Samsung Electronics today joined the Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) OpenNFV Partner Program as a carrier-grade network equipment provider. Via that program, Samsung can offer a variety of network functions virtualization (NFV) choices for carriers in addition to its own commercial NFV offering, which it developed in 2015.

HPE started its OpenNFV program in February 2014, and it began producing an NFV reference architecture that spans servers, storage, and networking. It also includes management and network orchestration (MANO).

In December 2015, HPE opened its OpenNFV Solution Portal, providing a catalog of VNFs from its partners. The catalog initially featured more than 60 VNFs, including such things as load balancers, firewalls, IPsec VPNs, packet processors, routers, and traffic management engines.

With the partnership announced today, Samsung takes the lead in providing carrier-grade virtual network functions (VNFs) for mobile networks, such as a virtualized evolved packet core (vEPC) and virtualized IMS. Samsung and HPE also will provide customers with NFV systems integration services.

Samsung is one of the only network equipment providers that are part of HPE's partner program. Samsung's vEPC is already in use at SK Telecom.

Partners in the OpenNFV program have their products tested and validated on HPE’s ETSI-compliant OpenNFV infrastructure. This approach to NFV is built around adherence to openness and standards. It allows partners to introduce new innovations on top of the HPE OpenNFV platform.

“HPE and Samsung have already collaborated successfully behind the scenes on NFV projects,” said Werner Schaefer, HPE’s VP and general manager of NFV, in a statement.

In fact, both HPE and Samsung helped Verizon draft its NFV reference architecture.

Recently, SDxCentral learned that one of the main proponents of NFV at HPE, Saar Gillai, will be leaving the company. He’s being replaced by David Sliter who will take over as senior vice president running the company’s Communications Solutions Business (CSB).

HPE has been kind of quiet on the NFV front of late. But with the Samsung news, it appears the company is still pushing forward with its virtualization efforts.