Telefonica and Brocade have completed performance benchmark testing for a virtual EPC (vEPC) implementation within the Telefonica NFV Reference Lab framework.
The test results demonstrate that Brocade vEPC built on top of its Virtual Core for Mobile (VCM) solution platform enables telecom service providers to build agile networks that scale to match the performance demands of new services.
“These results provide the confidence needed to continue with the adoption and deployment of virtualized solutions and to enable the transformation to software-driven networking,” said Javier Gavilan, planning and technology director at Telefonica, Global CTO.
The VCM software architecture is purpose-built to reduce production costs, support faster service rollout, and dynamically allocate virtual resources. As a result, it allows telecom service providers to serve diverse use cases that include traditional customer-centric services, IoT/M2M, MVNO, private LTE, and mobile edge computing.
“VCM can satisfy the diverse needs of service providers looking to transform their infrastructure to a cloud environment,” said Nishi Kant, vice president of mobile networking at Brocade.
Brocade vEPC, running on Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Intel-based x86 servers in Telefonica’s standardized reference test environment, was benchmarked with a mix of mobile traffic loads to measure both user plane and control plane performance.
Brocade vEPC achieved user data processing rates in excess of 8.5 Mpps while serving 2 million simultaneous bearers at a rate greater than 7,000 bearer activations per second. Brocade vEPC also demonstrated linear scalability in handling additional user plane traffic and control plane traffic independently with each other.
