Masergy Communications has announced Virtual f(n), its virtualized network function platform. Companies and channel partners can add routing and firewall capabilities via software, eliminating the need for specialized network appliances and on-site administration.
Masergy’s software delivery model is akin to mobile app stores where consumers can download software to their smartphones, turning them into versatile devices to access the Internet, conduct video calls and monitor home security.
“Network function virtualization (NFV) lets companies deploy network capabilities via software running on commodity hardware, but we’ve seen few commercial applications,”said Nav Chander, research manager for enterprise telecom at IDC. “Masergy is one of the first communications service providers, to our knowledge, that has made this available to enterprises in the US.”
Virtual f(n) is part of Masergy’s Managed Network f(n) family of fully managed network services. Virtual f(n) joins Premise f(n) and Cloud f(n) to enable customers to mix and match deployment models and create agile, distributed network architectures that adapt to their changing business needs. Virtual f(n) works also with Premise f(n) and Cloud f(n) managed services.
“Virtual f(n) truly changes the way networks are architected by removing the management, cost and space requirements typically associated with physical network assets,” said Tim Naramore, CTO at Masergy. “Now, through a simple software download, our customers can add full-featured network services, without equipment shipments and on-site administration. This is the realization of our vision of the programmable enterprise.”
Software-based Brocade routers and Fortinet firewalls are also available; additional services, including session border controllers and WAN accelerators, will be released upon certification.
