Array Networks Inc., the network functions platform company announced the latest version of its groundbreaking AVX Series Network Functions Platforms with dozens of new and enhanced capabilities as well as new high-performance models that offer enhanced SSL and ECC-encrypted traffic throughput as well as support for 40 GbE network interfaces.
Array’s Network Functions Platforms are hyperconverged appliances that are designed specifically to run networking and security virtual appliances (VAs) w hile addressing the most difficult challenges of network services virtualization that face enterprises and managed service providers (MSPs).
The hybrid architecture of Array AVX platforms is unique in the industry and provides significant differentiation. AVX platforms (a) provide software-centric agility of a COTS server while retaining guaranteed hardware performance of a network appliance, (b) automate complex VA provisioning tasks to reduce time from months to minutes, (c) provide a vendor neutral platform that allows running any Array VAs, third party VAs and OpenSource VAs at scale, and (d) drive down the cost of HW and SW, as well as space, power, cooling and provisioning.
The new AVX5800, AVX7800 and AVX9800 appliances offer up to 10x improvement in ECC SSL processing and up to 2x performance increase across a number of core metrics. The new appliances also offer optional 40GbE network interfaces. Existing AVX x600 Series appliances will remain available for the foreseeable future.
The AVX 2.7 software release allows flexible VA resource assignment, allowing administrators to choose either one of the standard default instance sizes as before, or fine-tune system resources for the specific needs of individual VAs. For applications such as next-generation firewalls and web application firewalls, the latest software also supports promiscuous mode, port mirroring and other functions with enhanced performance.
The latest software release includes multiple other new features and enhancements, such as the ability to backup and restore AVX configurations and VA images via USB, a new online repository for VA software images, support for DHCP relay, and more. AVX 2.7 software is also backward compatible with existing AVX x600 Series appliance models.
AVX 2.7 also includes a plug-in for integration with OpenStack, a widely deployed open-source software platform for cloud computing. Using OpenStack, network administrators can create, instantiate, manage, adjust and terminate VAs, allowing complete lifecycle management of networking and security VAs in an OpenStack environment. Array’s platform serves as an OpenStack Compute (Nova) node through a new hypervisor driver.
“Networking and security teams, whether in the enterprise or the MSP space, must become cloud-relevant, and the chief obstacles to attaining this goal have been complexity, performance and cost,” said Milind Kulkarni, senior director of Product Management at Array Networks. “With this new release, the AVX Series offers even more flexibility and simplicity in deployment of networking and security virtual appliances as well as even more robust performance, all while reducing costs for power, cooling and space by consolidating multiple functions onto a single hyperconverged appliance.”
About Array Networks
Array Networks, the network functions platform company, solves performance and complexity challenges for businesses moving toward virtualized networking, security and application delivery. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Array addresses the growing market demand for network functions virtualization (NFV), cloud computing, and software-centric networking. Proven at more than 5,000 worldwide customer deployments, Array is recognized by leading analysts, enterprises, service providers and partners for pioneering next-generation technology that delivers agility at scale. To learn more, visit: www.arraynetworks.com.
