Arrcus enables economically efficient 5G network service delivery

Arrcus, the hyperscale networking software company and a leader in core, edge and multi-cloud network infrastructure, announced new capability in the Arrcus Connected Edge (ACE) platform that automates the delivery and lowers the cost of 5G network services for communication services providers (CSPs) by using SRv6 technology. At Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, in collaboration with SoftBank Corp., Arrcus is showcasing how ACE enables 5G network slicing with plug-ins for SRv6 Mobile User Plane (MUP) and integration with orchestration from partner Elisa Polystar. SoftBank, a leading telecommunications and IT company based in Japan, pioneered the introduction of the SRv6 MUP solution with Arrcus to bridge the gap between mobile and IP/cloud-native technologies, first demonstrated in concept at the TM Forum Catalyst project at DTW 2022 in Copenhagen.

“5G networks are the backbone of the digital economy, and we are making it easier for service providers like SoftBank to monetize their infrastructure and deliver new and innovative services to their customers,” said Shekar Ayyar, CEO and chairman at Arrcus. “Our ACE platform incorporating SRv6 is a game-changer in the industry, allowing CSPs to roll out these new revenue-generating 5G services with ease and at a fraction of the cost of traditional approaches.”

The ACE platform, through its components ArcOS and ArcIQ, provides traffic engineering and telemetry capabilities to bridge mobile and IP networks, reducing complexity and time to market. ArcOS now has enhanced support for advanced traffic engineering features based on SRv6 and IS-IS Flex Algo. Leveraging segment routing, an MPLS-based routing protocol that allows for more flexible and efficient networking, ArcOS enables service providers to divide their networks into smaller, more manageable segments, which can be easily controlled and monitored. That expedites service delivery and improves network scalability. In addition, ArcIQ, a modern network visibility and analytics platform, provides real-time, deep network views with proactive incident management and faster troubleshooting.

“We are excited to partner with Arrcus and drive leadership in advancing the state of mobile infrastructure optimization,” said Keiichi Makizono, SVP and CIO, SoftBank Corp. “We are strong proponents of the benefits of using SRv6 for Mobile User Plane – this will enable us and the industry to deliver 5G services to our customers with greater speed and efficiency.”

The new ACE release also enables easy integration with orchestration from partners like Elisa Polystar. This simplifies the configuration of the network as well as deployment of new network services, making it more efficient and cost effective for service providers to deliver high-speed, low-latency services to their customers.

Arrcus, with support from SoftBank and Elisa Polystar, will be demonstrating the power of SRv6 for network slicing at Mobile World Congress, which runs Feb. 27 through March 2 in Barcelona. The MWC demo will showcase an end-to-end fabric that extends from RAN to 5G edge to IP transport networks, with seamless and automated support for network slicing and telemetry.

CT Bureau