Problem

Branch offices often rely on multiple standalone networking appliances such as routers, firewalls, WAN optimizers, SD-WAN devices, and wireless gateways. Managing, maintaining, and upgrading these separate systems increases hardware costs, deployment complexity, and operational overhead. Introducing new services or expanding network capabilities typically requires additional hardware installations and on-site technical support, resulting in longer deployment times and higher maintenance expenses.

Solution

Our uCPE & SD-WAN Edge Platform consolidates multiple network functions into a single high-performance appliance, enabling organizations to deploy routing, firewall, SD-WAN, VPN, WAN optimization, and wireless services on one device. Built on a powerful x86 architecture with hardware-accelerated encryption, the platform delivers secure, high-speed connectivity while reducing hardware footprint and management complexity. New services and network functions can be deployed remotely through software, eliminating costly site visits and accelerating branch network modernization. Integrated cellular WAN and local wireless capabilities ensure reliable connectivity, business continuity, and flexible deployment across distributed enterprise environments.

Description

The uCPE & SD-WAN Edge Solution is built for operators running a branch estate who are tired of shipping a new appliance and rolling a truck every time a site needs another network function. Designed for the small branch and the retail floor sites that need the full software-defined edge but sit in an office, a shop or a back room where noise, heat and power draw all matter this Solution consolidates the traditional branch stack onto a single fanless x86 platform running virtualized network functions. Adding or changing a capability becomes a software deployment rather than a site visit, and one appliance is refreshed instead of four, across every site.

Powered by the Lanner NCA-1250D, purpose-built for the small site, the Solution hosts router, firewall and SD-WAN functions as software (VNFs) on one box, service-chained together and managed centrally. An eight-core Intel Atom x7835RE with DDR5 memory drives six 2.5GbE copper ports, giving a small branch more than gigabit headroom on every WAN and LAN connection without a single fiber run. Because the functions are software, new services can be inserted or rolled back on a running site without touching the hardware, and the same central console that manages the wider estate manages this site too.

The defining characteristic of this tier is that the appliance disappears into the site. There is no fan, so there is no noise on a retail floor or in an open-plan office, and no moving part to fail or to draw in dust. The processor carries a 12-watt design power and the whole unit runs from a 40-watt external adapter, so a site can be powered from a small UPS and kept alive through a mains interruption without a dedicated power plan. At 231 x 44 x 200 mm and 1.1 kg the unit sits on a shelf, under a counter or in a comms cupboard, and a TPM 2.0 module and AES-NI instruction support give the platform a hardware root of trust and accelerated encryption for VPN and SD-WAN traffic.

Wireless WAN is a fitted option rather than an assumption: An M.2 slot with a nano-SIM slot accepts a 5G or LTE module, so a site that needs cellular backup gets it inside the same box instead of alongside it. The VNF and SD-WAN software, the WAN circuits and the branch LAN all remain the customer's the Solution supplies the platform those functions run on. The result is a single, software-defined way to light a small branch: place one silent appliance, deploy the functions the site needs, and manage it from the same console as the rest of the estate.

Features

• Four boxes become one router, firewall and SD-WAN edge run as software (VNFs) on a single x86 appliance
• Change in software, not on-site functions are inserted, updated or rolled back on a running site without a truck roll
• Silent by design fanless operation with no moving parts, suitable for retail floors, offices and noise-sensitive spaces
• Low power draw 12-watt processor design power from a 40-watt external adapter, easily backed by a small UPS
• Multi-gigabit throughout six 2.5GbE copper ports give every WAN and LAN connection headroom beyond gigabit
• Eight cores at the small site Intel Atom x7835RE with DDR5 4800 memory carries the full VNF stack
• Hardware root of trust TPM 2.0 onboard, with AES-NI instruction support accelerating VPN and SD-WAN encryption
• Cellular WAN optional an M.2 module slot with nano-SIM accepts 5G or LTE for cellular backup inside the same box
• Fits where there is no rack 231 x 44 x 200 mm and 1.1 kg for a shelf, a counter or a comms cupboard
• Clean layer separation Solution supplies the uCPE hardware; VNF/SD-WAN software, WAN circuits and branch LAN remain the customer's

Specifications

Ideal For

Small branches and retail sites that need a software-defined edge without a rack or a plant room, noise-sensitive locations such as shop floors and open-plan offices where a fan is unacceptable, first-phase branch rollouts ahead of a wider estate deployment, sites where power budget and UPS runtime are constraints, locations needing optional cellular backup inside the same appliance, and any network team seeking to run and refresh the whole branch fleet from a single console rather than four separate hardware lifecycles.