6WIND, Red Hat, and Senao Networks, in collaboration with Intel, announced a strategic relationship to demonstrate a high-performance, cloud-native distributed User Plane Function (dUPF) running on a Senao SmartNIC platform based on Intel Netsec Accelerator Reference Design and Red Hat OpenShift.
This demonstration showcases how telecom operators and service providers can leverage SmartNIC acceleration and cloud-native orchestration to deploy scalable, efficient 5G user plane workloads. The demo features the deployment of the 6WIND User Plane Function (UPF) using Red Hat OpenShift, running directly on a Senao SmartNIC card based on Intel Netsec Accelerator Reference Design.
A live demonstration of the solution will be available at Mobile World Congress (MWC), allowing attendees to experience firsthand how cloud-native UPF workloads can be deployed, managed, and accelerated on SmartNIC-based infrastructure.
“This collaboration demonstrates how software-based UPF can achieve carrier-grade performance while remaining fully cloud-native,” said Julien Dahan, CEO at 6WIND. “By combining our high-performance UPF with SmartNIC acceleration and Kubernetes orchestration, we enable operators to deploy dUPF closer to the edge with maximum flexibility and efficiency.”
“As the industry’s leading hybrid cloud application platform powered by Kubernetes, Red Hat OpenShift provides a common, scalable foundation for deploying cloud-native network functions across distributed environments,” said Honoré LaBourdette, Vice President of Global Telco Ecosystem at Red Hat. “We are pleased to collaborate with 6WIND, Intel and Senao Networks to demonstrate how Kubernetes-based orchestration can simplify lifecycle management of high-performance telecom workloads without compromising openness or portability.”
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“Intel Netsec Accelerator Reference Design brings advanced compute and acceleration capabilities in an innovative PCIe add-in-card form factor, allowing pragmatic and cost effective scaling strategies for existing telecom infrastructure,” said Cristina Rodriguez, Vice President and General Manager, Network Edge Group at Intel. “Working with 6WIND, Red Hat, and Senao Networks, we are showcasing how SmartNIC-enabled architectures can meet the demanding performance and latency requirements of edge computing including 5G user plane functions.”
“Senao Networks’ SmartNIC platform is designed to support high-throughput, low-latency networking use cases,” said Bou Lin, President at Senao Networks. “Through this collaboration with 6WIND, Red Hat, and Intel, we demonstrates how Senao Networks’ SmartNICs provides a robust and scalable foundation for cloud-native 5G deployments.”
By integrating 6WIND’s high-performance UPF, Red Hat OpenShift’s cloud-native orchestration, Senao Networks’ SmartNIC hardware, and Intel technology, the demo demonstrates a practical and scalable approach to deploying distributed UPF architectures. This enables operators to reduce latency, optimize throughput, and lower total cost of ownership while embracing open, multi-vendor ecosystems.
The collaboration underscores a shared commitment to open architectures and ecosystem-driven innovation, empowering service providers to build flexible, future-proof 5G networks.
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