F5 exhibits IoT and 5G-readiness

New services and capabilities were showcased at Mobile World Congress recently where customer-use case demonstrations were a prominent spotlight at the global even.t

F5 Networks on the 7 March 2017, announced a range of new 5G- and IoT-ready solutions and capabilities to help global service providers better optimise, secure and monetise their networks.

The news tied in with F5’s attendance at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, where the application delivery and security expert unveiled and demonstrated its latest suite of solutions.

F5 also collaborated with a range of service provider customers to showcase the way its technology can fuel the adoption of rapidly evolving trends such as 5G, IoT, NFV and multi-cloud deployment scenarios.

“Our service provider solutions have been specifically designed with the future in mind, consolidating and optimising networks functions for the 5G and IoT era to reduce TCO, as well as facilitate multi-layered end-to-end security that encompasses devices, networks and applications,” said Mallik Tatipamula, VP of Service Provider and IOT Solutions, F5 Networks.

“The key is to enable new and innovative services and business models that will improve customer retention and expand market-share.”

Key updates include:

• Realising the potential of NFV

To help service providers harness a perfect storm of 5G, IoT and cloud, F5 is introducing a high-performance NFV 40G Virtual Edition, expanding service providers’ ability to scale networks with more flexible and agile architectures.

• Making IoT Go

To help service providers effectively optimize and secure their network for explosive growth in IoT traffic, F5 is announcing the support for specialized IoT protocols such as Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT). The first service provider-focused IoT-specific capability is MQTT Message Delivery, with the ability to intelligently steer IoT traffic and apply specific policies. F5 is bolstering its IoT support with solutions for IoT Security, Access and Authentication.

• SGi-LAN enhancements

F5 Networks is consolidating its market leadership for SGi-LAN Layer 4-7 network services. New features include enhancements of the F5® BIG-IP® Policy Enforcement Manager™ (PEM), adding flexible licensing options to unlock new levels of network flexibility and control, enabling operators to evolve their use cases over time. In addition, SGi-LAN TCP Optimization has been updated with auto-tuning enhancements and is also closely coupled with subscriber awareness to provide advanced capabilities to operators. The new additions complement a host of existing SGi-LAN specific services, including Intelligent Traffic Steering, Carrier-Grade NAT (CGNAT), DNS, Firewall, and Service Chaining.

• SP Security Carrier Class Firewall step-change

Key improvements to F5’s end-to-end dynamic Carrier Class Firewall include subscriber/policy awareness for F5® BIG-IP® Advanced Firewall Manager™ (AFM), stronger DDoS capabilities, and security and logging integration with SevOne, which provides a digital infrastructure monitoring platform for cutting-edge, actionable insights.  Furthermore, the integration of Carrier Class Firewall and Carrier Grade NAT enables operators to easily handle transitioning their networks to IPv6.

F5’s news comes hot on the heels of IDC’s prediction that the IoT market will grow to $1.29 trillion at a CAGR of 15.6% by 2020, a year by which Frost and Sullivan estimates that people will own 5.1 connected devices.

IoT is also forcing itself to the top the strategic agenda in boardrooms worldwide. A recent report by the Internet of Things Institute noted that 65% of 1 000 surveyed global business executives agreed that organisations leveraging IoT internet will have a significant advantage.

Meanwhile, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report there will be 550 million 5G connections by 2022, 29 billion connected devices will be in use – 18 billion associated with the Internet of Things (IoT).

About F5

F5 makes apps go faster, smarter, and safer for the world’s largest businesses, service providers, governments, and consumer brands. F5 delivers cloud and security solutions that enable organisations to embrace the application infrastructure they choose without sacrificing speed and control.