Netscout announced a software-driven addition to its Packet Flow System (PFS) product family which decouples packet broker functions from its underlying hardware and offering an industry-leading open compute platform option for network packet brokers.
The new software-driven nGenius PFS 5000 models operate at speeds from 10Gbps to 100Gbps, providing aggregation, replication and filtering. Enabled with self-organizing mesh technology, pfsMesh, the nGenius PFS 5000 series scales on-demand for network monitoring needs of any size.
According to Netscout, pfsMesh automatically and dynamically interconnects multiple packet flow systems together, ensuring high availability of monitoring tools, whether they are in the same data center or separated by large distances, and reducing operational complexity.
This software-driven approach complements NETSCOUT’s purpose-built PFS products that deliver advanced packet conditioning and manipulation to enable deep-packet visibility and non-blocking performance.
The nGenius PFS 5000 can be used in stand-alone deployments, or in combination with other PFS products, such as the nGenius PFS 6000 model, which provides the industry’s highest port density and non-blocking throughput at 6Tbps. Both product lines share PFOS-derived capabilities, which reduce learning curves and improves IT efficiencies.
Stephen Collins, Principal Analyst, Network Vosibility & Analytics, ACG Research
The value in networking is moving from specialized, purpose-built hardware to software-driven open compute platforms that scale easily while ensuring flexibility and agility for enterprise and service provider network operators, and NETSCOUT is helping its customers realize this value.
Sanjay Munshi, VP of Products for PFS Business Unit, Netscout
The new products are the first step toward a complete disaggregation of network packet broker functionality, where the NETSCOUT Packet Flow Operating System (PFOS) software is decoupled from the underlying hardware.
