Happy Friday, everyone! Miss the news? Don’t worry, the SDxCentral weekly news roundup is here to deliver the news bits surrounding software-defined networking (SDN), network functions virtualization (NFV), and more. Get ready, ‘cuz it’s coming atcha:

NEW ADDITIONS

Cyan added partners to Blue Orbit, its SDN and NFV ecosystem. New members include: ADI Engineering, Aria, Brocade, Genband, Intel, VMware, and Wind River. Cyan, as you'll recall, is in the process of being acquired by Ciena.

Cybera promoted Jeremy Landa to the post of CFO. Jim Bauchiero, the current CFO, will become executive vice president administration and security, a newly formed role.

Plexxi added Clark Masters to its board of directors, as Rich Napolitano exited his seat to take the CEO chair last fall.

EXTENDING SERVICES & PRODUCTS 

The Microsoft Ignite conference brought out some product announcements related to the Microsoft Azure cloud. Cisco announced Azure-related capabilities for its Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) and Intercloud Fabric. Cisco also launched the Cloud Services Router (CSR) 1000v targeted at Azure.

Datadog redesigned its integration with Microsoft Azure, featuring a deeper deployment that brings Azure Extension and Azure Diagnostics to the Datadog platform. The revised integration gives Azure customers the ability to set up cloud-scale monitoring in minutes, with a stronger view of applications' availability and performance.

Barracuda Networks enhanced its next-generation firewall to accommodate new capabilities in Microsoft Azure.

Pluribus Networks received Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5 certification. Pluribus also announced Appcara is deploying its switches in an OpenStack environment.

Stratus Technologies released a new version of its Cloud Solution for Network Functions, giving telcos higher reliability and service continuity for applications running within its cloud environment.

Sonus virtualized more of its services, including the Insight Element Management System, DataStream Integrator, and NetScore. With this announcement, Sonus has completed its multi-phase virtualization strategy.

DEAL MAKING

Data center operator CoreSite extended its contract to use the Cortx Service Orchestrator from CENX.

Orange Silicon Valley will test and use ConteXtream’s ContexNet, a carrier-grade SDN fabric.

Vodafone Germany picked the VMware vCloud to host voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) services.

PONY UP, PARD'NER. 

VMware released best practices and compliance standards for Docker. In a collaboration with Center for Internet Security, Docker Inc., and Cognitive Scale, VMware came up with the first-of-its-kind strategy for securing containers in Docker Engine 1.6, including 84 vetted practices.

Infinera and Arista teamed up. The agreement has the companies jointly offering Arista's 7000 series switching and Infinera's Cloud Xpress.

With more than 80 percent of Puppet customers already using EMC products, the two decided to partner to bring DevOps to an array of enterprises. Puppet Enterprise will be available through EMC Select Global Price List, EMC's Federation Enterprise Hybrid Cloud will release a set of reference architectures with Puppet Enterprise, and Puppet Labs will offer a DevOps Readiness Program program for EMC's service engineers.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. MONEY!

Cisco agreed to acquire Tropo, a privately-held company offering a cloud API platform that embeds real-time communications within applications. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal should close by the end of the year.

CloudGenix landed $25 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures, with additional funding coming from Charles River Ventures and the Mayfield Fund. The extra investments bring the software-defined WAN vendor's total to $34 million.

Is your Cisco gear real Cisco gear? Three men were arrested for allegedly selling and exporting over $10 million worth of Cisco networking equipment into the U.S.

Here’s what else SDxCentral covered lately:

  • AT&T Domain 2.0 Exec: Out With Cats, In With Midget Cows
  • Cisco Finally Joins the Intel Network Builders Program
  • Extreme Networks' New CEO Is Still Working Out His Plan
  • How AT&T Honed Its SDN & NFV Plan: Code First, Tweak Later
  • 5 Benefits Carriers Want out of NFV
  • OPNFV Targets 'Spring' for Arno, Its First Code Release
  • HP NFV System Puts Training Wheels on Carrier NFV
  • Big Switch Releases Big Tap 4.5 With a Focus on Security
  • Chambers Says He Won't Rule Cisco From the Shadows
  • Why Cisco Picked Chuck Robbins as Its Next CEO
  • Ciena Turns Acquirer, Offering $335M for Cyan Inc.
  • Cisco CEO John Chambers to Retire, Chuck Robbins Named as Successor
  • SDx (Software-Defined Everything), The Future of Infrastructure - An Introduction
  • SDN and NFV Market Size Report Predicts $105B Impact by 2020