PoC & Integration of vBNG
Customer Story
We had the pleasure of working with two clients who sought our expertise in implementing a suitable Broadband Network Gateway (BNG) solution. Both clients were looking to migrate their customers from the SmartEdge1200 and Mikrotik CCR platforms to a more modern, reliable, and feature-rich platform. Additionally, they were in search of a robust CG-NAT solution due to the exhaustion of IPv4 prefixes.
Solution
To find the perfect BNG solution, we conducted several Proof of Concept (PoC) tests with hardware BNG solutions like Cisco ASR 9k and Juniper MX series. However, these tests revealed numerous drawbacks from the customer standpoint with hardware BNG solutions, including high costs, limitations in redundancy, scalability, dual-stack support, CG-NAT and DPI line card costs and limited functions.
With hardware BNG solutions proving to be less than ideal, we decided to continue run PoC for software vBNG solutions. We presented two options, VAS Experts Stingray and netElastic vBNG. Admittedly, customers were skeptical about the performance of software vBNG solutions but proceeded with testing.
To our customers surprise and delight, both software vBNG solutions demonstrated impressive performance, features, flexibility, and competitive pricing. Selecting the winner between the two platforms was more the decision of the design and requirements. One customer decided to move forward with netElastic vBNG because it offers a virtual router that can handle full view routing tables and at the same time manage your subscriber services terminating over almost any technology, IPoE, PPPoE or L2TP. On the other hand, we have Stingray BNG that can do DPI, QoE(Quality of Experience), Traffic Prioritization based on protocols or destinations and of course at the same time manage your subscriber services. In both cases, main advantages of both platforms were the following:
1. Scalability: Virtualization allows you to scale your network capacity as needed. NetElastic’s vBNG and VAS Experts’ Stingray BNG can be deployed on standard x86 servers, enabling you to add or remove resources according to demand. This flexibility is a game-changer compared to hardware BNGs, which require expensive and time-consuming upgrades.
2. Cost Efficiency: vBNG solutions offer significant cost savings compared to hardware-based BNGs. By utilizing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, both netElastic and VAS Experts can provide cost-effective options. This eliminates the need for expensive, proprietary hardware and reduces the total cost of ownership.
3. Simplified Deployment and Management: Both netElastic’s vBNG and VAS Experts’ Stingray BNG offer easy deployment and management, thanks to their software-based nature. They can be easily integrated with existing network infrastructure and allow for centralized management, reducing the complexity of managing multiple hardware devices.
4. Enhanced Performance: netElastic and VAS Experts have optimized their vBNG solutions to deliver high-performance networking. Their software-based approach enables faster packet processing and a more efficient use of resources while maintaining the necessary functionality, such as subscriber management, traffic shaping, and advanced routing.
5. Future-proof Networking: As networks continue to evolve, vBNG solutions like netElastic’s vBNG and VAS Experts’ Stingray BNG can easily adapt to new technologies and standards. By leveraging a software-based approach, these solutions can be updated to accommodate future network requirements, ensuring your investment remains relevant and effective.
Once the decision has been made, we began working closely with support teams to ensure a smooth transition from the old platforms to the new vBNG solutions without major disruptions.
Ultimately, this project was a resounding success. We were able to help our clients save costs and migrate to a feature-rich and scalable platform. A happy customer is the hallmark of a happy project!
Who knew that the journey from hardware BNG to vBNG would be as smooth as IPv4 transitioning to IPv6 – with a little help from CG-NAT, of course! 😄
