) Unveiled an Application & Packet Flow Accelerator

MaxelerLow Latency Platforms

Juniper Networks unveiled the "..QFX5100-AA, a new application acceleration switch, and the QFX-PFA, a new packet flow accelerator module, together providing a ground-breaking data center switch that consolidates compute resources and customizable logic into the network. 

Building on Juniper’s proven QFX product family, the QFX5100-AA and QFX-PFA in partnership with Maxeler Technologies’ customizable software logic will significantly accelerate business-critical applications in latency-sensitive computing environments.

Available in Q3 2015, the QFX5100-AA and QFX-PFA will enable financial services providers to streamline their network operations while empowering their customers to make split-second analysis based on significant amounts of data. Specific benefits will include:

• A holistic data center network architecture that builds on the Juniper Networks®QFX5100 with a new 40G Ethernet switch that combines the Intel® Xeon™ processor E3-1125C v2 with Broadcom switching silicon, and the QFX-PFA module based on the Altera multi-100G field-programmable gate array (FPGA).
   
• QFX5100-AA and QFX-PFA work with Maxeler Technologies’ dataflow programming environment for specific application programming that enables customers to develop and customize applications that best suit their requirements.
   
• Performance acceleration at the application level provided by using customizable logic to offload processing of compute-intensive, real-time, deterministic, latency sensitive applications"

See "Juniper Networks Advances Application Performance and Acceleration with New Compact Compute-Integrated Network Switch" - here and "Require high performance and application acceleration? Meet the new QFX5100-AA Switch" - here.

Akamai and Juniper Demo NFV/SDN Based CDN

Akamai Technologies and Juniper Networks demonstrated an "..Elastic Content Delivery Network (CDN) system designed to enable network operators to address network scalability challenges driven by the rapid increase in video traffic.
 

The proof-of-concept demonstration will leverage Akamai's virtualized Aura Licensed CDN (LCDN) software and Juniper Networks® Contrail Controller for software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) to dynamically scale up and down network resources to support content spikes resulting from the broadcast of large events. The technology is also designed to accelerate service creation for service providers utilizing CDNs to launch innovative multiscreen video services that help drive subscriber acquisition and loyalty.

Akamai's Aura Licensed CDN (LCDN)

.. Akamai is collaborating with Juniper Networks to demonstrate the industry's first on-network Elastic CDN. Unlike previous approaches which required dedicated hardware, long lead times and extensive planning to add capacity, the Elastic CDN solution running on virtualization platforms leverages Juniper Networks Contrail to quickly configure virtual network resources within a virtual CDN, and allows additional caching capacity to be deployed in minutes instead of weeks. The Elastic CDN is highly distributed and virtually networked to enable efficient use of resources. Operating in an OpenStack environment, the combined solution is designed to help reduce time and cost associated with adding new caching capacity to the network, decreasing both capital and operational expense".

See "Juniper Networks and Akamai Technologies Demonstrate Elastic CDN Solution Over Virtualization Platforms" - here.

[TechNavio]: Transparent Cache Market to Grow at 31% CAGR

A new report by TechNavio finds that ".. Transparent caching is a solution that enables the service provider to offload a significant amount of content traffic by storing a cached copy of the popular content close to the edge of the network, which is delivered to the user directly from the edge of the network rather than from the source. It is invisible to both the content originator and the end user, hence the name. 

TechNavio's analysts forecast the Global Transparent Caching market to grow at a CAGR of 31.3 percent over the period 2013-2018".

TechNavio identifies Blue Coat Systems (here), Juniper Networks, PeerApp (here) and Qwilt (here) as key vendors and Akamai, Alcatel-Lucent (here), Allot Communications (here), ARA Networks, Brocade, BTI Systems (here), Cisco Systems (see "Cisco Partners with PeerApp" - here), Fortinet, Google (here), Huawei (here), Level 3 (here), SuperLumin Networks, Swiftserve (here), VidScale as prominent vendors

See "Global Transparent Caching Market 2014-2018" - here.

Infonetics Identifies the Leading Policy Management Vendors

A new "Policy Management Scorboard" (based on "direct feedback from service providers, market share data, and publicly available financial data") by Shira Levine [pictured], directing analyst for service enablement and subscriber intelligence, Infonetics Research ranks the 8 largest global vendors of policy management solutions: Alcatel-Lucent, Amdocs, Ericsson, Huawei, Openet, Oracle, Juniper, and Redknee.

"Huawei’s and Ericsson’s strong financials and market share [see "[Infonetics]: Huawei Leads the $1B Policy Management Market" - here] growth, along with solid scores in the service provider feedback categories, propelled them to the top of the list .. However, we believe that Oracle and Amdocs have the potential to provide a real challenge to the leaders if and when they’re able to work through some of their post-acquisition issues, and Alcatel-Lucent will likely move up the list once its financials are sorted out.”.

In Infonetics' 2013 and 2012 reports, Openet led the market (here and here).

See "Huawei and Ericsson top Infonetics policy management scorecard; Oracle and Amdocs in hot pursuit" - here.

Sandvine Q1: $10M Revenues from Juniper; 78% Margin

Sandvine published its 2014 Q1 (Feb '14) results (here). Some highlights from the earning call and MD&A filing (here):

• Revenues by reseller Juniper Networks were $10M, for a "significant customer in the North America region" announced in November 2012 (here)
   
• Gross margin was high, at 78%, but the company does not expect to maintain this level and assume a 70% margin for the future
   
• "Very happy with the PCRF and some of the success we had with that (see "Sandvine Will Compete on PCRF Projects" - here) .. the dynamics are changing .. it is a much safer choice for service providers to select us to be on either ends of that policy control system"
   
• "Highest revenue ever from Wireless market (over 60% of total)"

  

• Dave Caputo, Sandvine's CEO, is very proud of the recently announced PTS 32000 (see "Sandvine Adds a 200Gbps/2RU Appliance w/100GE Interfaces" - here):
  
  
• "200 Gbps throughput per unit, up to 8 Tbps of throughput in cluster"
  
  
• "7 times smaller than certain competitive platforms" probably refers to Allot Communications' new Tera (500Gbps/13RU - see "Allot Launched the New Service Gateway; Orders from 4 Operators (over $9M)" - here)

Allot's ServiceGateway Tera

Sandvine PTS 32000

Sandvine CEO Bullish on IBM Relations; SDN and NFV will Take Time

Sandvine published its 2013 annual report. In the Letter to the Shareholder, Dave Caputo [pictured], Sandvine CEO, says: "In late 2012, we partnered with IBM [here and here] as a new reseller of our solutions; I am pleased that Sandvine’s products are now fully productized within the IBM partner ecosystem. This joint relationship is encouraging and we expect to announce further wins in 2014".

See IBM's document "Dynamic Policy Management for Mobile and Fixed Networks" - here.

"During 2013, we continued to demonstrate our readiness and commitment towards Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), by being the first vendor to demonstrate a completely virtualized network policy control solution. 

We have set up initial solution partnerships with Juniper Networks for SDN [see "Juniper's View on Sandvine SDN/NFV Integration" - here] and Dell for NFV [see "Sandvine: 'leading edge CSPs around the world are currently working with Sandvine on virtualization pilot projects'" - here], and have announced some initial customer successes. SDN and NFV represent architectural shifts for our customers, so we do not expect material revenue from solutions delivered in this manner for a few years, but it is important to establish our leadership now".

Juniper's View on Sandvine SDN/NFV Integration

James Kelly [pictured] explains in a Juniper Networks' forum how Sandvine DPI was integrated with Juniper's SDN controller, Contrail [see "Sandvine Join Juniper's SDN Partnership"- here].

".. The way we have Sandvine integrated with Contrail, the virtualized Policy Traffic Switch (vPTS) [see "Sandvine: 'leading edge CSPs around the world are currently working with Sandvine on virtualization pilot projects'" - here] sits right in the network. The vPTS is the inline enforcement element of subscriber service and traffic management policies – these policies are created within Sandvine’s application layer to support the service provider business requirements and provide network analytics. With the advent of NFV, Sandvine has virtualized their components to run as VMs, but the PTS sitting in-network presents a challenge to manage and scale from an NFV point of view because as traffic flows through the vPTS, it may be represented by several VMs at a time and that number could be growing or shrinking in peak or lull times (not to mention HA or maintenance situations where they may be temporarily taken down or moved). This is where Contrail service chaining comes in and abstracts how data traffic flows into and out of the vPTS by taking care of selecting and load balancing traffic across all the VMs per vPTS instance in accordance with the VMs’ roles and states.

With the deployment model, operators have more flexibility and ease in the size of their Sandvine deployment. They are elastic, they scale very small or very large, and they can automate or simplify deployments with scripts or clicks instead of truck rolls and cabling. Also CSPs can now deploy a small- or medium-sized “vSandvine” deployment as a managed service for enterprises, lower-tiered ISPs, and MVNO customers, giving CSPs another new source of revenue"

See "Enabling Partner Services on Contrail: Making Networks Smarter" - here.

Flash Networks, Sandvine Join Juniper's SDN Partnership

Juniper Networks announced the "availability of Juniper Networks Contrail, a standards-based and highly scalable network virtualization and intelligence solution for software-defined networks (SDN). Contrail is a production-ready SDN solution shipping today that is based on stable and proven networking standards. Contrail creates a virtual network, enabling seamless integration between physical and virtual networks while providing service providers and enterprises with a solution that is simple, open and agile. This network virtualization and intelligence solution has been in trials with more than 40 global customers.

"Juniper also announced technology partnerships that enable the development of solutions through integration with Contrail to facilitate SDN and cloud deployment, enable dynamic service chaining and improve visibility and insights into network operations. New partners include Cedexis, Check Point Software Technologies, Citrix,Cloudscaling, Dorado Software, Flash Networks, Gencore Systems, Gigamon,Guavus, ISC8, Lumeta, Mirantis, Red Hat, RiverBed, Sandvine, SevOne, Silver Peak, Sonus Networks, and Websense". 

See: 

• Juniper Networks Launches Production-Ready Software-Defined Networking Solution to Bring Networking Into the Cloud Era - here
   
• Flash Networks Integrates Virtualized Harmony™ Mobile Internet Services Gateway with Juniper Networks Contrail SDN Controller - here
   
• Sandvine Integrates Policy Control Technology With Juniper Networks Contrail To Provide Subscriber-And Application-Awareness Visibility To The Network - here

[Survey]: Mobile SDN on the Fast Track - 50% to Implement in 2 Years

A new survey [130 completed responses received from mobile, converged and fixed operators] by Informa Telecoms & Media (sponsored by Juniper Networks)  finds that ".. momentum is building rapidly for mobile software-defined-network (SDN) technology among operators worldwide .. operators consider mobile SDN to be a critical technology for the future of networks: Ninety-three percent of operator respondents expect SDN to be implemented in mobile within five years, and half expect it to be implemented in the next one to two years.

The survey also found that LTE and LTE-Advanced deployments are expected to be the biggest drivers of mobile SDN adoption, and adoption is expected to be led by developed markets in North America (primarily the US) and Asia Pacific (South Korea and Japan). Sixty-five percent of the mobile operator respondents expect infrastructure vendors to have the greatest ability to influence take-up of mobile SDN".

See "Half of mobile operators globally expect mobile SDN implementation by 2015, and 93% expect it within five years" - here.

Juniper [W/Guavus] Unveils Analytics

Juniper Networks unveiled the ".. Junos® Network Analytics suite .. developed with Guavus [see "Guavus: Characterization of OTT Traffic without DPI" - here].

 .. Junos Network Analytics extracts network flow data and routing tables from Juniper Networks routing platforms or other third-party vendor routing platforms .. SKUs are available now and subscription-based pricing will be on Juniper's price list in June 2013.

• BizReflex: A network analytics engine and dashboard for business decision makers that allow them to gather critical intelligence on how customers, peers and prospects interact with the network. This tool extracts and analyzes information from edge and core routers to allow operators to segment enterprise customers according to their respective value and price services accordingly, improving margins and customer retention. It also allows service providers to identify high-value prospects and acquire new customers more efficiently. These valuable insights can increase revenue opportunities and enhance service differentiation. 

• NetReflex: Provides network architects and operations personnel with detailed traffic trends and analysis for IP and MPLS networks. This solution gives operators more insight than previously possible into traffic patterns on the network, allowing network service providers to reduce costs with informed decision capabilities and improve the efficiency of their network".

See "Juniper Networks Delivers Big Data Analytics Solution for Better Network Intelligence and to Drive Informed Decisions" - here.

SDN Gets Standards and Open Source

 

After several months of being a buzzword and using Software Defines Networks anywhere possible, the big guys establish a new forum to define it, build standards and offer an open-source framework(!).

"The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to open source development and technologies, today announced the founding of the OpenDaylight Project, a community-led and industry-supported open source framework that will accelerate adoption, foster new innovation and create a more open and transparent approach to Software-Defined Networking (SDN)".

Technical Overview

"Founded by Big Switch Networks, Brocade, Cisco, Citrix, Ericsson, IBM, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, NEC, Red Hat and VMware .. on the principles of open and transparent development, OpenDaylight unites technology industry leaders to establish the largest SDN open source project to date .. The first code from the OpenDaylight Project is expected to be released in 3Q13 and expected donations and projects include an open controller, a virtual overlay network, protocol plug-ins and switch device enhancements".

See "Industry leaders collaborate on OpenDaylight Project, donate key technologies to accelerate Software-Defined Networking" - here.