HPE Updates Network Functions Virtualization Portfolio 

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 22 -- Today Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) announced updates to its network functions virtualization (NFV) portfolio, providing communications service providers (CSPs) access to new tools to speed NFV deployments, as well as virtualized solutions to build innovative, personalized customer services. Updates include:

• HPE NFV System 1.4 - an update to HPE's pre-integrated NFV solutions bundle, adding support for and allowing choice between Red Hat OpenStack Platform and HPE Helion OpenStack Carrier Grade 4.0 and integrating the OpenDaylight-based HPE OpenSDN controller
• HPE VNF Onboarding Factory Service - a new program to enable CSPs to speed-up the virtual network functions (VNF) onboarding process
• HPE Virtual Headend Manager - a new virtualized solution for managing Internet Protocol television (IPTV) content deployments for improved customer experiences and opening up potential new revenue opportunities
• Subscriber Data Management on HPE Virtualized NonStop - a new virtualized subscriber data management (SDM) solution optimized for high fault-tolerance, availability and scalability to create new, personalized services faster and more cost-effectively

"As carriers transform into digital service providers, one of their biggest priorities is to establish a solid network foundation and flexible service platforms," said David Sliter, vice president and general manager, Communications Solutions Business, HPE. "With HPE NFV solutions, carriers can implement a programmable infrastructure, providing the agility of the telco cloud and ability to scale their service deliveries to be more responsive to customer demand."

HPE NFV System support for Red Hat OpenStack Platform offers CSPs increased flexibility

HPE NFV System, a pre-integrated NFV platform combining HPE hardware and software in a pre-integrated solution bundle optimized for NFV workloads, now offers support for Red Hat OpenStack Platform in addition to HPE Helion OpenStack Carrier Grade. The addition of the Red Hat OpenStack offers CSPs and network equipment providers (NEPs) their choice of pre-packed, pretested and supported carrier grade virtual infrastructure management (VIM) tools.

HPE NFV System 1.4 includes as an option HPE Helion OpenStack 4.0, providing CSPs with an OpenStack Mitaka-based VIM that meets demanding performance and reliability requirements, while providing the latest OpenStack advancements. It also includes HPE OpenSDN, an OpenDaylight-based software-defined networking (SDN) controller. HPE OpenSDN enables carrier SDN capabilities across various cloud platforms, including proprietary, OpenStack and containers.

HPE Helion Carrier Grade OpenStack 4.0 and HPE OpenSDN are available now as standalone solutions or integrated with HPE NFV System 1.4, targeted for availability in April 2017. For more information visit: www.hpe.com/dsp/infrastructure

HPE VNF Onboarding Factory Service accelerates the VNF onboarding process

As virtualization and cloud technologies move into CSP networks and LTE/5G deployments increase, successful deployments depend on the ability to quickly onboard new VNFs and link them into network services.

HPE is launching the HPE VNF Onboarding Factory Service, a program that reduces the risk, complexity and time it takes to onboard and deploy new services faster. The service utilizes open-standards based tools to accelerate the steps to examine the VNF, build the information model/templates and the descriptors used for integration into MANO and NFV infrastructure layers, support onboarding on multi-VIM environments and allows the creation of appropriate service models for vendors that support NFV open orchestration standards.

The HPE VNF Onboarding Factory Service also utilizes the NFV-VITAL (Virtualization Impact on Throughput and Load) framework to determine the performance of different VNF types to meet the performance needs of CSPs and to avoid "do-it-yourself" inefficiencies.

The HPE VNF Onboarding Factory Service leverages more than two years' of experience gained from the HPE OpenNFV Partner Program, where the same process and toolset has been used to validate numerous HPE and partner VNFs on the HPE OpenNFV reference architecture. The HPE VNF Onboarding Factory service is offered for various levels of VNF complexity and delivered by a global network of trained consultants.

The HPE VNF Onboarding Factory Service is targeted for availability in March 2017. For more information visit: www.hpe.com/dsp/infrastructure

HPE Virtual Headend Manager virtualizes media functions to speed time-to-market and open new revenue streams

CSPs utilize dedicated headend equipment to distribute content to subscribers' devices. As content demands increase and customers' consumption habits evolve, additional headend appliances must quickly be deployed, resulting in increased costs and complexity.

HPE Virtual Headend Manager (vHM) takes a software-defined approach, providing a non-proprietary, scalable, programmable network infrastructure. This method enables CSPs to quickly deploy new channels in minutes, adapt to new technologies as they become available and reduce the complexity of integration.

Based on open standards for virtual media functions and using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers, HPE vHM considerably reduces CAPEX and simplifies operations management, for improved OPEX. Additionally, HPE vHM enables CSPs to create new sources of revenues with innovative channels-as-a-service type of solutions.

HPE vHM is targeted for availability in March 2017. For more information visit: www.hpe.com/dsp/services

Strengthen virtualization of core SDM functions with HPE Virtualized NonStop for mission critical environments

Subscriber data management (SDM) technologies let CSPs consolidate and manage subscriber and device data across heterogeneous networks via a single, unified repository, allowing operators to simplify their networks and avoid data duplication and inconsistencies so they can create new personalized services faster and more cost-effectively.

HPE SDM solutions can be deployed as either physical or virtual network functions using a variety of COTS hardware and software. The addition of an HPE Virtualized NonStop as a SDM deployment option adds fault-tolerance, high availability and scalability required by mission critical CSP environments to already proven virtualized SDM functions, including: Home Subscriber Service (HSS); Home Location Register (HLR); authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA); Intelligent Network Server (INS) and Universal Identity Repository (UIR).

SDM for HPE Virtualized NonStop is targeted for availability in March 2017. For more information visit: www.hpe.com/dsp/automate

For more information on how CSPs are seeking to move beyond connectivity to become digital service providers visit, read the "Rapid Digital Transformation Taking Place as Communications Service Providers Look to Play a More Pivotal Role" business white paper.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is an industry leading technology company that enables customers to go further, faster. With the industry's most comprehensive portfolio, spanning the cloud to the data center to workplace applications, our technology and services help customers around the world make IT more efficient, more productive and more secure.

Source: HPE