ADVA and Advantech Simplify Remote uCPE Rollout With the Launch of a Virtual Lab

CSP engineers working remotely to evaluate SD-WAN, security and enterprise edge solutions face logistical challenges

ADVA and Advantech’s test-drive portal offers virtual test environment for remote evaluation of SD-WAN and security solutions

Initiative removes pain of integration and accelerates uCPE deployment

ADVA and Advantech announced a joint test-drive portal initiative for remote evaluation of SD-WAN and security solutions on universal CPE (uCPE). Based on the ADVA’s Ensemble suite of network functions virtualization (NFV) technology and Advantech edge appliances, the joint remote lab will streamline the evaluation process for network engineers and architects working remotely by providing them with free access to a wide range of pre-integrated SD-WAN uCPE platforms. The initiative will help communication service providers (CSPs) to overcome the challenges of remote evaluation, such as lab licensing and device shipping to distributed teams.

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“We’ve joined forces with ADVA during these challenging times to help network engineers and architects working from home rapidly evaluate different SD-WAN, security and enterprise edge solutions through an open uCPE lab that is fully supported by a team of network experts,” said James Yang, VP, cloud IoT group, Advantech. “This is the first in a series of joint initiatives that will grow our partnership stronger with the objective of delivering hassle-free open uCPE solutions to market that accelerate time to revenue, minimize supply chain risks and support disaggregated SD-WAN strategies toward next-generation converged and cloud-native architectures.”

The new uCPE test-drive portal is built on the ADVA Ensemble open virtualization suite, including carrier-class management and orchestration, and virtual network functions (VNFs) hosting capabilities. Lab users will be provided access to Advantech FWA-1112VC edge appliances hosting the ADVA Ensemble software and will be able to test Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN solution that enables a security-driven networking approach and the Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform that provides automated integration with cloud-delivered security services. The Advantech FWA-1112VC platform features Intel Atom processors that have been cost-optimized for volume deployment and provide flexible connectivity options including 5G, Wi-Fi 6 and 10GbE. Encryption and compression acceleration improvements can be assessed using Intel QuickAssist with DPDK. Other partner VNFs and Advantech hardware platforms are available for evaluation under request.

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“By partnering with Advantech, we’re helping to simplify the virtualization journey for operators and enterprises. This is especially crucial right now with so many CSP and enterprise engineers operating from home. Our joint virtual lab gives those working remotely the ability to see a complete solution and evaluate functionality and performance without having to set it up in their own labs,” said Mike Heffner, VP, product line management, Edge Cloud, ADVA. “Together with Advantech, we’re eliminating the pain of integration and helping our customers realize the benefits of multi-vendor uCPE. This test-drive portal initiative is also key to accelerating the shift towards fully cloud-native architectures.”

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