A10 is unveiling version 4.0 of its Advanced Core Operating System (ACOS) today, saying it can speed up service integration and manageability with open and standards-based programmability.

The release includes a new policy engine called Harmony, which lets A10 integrate intelligent application networking services with its Thunder series of application delivery controllers (ADCs). Deployment can be in the cloud or on a virtual or physical Thunder ADC appliance.

"The Harmony Policy Engine ensures feature velocity as well as rapid integration with the entire ecosystem, providing extensibility and flexibility in SDN and NFV networks," Nicholson says. "This allows ecosystem partners to implement policy at a granular level for rapid application deployment in SDN networks and extensive network functions virtualization."

Nicholson notes Harmony isn't just a name, but an indication of how A10 aims to unite its entire platform. A10 customers and partners can use ACOS 4.0 and A10 Harmony to integrate their own advanced networking, security, and management services.

ACOS 4.0 allows for greater flexibility and simpler integration of services, especially virtualized ones, says Paul Nicholson, A10's director of product marketing. It also lets users consolidate more services on virtual appliances and can enforce more granular policy to improve visibility.

For SDN, ACOS 4.0 ensures consistent security and application policy enforcement as workloads move across multitenant shared environments, Nicholson says. For NFV, the integration with standards-based orchestration platforms and management tools simplifies network operations and provides a unified platform that increases infrastructure utilization.

Other new additions to the ACOS platform include secure interconnect IPsec VPN, SSL Insight, Application Access Management (AAM), and Web Application Firewall (WAF). A10 Harmony can also provide Layer 4-7 enforcement in Cisco ACI and VMware NSX networks.

ACOS 4.0 is available immediately for the Thunder ADC platforms.