Carrier-Grade NAT Counters Ipv4 Address Scarcity

Technology Category

Networks & Connectivity - Gateways
Networks & Connectivity - Network Management & Analysis Software

Applicable Industries

Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Services

System Integration

The Challenge

Leucom, a major ISP in Eastern Switzerland, faced a critical challenge as IPv4 addresses were no longer being issued, and their existing addresses were running out. The secondary market for IPv4 addresses was prohibitively expensive, and acquiring or merging with another company that had free IPv4 addresses was not a viable option. This scarcity of IPv4 addresses posed a significant threat to their ability to continue providing seamless internet services to their growing customer base.

About The Customer

Leucom is a prominent Internet Service Provider (ISP) based in Frauenfeld, Switzerland. With its own cable and fiber-optic network, Leucom supports 18,000 Internet customers, making it one of the largest ISPs in Eastern Switzerland. Founded over 50 years ago as a radio/TV business, Leucom has evolved into a broad-based multimedia company with more than 80 employees. The company offers a range of services including TV, telephony, and Internet, and is actively expanding its fiber-optic network. Leucom serves around 25,000 households with TV services and 18,000 with Internet connections. The company also provides additional services such as virtual switchboards and web hosting for business customers.

The Solution

Leucom adopted Carrier Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT) as the solution to their IPv4 address depletion problem. CGNAT allows the provider to assign private IPv4 addresses to customers, which are then translated into public addresses for internet access. This enables multiple customers to share a single public IPv4 address. Leucom chose A10 Networks' Thunder CGN line of Carrier Grade Networking gateways for their CGNAT implementation. The decision was influenced by A10 Networks' focus on specialized technologies such as CGNAT, application delivery, DDoS protection, and IPv6 transition. The implementation process was swift, with the help of A10 distributor Boll and reseller ngworx.ag. Within three months, 3,000 customers were migrated to the new CGNAT solution. The transition was seamless for most customers, and the new system also provided better protection against potential hacker attacks.

Operational Impact

Leucom's transition to CGNAT was seamless for most customers, with minimal disruption to their internet services.
The new system provided enhanced protection against potential hacker attacks through provider-side address translation.
The implementation process was swift and efficient, with 3,000 customers migrated within three months.

Quantitative Benefit

Leucom migrated 3,000 customers to the new CGNAT solution within three months.
The Thunder CGN appliances can handle up to 15,000 customers, providing ample capacity for future growth.
Leucom is currently using just five percent of the CPU load of its existing Thunder CGN appliances.