Dell EMC has unveiled its Virtual Edge Platform (VEP) family, a software-defined wide area network solution (SD-WAN) with the new Intel Xeon D-2100 processor. The new solution, Dell EMC VEP4600, is connecting the enterprise edge to the cloud via universal Customer Premise Equipment (uCPE). The new virtualized solution would enhance or displace expensive fixed-function access hardware.
“There is a real need among service providers and enterprises to update network operations to address distributed and cloud-based applications and capitalize on changing economics enabled by cloud models,” said Tom Burns, senior vice president, Networking & Service Provider Solutions, Dell EMC. “By infusing Open Networking into access networks to the cloud with the Virtual Edge Platform family, Dell EMC can help customers modernize infrastructure and transform operations while automating service delivery and processes.”
Dell EMC VEP4600
Built with advanced intelligence for network virtualization and software-defined architecture, the Dell EMC VEP4600 provides an open Intel architecture-based platform to support multiple simultaneous virtual network functions (VNF). Numerous proprietary physical devices can be consolidated into this single uCPE while maintaining the high-performance levels needed to host many. The modular design includes room to grow with front panel expandability so the platform can be easily upgraded or serviced in the field as needed.
“In our research, we’re seeing more enterprise customers considering network disaggregation as a more flexible approach to building networks, similar to what happened in compute when mainframe and Unix-based servers were superseded by x86 systems,” said Brad Casemore, IDC Research Vice President, Data Center Networks. “With its universal CPE (uCPE) solution for SDN-WAN environments, Dell EMC is extending its Open Networking portfolio to the enterprise edge to accommodate the growing number of cloud-based applications that require lower latency and scalability.”
Intel Xeon D-2100
The VEP 4600 is powered by the new Intel Xeon D-2100 product family, Intel QuickAssist Technology (Intel QAT), and Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK). These features would help optimize compute resources and provide efficiency for growing security workloads.
The Intel Xeon D-2100 product family’s performance, power and form factor have been tuned for higher performance-per-watt for SD-WAN and uCPE. These processors enable complex packet processing and other scale-out workloads with responsiveness and low latency. The Dell EMC VEP4600 will begin shipping worldwide on April 24, 2018.
“As network traffic continues to increase, optimized service delivery is required to meet the demands of a broad range of use cases at the network edge,” said Sandra Rivera, senior vice president and general manager, Network Platforms Group, Intel. “A programmable and power efficient system-on-a-chip processor is needed to deliver the performance that users and devices require for edge applications. Using the Intel Xeon D-2100 system-on-a-chip in the Dell EMC Virtual Edge Platform provides flexible and power-efficient network edge solutions with high-performance compute and intelligence.”
