Happy Friday, everyone! Here’s SDxCentral’s gathering of the week’s news bits around software-defined networking (SDN), network functions virtualization (NFV), and related topics.

... Busy week for Microsoft Azure. At an event in San Francisco, Microsoft announced the G-series of virtual machines, which it claims are the largest available. Microsoft also announced general availability of the Microsoft Cloud Platform System, and partnerships with Cloudera and CoreOS.

... In other Microsoft news, GigaOm reported that former Amazon exec Suresh Kumar will be helping run Azure. And IBM and Microsoft said they team up to offer enterprise software on Azure and IBM cCloud.

... Arista Networks launched an expansion of its Extensible Operating System (EOS). Features include VXLAN support, 128-way ECMP for large leaf-spine cluster builds, a new multicast control plane framework, and integration with VMware NSX and OpenStack.

... Cisco joined the Open Compute Project, focusing on the networking piece, of course.

... More Open Compute news: ODM Alpha Networks announced its contribution of a top-of-rack (ToR) switch — the SNQ-60x0-320F series.

... Freescale introduced its new 64-bit ARM-based processor, the QorIQ LS1043A. Among its target markets is NFV, where Freescale says the product is well suited for virtual customer premises equipment (vCPE).

... Rackspace released version 3 of RackConnect, adding security and automation features. Rackspace also added the Brocade ADX load balancer to its list of RackConnect-compatible devices.

... Assia announced its Software Defined Access Network platform for bringing virtualization into service-provider access networks.

... Cplane said its Dynamic Virtual Networks Interconnect (DVNi) has reached general availability. DVNi is an SDN product for WANs that enables applications to span multiple data centers by utilizing virtual private networks. It's a software-only solution that will leverage the power of Cplane's own SDN Controller.

... Tufin unveiled version R14-3 of its Tufin Orchestration Suite. It will include enhancements that provide end-to-end automation for Check Point, Cisco ASA firewalls, Cisco IOS routers, and Juniper SRX firewalls, as well as application awareness for Palo Alto Networks next-gen firewalls.

... Napatech released a pre-integrated, pre-tested platform for appliance development based on Dell PowerEdge servers. Napatech joins a growing list of Dell partners that includes Big Switch, Cumulus, and NEC.

...  Google acquired Firebase to help with mobile application development.

... Integra introduced its cloud-based DDoS Mitigation Service.

... Talari unveiled a product that will transform public cloud access links into secure and manageable points on any WAN.

... Cloudtools, the company spun out of Virtual Bridges, launched Shift, its first product. It's aimed at changing the process of moving virtual machines between cloud platforms and virtualized environments.

... Zenoss introduced OpenStack Infrastructure ZenPack, a software package for modeling and managing OpenStack cloud components.

... VMware saw a 26 percent decline in net income during the third quarter, down to $194 million from $261 million last year at this time. Revenue increased by 18 percent to $1.52 billion, which fell in line with the $1.5 billion consensus estimate. Earnings per share were 87 cents, above the 83 cents Wall Street expected.

Here's what else SDxCentral covered this week:

• Ciena & Ericsson Make Their Bid for Multilayer SDN
• Juniper Braces for $100M More in Cost-Cutting
• EMC & Cisco Say They're Freeing Up VCE
• EMC Reportedly Buying Part of Cisco's Stake in VCE
• 4 Insights (& 1 Cisco Bit) from the SDN & OpenFlow World Congress
• Mirantis Gets Massive, Raising a $100M Series B
• Q&A: Dan Pitt, ONF Executive Director, Talks OpenFlow and Open Source SDN
• SDN & OpenFlow World Congress: The SDxCentral Report