Combination of
VMware NSX™
network virtualization platform and F5®
BIG-IQ®
orchestration solution automates delivery of L2–7 services for data
center agility
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Automated provisioning of application services for rapid application deployment and streamlined operations
- Insertion of F5 advanced application services through the VMware NSX distributed service platform for dynamic scaling out of application infrastructure
- Consistent policy and user experience across virtual and physical appliances
SEATTLE
and PALO ALTO, CALIF– F5
Networks
(NASDAQ: FFIV)
and VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today announced interoperability between
F5’s BIG-IQ®
management platform and the VMware
NSX™
network
virtualization platform for rapid orchestration of layer 2–7
network and application services in the software-defined
data center (SDDC).
Today’s announcement
focuses on enabling customers to combine the VMware NSX platform’s
network service automation with F5’s application delivery service
management. This marks the latest in a series of collaborative
efforts between the companies to bring compelling IT benefits to
their mutual data center customers.
Typically,
provisioning services for new applications—or changing parameters
no matter how slightly for deployed applications—is a long, manual
process. With a combined F5 and VMware solution, customers will be
able to leverage the full suite of BIG-IP®
services directly from within the NSX Manager as part of the normal
virtual machine deployment process, enabling them to reduce
provisioning time from days to minutes.
The
F5 and VMware NSX technologies interoperate with management
plane-level REST-based APIs that are used by F5 BIG-IP to register
and deploy application services that can be consumed by F5 users in
their software-defined data center. The NSX traffic steering
capability enables traffic to be redirected to the F5 service. This
combination allows F5 iApps®
to be leveraged by NSX, and to be consumed as vendor templates that
F5 customers can instantiate with application-specific parameters.
With
F5 and VMware products, customers will be able to automate the
deployment of policy-driven services for multi-tiered applications in
their software-defined data center. The solution will be able to be
deployed non-disruptively, enabling customers to leverage BIG-IP and
BIG-IQ features in NSX virtual environments. Users will also be able
to continue to use their custom iApps templates through native F5
interfaces.
KEY BENEFITS
- Simplified Management – Customers will be able to take full advantage of F5’s broad range of application services without management complexity. NSX provides operational agility for application-specific (rich layer 7 protocol) services for acceleration, availability, and security. The integration will provide customers with greater control over how services are holistically applied, along with unified services across L2–3 networking fabric and L4–7 application delivery fabric.
- Scalable Services and Automation – A consistent consumption model and API-based integration will enable customers to set and configure polices for acceleration, security, availability, and virtualization services for data center and cloud deployments. The joint solution will give IT teams the ability to automate the way VMware and F5 systems perform and respond to changing conditions, without disrupting production infrastructure or impacting revenue-generating business applications.
- Smooth Application Rollouts – By combining the strengths of each vendor’s approach, organizations will be positioned to maximize network and application performance with Software-Defined Application Services™. Integrated capabilities extend the utility of F5 iApps templates, providing prescriptive guidance to optimize popular applications and additional deployment scenarios.
Manny
Rivelo, EVP, Strategic Solutions, F5, said:
“Many
organizations have VMware and F5 solutions in their infrastructures,
and our goal is to make it even easier for customers to reap
additional benefits by combining the companies’ technologies. The
F5
Synthesis™
framework and Software-Defined Application Services provide an ideal
fit for VMware-based data center initiatives. Looking forward, we see
many opportunities to build on existing partnership efforts to help
customers add capabilities without complexity and maximize the
effectiveness of data center and cloud deployments.”
Hatem
Naguib, VP, Networking and Security, VMware, said:
“Customers
are adopting networking virtualization on the path to the
software-defined data center, and our world-class ecosystem of
partners such as F5 will help customers accelerate SDDC
implementation. Customers will be able to extend the use of F5’s
L4–7 services through a Software-Defined Application Services model
into the SDDC. The interoperability between VMware NSX™
network virtualization and F5’s application delivery
architecture—and the unique ability to provision and consume
iApps—allows our mutual customers to create more agile data
centers.”
Cliff
Grossner, Ph.D., Directing Analyst, Data Center, Cloud, and SDN,
Infonetics Research, said:
“Automation for agility and
high-quality application performance is a top driver for the data
center. The integration between F5 BIG-IQ and VMware NSX answers
these requirements by providing orchestration and shared management
of virtualized networks and application services, delivering
significant benefit to their enterprise and service provider
customers.”
AVAILABILITY
VMware
NSX 6.1 and BIG-IQ 4.4 will both be available during the third
quarter of calendar year 2014. For F5 solutions, please contact
a local sales office
for availability in specific countries.
An F5 reference architecture for VMware NSX is available today at
https://f5.com/solutions/architectures/vmware-nsx.
This integration and other F5 and VMware solutions will be showcased
at this week’s VMworld
event in San Francisco—please visit F5 at booth #1621.
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
About
VMware
VMware is the leader in
virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable
businesses to thrive in the Cloud Era. Customers rely on VMware to
help them transform the way they build, deliver and consume
Information Technology resources in a manner that is evolutionary and
based on their specific needs. With 2013 revenues of $5.21 billion,
VMware has more than 500,000 customers and 75,000 partners. The
company is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout
the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.
About F5
F5
(NASDAQ:
FFIV)
provides solutions for an application world. F5 helps organizations
seamlessly scale cloud, data center, and software defined networking
(SDN) deployments to successfully deliver applications to anyone,
anywhere, at any time. F5 solutions broaden the reach of IT through
an open, extensible framework and a rich partner ecosystem of leading
technology and data center orchestration vendors. This approach lets
customers pursue the infrastructure model that best fits their needs
over time. The world’s largest businesses, service providers,
government entities, and consumer brands rely on F5 to stay ahead of
cloud, security, and mobility trends. For more information, go to
f5.com.
You
can also follow @f5networks
on Twitter or visit us on Facebook
for more information about F5, its partners, and technologies.
F5,
BIG-IP, BIG-IQ, F5 Synthesis, Software Defined Application Services,
iApps, and DevCentral are trademarks or service marks of F5 Networks,
Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company
names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
VMware
and VMware NSX are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware,
Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. The use of the
word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal
partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.
This
press release may contain forward looking statements relating to
future events or future financial performance that involve risks and
uncertainties. Such statements can be identified by terminology such
as "may," "will," "should," "expects,"
"plans," "anticipates," "believes,"
"estimates," "predicts," "potential,"
or "continue," or the negative of such terms or comparable
terms. These statements are only predictions and actual results could
differ materially from those anticipated in these statements based
upon a number of factors including those identified in the company's
filings with the SEC.
