MAHWAH, N.J. -- RAD today expanded its Service Assured Access (SAA) solutions with the launch of a carrier-grade virtual CPE (vCPE) platform with Distributed NFV (D-NFV) capability.

RAD’s ETX-2i is an IP and Carrier Ethernet NID/NTU with a field pluggable x86 NFV module for hosting virtual network functions (VNFs). Serving as a virtualization engine at the customer edge, it is designed for L2 and L3 business, mobile backhaul, and wholesale services. The ETX-2i can be managed by RAD’s D-NFV Orchestrator or any third-party orchestrator using open standards, and supports options for vCPE architecture and VNF placement to meet agility, performance, security and cost needs.

The ETX-2i supports dynamic forwarding to enable chaining flexibility for embedded and virtualized functions. Moreover, it features a high-scale built-in router and modular network interfaces for any access infrastructure – fiber, PDH, SDH/SONET, SHDSL, or VDSL.

“Service providers in our global carrier research clearly indicate that vE-CPE – the virtualization of enterprise CPE for business customers – is the number one NFV use case they are investing in,” states Michael Howard, principal analyst for carrier networks at IHS-Infonetics Research. “Further, the providers voted vE-CPE the number one use case for producing new revenue, the number one use case for CapEx savings, and the number one use case for reducing operational expenses. RAD has been an early proponent of D-NFV, and operators are interested in RAD’s innovative and pragmatic approach to vE-CPE deployment."

RAD Data Communications Ltd.