Virtualization Solutions

Common Napatech SmartNIC solution hardware based on programmable FPGA technology allows multiple solutions to be supported. A solution is specified in a FPGA image which can be remotely downloaded to the Napatech SmartNIC solution on-the-fly.

The dual-port Napatech SmartNIC solution is designed to support multiple data rates including 8x1Gbps, 4x10Gbps, 8×25 Gbps, 2×40 Gbps, 2×50 Gbps and 2×100 Gbps. Upgrading to a new data rate is made possible by the ability to download a new FPGA image with the correct data rate to the Napatech SmartNIC solution. This allows the same NIC to be used in multiple locations in the network, reducing the variety of products and easing maintenance and operations.

With proprietary appliances, adding new capacity, functionality and capabilities means upgrading to a new appliance with all the cost, resources and time that this involves. By leveraging a hardware platform that can be upgraded on-the-fly, it is possible to re-use existing hardware, procedures and trained resources. This extends the lifetime of your infrastructure, reducing capital expenditure needs and operational costs for a combined reduction in total cost-of-ownership.

With a common hardware infrastructure that can support multiple virtual services, applications and functions, centralized automation and management is easier. It reduces the number of exceptions and dependencies that need to be taken into consideration. The remote programmability and re-configurability of FPGAs also enables centralized management and orchestration of supported functionality in the common hardware in support of different service chains.

Virtual Switch acceleration solution

To allow optimal flexibility, virtual switching in NFV environments is preferably performed in software. However, achieving acceptable performance with virtual switching solutions is a challenge. Alternative solutions improve performance by bypassing the virtual switch or fully off-loading the virtual switch to a hardware accelerated NIC. But this approach can compromise the virtual function mobility and flexibility, which ultimately affects the ability to optimize resources and thereby reduces the intended cost-efficiency.

Napatech provides a range of virtual switch acceleration solutions all designed to provide higher performance using fewer CPU cores. This ensures that expensive server resources are used for revenue generating virtual functions rather than data delivery.

To find out more see: Napatech SmartNIC Solutions Virtual Switch Acceleration.

Data processing, like encryption and compression, can be extremely intensive when performed in software and require a tremendous amount of CPU cores. By offloading these functions to accelerated NIC hardware it is possible to significantly increase performance and free CPU cores to support more virtual functions on the same server.

Napatech Hardware Offload Solutions utilize the programmability of the Napatech SmartNIC solution to allow dedicated encryption and compression solutions to be implemented in a co-processor model to several virtual functions. In this manner, the Napatech SmartNIC solution can be configured to a data input/output solution, a compression acceleration solution or an encryption acceleration solution depending on service needs or the data center architecture.

Tests have shown that hardware offload performance can be improved up to 40 times compared to execution in software resulting in significant cost-savings and greater efficiency.

To find out more see: Napatech Hardware Offload Solution.

Based on the Napatech Virtual Switch Acceleration Solution, the VM-to-VM Monitoring solution provides insight into both North-South and East-West data traffic in the server without consuming CPU cores.

Since the Napatech Virtual Switch Acceleration Solution sees all data, it is possible to replicate traffic in hardware and send the OVS mirror traffic to either a virtual appliance or an external analytics solution.

In contrast to alternative solutions based on virtual taps and OVS mirroring in software, no CPU cores or memory are consumed making the VM-to-VM Monitoring Solution a highly effective way of monitoring virtual traffic.

To find out more see: Napatech VM-to-VM Monitoring Solution.

Presentation

Using automated SDN/NFV infrastructure to provide security, agility and insight for dynamic cloud connectivity.

Case Study

Nokia challenge: While virtualization brings a series of obvious benefits, it also introduces new hurdles…

White Paper

White Paper