Ensemble delivers major new release for NFV management and orchestration at scale

Ensemble suite addresses real-world needs of Tier 1 operators with focus on simplicity, zero touch provisioning and multi-layer security

Ensemble, a division of ADVA (FSE: ADV), today launched a major new release of its network functions virtualization (NFV) platform. The upgraded Ensemble suite now features powerful management and orchestration (MANO) capabilities, enabling service providers to roll out secure virtualized services at scale. Developed alongside Tier 1 customers in direct response to their requirements, the upgraded Ensemble suite addresses today's most urgent security and complexity challenges. Its significantly enhanced MANO features include multi-layer security, simplified management of NFV infrastructure (NFVI) and service chain creation, visibility, monitoring and troubleshooting. The latest release is based on three years of real-world experience enabling companies to deploy and manage software-based, cloud-native solutions.

"Our Ensemble solutions are successfully deployed in major networks across the globe. Now, we're taking the agility and efficiency of cloud-centric service provision to the next level. We're well beyond simply making NFV work. With the new functionality of our Ensemble portfolio, we're empowering our customers to deploy and manage virtual network functions (VNFs) at scale," said Prayson Pate, CTO, Ensemble division, ADVA. "From day one, we've been ahead of the curve when it comes to delivering the promise of NFV. While others have spent the last three years theorizing and testing, we've been empowering leading global service providers to deliver agile, cost-efficient virtualized offerings."

The latest Ensemble release provides key MANO enhancements, making NFV and virtualized services easy to deploy across multiple locations with complete flexibility and scale, and with the ability to provide Day 0 configuration of VNFs. Ensemble addresses real-world problems related to operating uCPE deployments at scale, such as a single IP address for management and in-service software upgrades with reversion. The Ensemble portfolio's multi-layered approach to security helps operators tackle vulnerabilities, and it provides software-based encryption that can be combined with VNFs. Ensemble's streamlined VNF management capabilities make the task of onboarding new VNFs straightforward. It also offers user-friendly information on service chain operations as well as virtualization tools for analysis and troubleshooting. What's more, its zero touch provisioning capabilities remove the need for user intervention and replace truck rolls and on-site technicians with automation.

"The team at ADVA's Ensemble division understands our NFV strategy and shares our drive to empower customers through sophisticated cloud-based services. The new Ensemble release makes deploying and managing VNFs and the NFV infrastructure simpler, quicker and more secure," commented Mirko Voltolini, head of Network On Demand, Colt Technology Services. "The latest enhancements help us build service chains on demand and safeguard our customers' networks with additional security controls. One of the Ensemble suite's recently added capabilities is zero touch provisioning. That ability to ship unconfigured COTS servers to customers and commission them automatically gives us a key advantage. Not only does it generate significant cost savings but it also simplifies and accelerates service activation."

"We have a wealth of real-world virtualization experience. That's what sets us apart. Now, with our upgraded Ensemble suite, we're offering customers a uniquely simple and cost-effective path to realizing the opportunities of NFV," commented James Buchanan, general manager, Ensemble division, ADVA. "One of the key benefits of our products being successfully deployed in so many live service provider and enterprise networks is that we've learned the hard lessons. We now understand exactly how to streamline NFV deployments through improved operationalization and management automation. This new release of our Ensemble suite is about creating a manageable system that enables operators to easily onboard new VNFs and build, monitor and control complex VNF service chains. With this upgrade, we're putting the M in MANO."