Unlock the Potential of IoT with Network Virtualization

Virtualization of Customer Premises Equipment (vCPE) There are three broad types of vCPE deployments, each with varying distributions of functionality between the customer premises and the cloud (Service Provider edge). They are described below: ƒ Cloud CPE Most of the vCPE functions such as NAT, Firewall, QOS Policies are deployed in the cloud at the Provider Edge, with basic functionality such as forwarding and IP address management (IPAM) supported at customer premises ƒ On Premises OTT vCPE More functionality such IPAM, NAT, Firewall and QOS Policies are supported by the vCPE VNFs at the customer premises. Customer control plane and data plane traffic is carried on an OTT connection ƒ On-premises vCPE More functionality such IPAM, NAT, Firewall and QOS Policies are supported by the vCPE VNFs at the customer premises. Customer control plane and data plane traffic is carried over a dedicated link owned by the service provider The customer premises may be easiest to virtualize if modular container-based methods are employed. Multiple vCPEs in an enterprise edge may need careful orchestration. In a residential customer domain, the end customer may be stymied by the vagaries (and possible faults) of “soft” network functions. A virtualized CPE implementation at the customer premises means potentially lower OPEX costs for the customer, while representing an easy way for the CSP to manage network edges and roll out new functions. The vCPE may be comprised of multiple VNFs such as vRouter, vFirewall, vLoadbalancer and vDPI or it may consist of a vRouter implementing more than one functionality offered by the independent VNFs. The vRouter VNF plays the type of central role in vCPE deployments and often implements multiple functionalities of vCPE. The COTS platform implementing vRouter can utilize hypervisors such as KVM for the Linux environment, as well as Virtual Infrastructure Manager for MANO functions. Potential vCPE deployment options must be considered by the CSP early in end-to-end NFV deployments. Customer Profile