The News: Casa Systems demonstrated 1+ TBps of throughput on its cloud-native Broadband Network Gateway (vBNG) / 5G Access Gateway Function (AGF) on a single server, powered by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors. Read the Casa Systems Press Release here.

MWC 2023: Casa Systems and Intel Team Up to Turbo Boost vBNG and 5G AGF Capabilities

Analyst Take: Casa Systems and Intel are collaborating to advance vBNG and AGF innovation by showing the performance capabilities of a virtualized BNG for high bandwidth services are ready for prime time. Casa Systems Axyom vBNG/AGF is designed to deliver the performance, scaling, and flexibility needed to fulfill the greater range of rapidly evolving broadband demands.

Casa Systems is targeting the new Axyom Cloud Native vBNG/AGF technology at traditional chassis-based BNG solutions by using 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors to deliver a more power-efficient, scalable, and flexible solution. From my view, capabilities such as 1+ TBps of throughput combined with 100 microseconds latency at 120,000 session and zero packet loss can prove key differentiators, particularly as service providers accelerate their 5G and fiber deployments throughtout the 2020s.

I believe Casa Systems’ selection of 4th Gen Intel Xeon processors and Intel Ethernet 800 Series Network Adapters can drive the portfolio development strategy key to making inroads into the service provider market. Intel’s Xeon processors target edge applications, especially across data center environments, that can benefit from enduring availability and industrial-grade features across a wide range of power and performance envelopes.

From my perspective, the topmost differentiator for the 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors is the built-in accelerator technology. The Intel Accelerator Engines are purpose-built to optimize network, AI, high-performance computing (HPC), security, analytics, and storage applications. Fundamentally, I see built-in acceleration as an alternative, more efficient way to achieve higher performance than expanding the CPU core count.

As such, Casa Systems is now better positioned to meet the convergence demands of wireline and wireless access on distributed edge cloud architectures, enabling service providers to disaggregate and scale hardware and software independently to broaden service deployment flexibility. Plus, service providers can eliminate duplication of functions such as authentication, subscriber databases, charging, and network-management tools, as well as transition to a common subscriber-management system.

Now service providers can use 5G AGF to provide the AAA and QoS services for wireline and wireless residential gateways that are served from a common 5G core, sharpening their ability to provide bundled services that fulfill distributed workforce and other emerging application requirements.

Through Casa Systems’ new solution, I expect that service providers can offer services at the edge which meet their performance objectives while diversifying their addressable markets by introducing new services frugally. I anticipate that demand for wireless and fixed access broadband will continue to swiftly expand, motivating service providers to deploy solutions that deliver services with quality assurances at the network edge.

Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.

Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum Research as a whole.

Other insights from Futurum Research:

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T-Mobile and Cisco Show Why a Distributed Nationwide Cloud Native 5G Core Gateway is Sexy