A10 Networks, announced that it has shipped the industry-leading 100 Gbps virtual machine for 5G secure application services with the Thunder® Convergent Firewall (CFW). The solution has already been adopted by a major telco provider in the Middle East for its 5G environment. The 100 Gbps virtual machine provides the fastest throughput available in the market and helps customers transition to an agile, scalable and software-defined network function virtualization infrastructure (NFVi) required for the commercial roll-out of 5G networks.

As mobile service providers transition to 5G, NFV provides many advantages in the consolidation of network functions and the ability to develop virtual infrastructures that are more flexible and scalable with a lower TCO. Service providers can scale services up or down or move network functions from location to location to respond to changing demands. It is clear 5G networks will drive a whole range of new services for customers. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by A10 Networks, smart cities were identified as a top use-case driver by service providers. Security and flexibility of the network will be critical.

“The transition to 5G is upon us, and now is the time for mobile service providers to begin the transition to NFVi to prepare their networks for 5G. A10 Networks’ Thunder CFW consolidates multiple network functions to provide lower latency and total cost of ownership. Mobile operators can more quickly transition to NFV and prepare for the 5G transition with Thunder CFW’s industry-leading scale and performance, and flexible form-factors,” said Yasir Liaqatullah, vice president of product management, A10 Networks.

A10 Networks’ security solutions are being adopted by major telco providers and are being consumed in both physical and virtual form factors. These service providers are transitioning portions of their network infrastructure to virtual network functions (VNF), while maintaining other physical network functions (PNF). By providing both virtual and physical solutions, A10 Networks helps ease the integration of combining PNF and VNF in the same infrastructure. Customers select the Thunder CFW to protect their networks with highest scale physical appliances combined with industry-leading performance of virtual appliances. A10 Networks also partners with leading orchestration providers to help give customers integrated orchestration and management across physical and virtual functions.

A10 Networks NFV Thunder CFW 5G-GiLAN solution includes:

• Highest Performance – Up to 100 Gbps, 2.5x the performance of similar solutions.
• GiLAN Consolidation – Consolidates GiFW, CGNAT, application visibility and intelligent traffic steering to increase operational efficiency and better security on the GiLAN.
• Application Visibility & Control – DPI-based L7 application visibility for effective policy enforcement and control provides enhanced Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) support and compliance.
• Intelligent Traffic Steering – Subscriber-aware traffic steering to enhance new business models with differentiated service offerings for new revenue streams.
• GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) Support – GTP Firewall with granular SCTP filtering defends the mobile core against GTP-based attacks initiated from RAN or GRX/IPX networks.
• Orchestration and management– Integration with leading orchestration solutions, making A10 Networks VNF and PNF form factors highly suited for 5G environments.
• Accelerates Adoption of SDN/NFV – Achieve on-demand capacity with versatile software options (PNFs, VNFs, containers and bare metal) across SDN/NFV environments. Supports A10 FlexPool subscription-based capacity pooling licensing model for flexible consumption.