Please note that JavaScript and style sheet are used in this website,
Due to unadaptability of the style sheet with the browser used in your computer, pages may not look as original.
Even in such a case, however, the contents can be used safely.
NEC Laboratories Europe launches new open source platform for high speed, high throughput Network Functions Virtualisation applications
London, April 4th, 2014 – NEC Laboratories Europe, together with its research partners the University of Pisa and the University of Bucharest, have today launched a new “Cloud Networking Performance research platform (CNP-Lab)” initiative to help telecom operators and network solution developers accelerate the adoption of open source-based Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) for challenging high speed, high throughput multi-vendor network applications.
As part of this programme, NEC is introducing a new high speed software switch and an Operating System (OS) for software middleboxes that offer unmatched scalability, extensibility and versatility. At the same time, NEC is contributing back the code to the open source community.
NEC’s new open source software switch – “modular VALE” – operates at exceptionally high speeds while supporting a very large number of ports and a diversity of highly loaded network functions. It enhances the previous VALE software switch, originally developed by the University of Pisa, by reducing the complexity of the algorithms, increasing the degree of parallelism and introducing a clear separation between the switching fabric and logic.
With over 200Gbit/s of switching capacity and an accelerated packet processing interface, NEC’s solution is around 3.6 times faster than the previous VALE solution according to independent university laboratory tests. It can deliver up to 72 million medium-sized packets per second and scale to hundreds of virtual ports – as opposed to VALE’s 64.
NEC has also developed Click OS, a Xen-based open source platform that can run hundreds of virtualized network functions, including BRAS (Broadband Remote Access Server) and carrier-grade NAT (Network Address Translation), concurrently on a single commodity server, while processing millions of packets per second with very low packet delays.
Click OS is designed to help operators unlock their networks and benefit from the increased flexibility and innovation, while reducing costs, by supporting a truly multi-tenant, heterogeneous virtual networking environment. As it boots in around 30 milliseconds, Click OS enables the network to be up- and down-scaled easily to meet shifting traffic demand, enabling operators to avoid the high capital and operating costs of provisioning their network to cope with peak demand. It can also support multi-tenant deployments involving an operator and third parties through the use of isolation functionality that maintains high network security and resilience levels.
ClickOS implements an extensive overhaul of Xen’s I/O subsystem, including changes to the back-end switch, virtual net devices and back- and front-end drivers. Click comes with over 300+ stock elements and functionality can be easily abstracted and reused, enabling developers to construct middleboxes with minimal effort.
Dr. Heinrich Stüttgen, Vice President of NEC Laboratories Europe commented, “NEC’s new solutions overcome two major challenges holding back the wider adoption of NFV technologies in the telecoms industry. Our new switching solution accelerates packet processing to overcome a potential bottleneck in operators’ networks, while our OS enables more flexible configurations of virtualized network functions. NEC has once again underlined its commitment to the open source community by contributing back our code to developers around the world, bringing the benefits of competition, choice, lower costs and greater innovation to carriers that our IT counterparts have enjoyed for many years.”
***
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company’s experience and global resources, NEC’s advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.
About NEC Laboratories Europe
NEC Europe Ltd. established NEC Laboratories Europe in 1994. The Laboratories are located in Heidelberg, Germany and South Ruislip, UK. NEC Laboratories are conducting research and development on cutting-edge ICT technologies, in particular Future Internet, next generation fixed and mobile networks, the Internet-of-Things, Intelligent Transportation Systems, multimedia, security and smart energy. Special emphasis is placed on solutions meeting the needs of NEC’s European customers. For additional information, please visit the NEC Laboratories Europe home page at: http://uk.nec.com/en_GB/emea/about/neclab_eu/
NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Other product or service marks mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. ©2013 NEC Corporation.
