4th Gen Intel Xeon: Turbocharge Broadband Performance

Intel Xeon Performance and power savings for broadband are increased by 4th Gen Intel Xeon processors

According to the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, the networking sector is often one of its busiest during the first quarter of the year.  There, Intel had a significant presence and demonstrated how our most recent 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processors carry on a long legacy of innovation and have become the industry’s first option to power network components like the 5G core and virtualized RAN.

Not to be outdone, the last three months of the year focus more on the wireline and broadband sectors of the network business.  The SCTE Cable Tec Expo, taking place in Denver, Colorado from October 16 to 19, offers a chance to see the outstanding development taking place at the network’s edge.  At the edge, users on wired and wireless networks, including those of us who often work from home, rely on the service to provide the bandwidth, low latency, and security we need for both work and play.

In this post, he will go into detail about how Intel and our ecosystem are setting the standard in the cable and convergent access sectors, allowing service providers to benefit from the same features seen in our most recent CPUs that we unveiled at MWC. 

These advantages were first felt in the data center, then moved to the core, and are now reaching the periphery. Here, service providers are utilizing our most recent 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processors‘ numerous new features and cloud native architecture to deliver the necessary performance while also processing data in a more power-efficient manner with fewer servers, ultimately resulting in a lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

Cable

Let’s start by examining the cable business, where we are now at a turning point. The majority of the multi-service operators (MSOs) in this sector are starting to implement and reap the rewards of virtualizing the Cable Modem Termination System (vCMTS).  Cable MSOs have moved to enhance their network infrastructure to satisfy customer demand as the need for video, broadband access, work-from-home consumer behavior, and data services continues to rise. 

MSOs have opted for a general-purpose server-based virtualized CMTS that offers notable performance throughput, scalability, and service agility while also using less power and taking up less space (rack space).

By utilizing the open-source software DPDK and integrated accelerators to meet DOCSIS privacy and security standards, such as Intel QAT, Intel AVX-512, and AES encryption engines, our 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors offer a new microarchitecture designed to address the most dynamic and demanding wireline and wireless workloads.  Without our ecosystem, we are unable to provide the MSOs these advantages.  Our partners demonstrated our ongoing cooperation earlier this year, including:

In a whitepaper, Harmonic, our Emmy-winning partner, describes how their CableOS vCMTS software grows quickly to provide high-speed data services everywhere.  This vCMTS platform’s use of 4th Gen Xeons also results in reduced infrastructure costs as well as decreased power, cooling, and cabling needs.

In their whitepaper, Casa Systems showcases their Axyom vCCAP, which boosts performance by 65% and supports DOCSIS 4.0 with the newest 4th Gen Intel Xeon CPU.  This enhancement was made possible by new DPDK API capabilities, integrated QAT for DOCSIS encryption, and CRC offload and acceleration.

 At CableLabs in August, CommScope showcased their vCore vCMTS compatibility with DOCSIS 4.0 cable modems before launching their vCore solution on 4th Gen Xeon CPUs.

Fiber Internet

Let’s move on to the next section, where we’ll look at how service providers are using cloud native architecture to enhance performance, efficiency, agility, and scalability.  The BNG at the central office edge location serves as the major network component in this scenario.  Access to the internet is made possible by the BNG, which collects data flow from various residences and places of business. 

The advantages of using a cloud-native based architecture and 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processors to deliver the speed and power savings provided during packet processing, authorisation, and authentication are being investigated by Communication Service Providers (CoSPs), much like the cable MSOs.

In this area, too, our partners have been working assiduously, and they keep showcasing how the characteristics of our CPUs combined with their software are setting the standard for the sector.  You may learn more about the following highlights by reading the whitepapers:

Axyom vBNG, a CUPS-based cloud native vBNG with performance throughput of 540 Gbps and scalability to 1 Tbps utilizing a single socket 4th Gen Xeon server, was featured by Casa Systems.

Using just 2U of rack space and a 4th Gen Xeon, netElastic increased vBNG performance throughput by 46% (generation over generation) and is scalable to 1 Tbps.

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