Section7 guides
CGNAT in Production
Port allocation, logging and what breaks for subscribers behind a shared IPv4 address.
- What breaks behind CGNAT
- How many subscribers can be behind one IPv4 address
- CGNAT logging and compliance
NFWare Engineering Hub
Engineering Hub: Guides and Calculators for ISP Network Engineers
Practical guides, data and calculators for engineers who run ISP and operator networks: CGNAT in production, IPv4 economics, IPv6 transition, load balancing and network functions on x86.
Definitions live in the NFWare Glossary. This hub starts where they end: sizing, troubleshooting, planning and the numbers behind each decision. Every guide states its sources, and pages with market or adoption data show the date of the last update.
SectionComing soon
Load Balancing & ADC
Hardware or software, L4 or L7, scaling out and failing over without dropping sessions.
- Hardware or software load balancersoon
- Choosing between L4 and L7soon
- High availability for load balancerssoon
Section3 guides
IPv4 Economics
What IPv4 costs to buy, lease or share, and how to get and announce address space.
- Buy, lease or CGNAT
- IPv4 address prices
- IP reputation on shared addressessoon
Section2 guides
IPv6 Transition
Choosing a transition mechanism, planning prefixes and running IPv6-only access.
- Choosing an IPv6 transition mechanism
- CGNAT in dual-stack networks
- IPv6 addressing plan for an ISPsoon
Section1 guide
NFV on x86
Packet rates, datapaths and deployment of network functions on standard servers.
- Converged or dedicated platforms
- Packets per second, not bitssoon
- DPDK, VPP, XDP and eBPFsoon
Start here
The guides ISP engineers open most.
GuideWhat breaks behind CGNATGaming NAT type, P2P, inbound VPN, CCTV and SIP.CGNAT in ProductionRead →GuideHow many subscribers can be behind one IPv4 addressThe arithmetic of shared addresses.CGNAT in ProductionRead →GuideCGNAT logging and compliancePer-session, port block and deterministic logging.CGNAT in ProductionRead →GuideBuy, lease or CGNATCost per subscriber over 3–5 years.IPv4 EconomicsRead →GuideChoosing an IPv6 transition mechanismMechanisms compared by cost, state and CPE needs.IPv6 TransitionRead →GuideCGNAT deployment topologiesInline, on a stick, BNG and CMTS integration.CGNAT in ProductionRead →
Glossary
Short definitions of the terms used across the hub, grouped by topic.
NAT and addressing
Load balancing
Routing
BGPOSPFRIPBFDVRF
Monitoring and AAA
NetFlowIPFIXSyslogRADIUS
Virtualization
Calculators
Interactive tools for the calculations in the guides.
Coming soonCGNAT sizing calculatorPublic addresses, session table and memory for your subscriber base.
Coming soonIPv4 TCO calculatorBuy, lease or CGNAT over three to five years.
Coming soonCGNAT log volume estimatorDaily log volume for each logging method.
Coming soonPort block plannerBlock size versus exhaustion risk and log volume.
Coming soonIPv6 addressing plan helperPrefix plan from your allocation and customer counts.
Planning a CGNAT or load balancer rollout?Talk to the engineers who build NFWare network functions.