The Nuage Networks 7850 Network Services Gateway (NSG) is the managed network endpoint at the remote WAN site. Provisioning, configuration and optimization of network and security policies is completely automated as configured through the Virtualized Services Platform (VSP).
Deployment of the NSG utilizes an automated bootstrapping process that includes several multi-factor authentication options. The automated nature of this bootstrap function reduces the requirement for specialist networking resources at remote locations. In most cases, the customer’s branch staff can unbox and plug in the NSG themselves, which lowers the costs of service deployment and greatly reduces the requirement for truck rolls.
The 7850 Network Services Gateway (NSG) constitutes the network-forwarding plane for Virtualized Network Services (VNS). The NSG encapsulates data traffic, enforcing Layer 2 to Layer 4 network policies as well as establishing Layer 2 or Layer 3 overlay VPNs as defined by the VSD. Policies such as application level routing across multiple WAN links allow for intelligent traffic optimization. The NSG also supports built-in Wi-Fi access as well as LTE uplink support.
The NSG is based on open standard-based x86 hardware and supports uCPE virtualized use cases allowing it to host third party value added services through VMs and container VNFs . As part of the overall VNS infrastructure there is built-in support for VNF onboarding, repository management, and lightweight VNF lifecycle management. This functionality is also known as “branch in a box” and is used to consolidate the sprawl of many separate and dedicated hardware appliances and drive operational efficiency as enterprises virtualize their branches.
On the NSG, advanced services are part of the base software and can be turned on, including network functions such as load balancing, service chaining, business intelligence, and NAT/PAT. Furthermore, various inherent security features can be enabled, such as IPSec tunnels, Layer 4 and Layer 7 stateful firewalls, and Layer 7 URL filtering.
With support for various NSG hardware models and a virtualized software image deployment option (NSG-v),the NSG provides maximum flexibility to meet the diverse throughput, network interface, and network functionality requirements of each specific branch location. NSG software was built to support the dynamic and elastic demands of cloud-native applications that enterprises are consuming more and more.
The software image NSG-v can be deployed on any x86-based virtualized compute environments that enterprises may have at their sites, or can be run on Nuage Networks recommended common-off-the-shelf, x86-based network devices procured by customers’ own channels. The NSG-v is already integrated into AWS, Microsoft Azure environments and Google cloud environments ensuring that any enterprise multicloud strategy is covered.
