The Business Partner Exchange - An F5 Distributed Cloud Services Demonstration

Large enterprises face challenges with deploying applications at scale, including managing application sprawl, segregating partner and customer traffic, and maintaining a consistent security policy. F5 Distributed Cloud Services (F5 XC for short) addresses these challenges with a centralized platform that manages, secures, and segregates traffic for multi-cloud and edge applications. Equinix Network Edge enhances this with a global, virtualized infrastructure that enables seamless cloud, edge, and on-premises connectivity.

Together, F5 XC and Equinix Network Edge provide a powerful solution for deploying and securing distributed applications with seamless connectivity and consistent policy enforcement.

Demonstration Overview

The following video demonstration highlights how deploying an F5 XC Customer Edge device via the Equinix Network Edge marketplace, (generally available June 2025) enables secure, hybrid application delivery. Additionally, we’ll showcase seamless connectivity and application delivery using F5 Distributed Cloud Services.

F5 Distributed Cloud Customer Edge

The F5 Distributed Cloud (XC) CE (F5 XC Customer Edge) is a networking device that operates at the customer's edge, acting as a secure entry point to the F5 XC network fabric provided by F5 Networks. This device is designed to optimize and secure application delivery, and it integrates with cloud and data center networks, providing advanced traffic management and security features.

The solution leverages F5 XC networking segmentation to secure and isolate application traffic. It also protects private partner connections, enabling secure interaction as well as providing unique VIPs. The solution provides both security and efficiency.

Equinix Network Edge

The Equinix Network Edge marketplace provides organizations a self-service platform to deploy virtual network functions (VNFs) without physical hardware, reducing operational complexity. Through the Network Edge Marketplace, customers can select and deploy pre-integrated VNFs, like the F5 XC Customer edge, facilitating rapid network expansion.

Combined with Equinix Fabric, organizations can interconnect private and public clouds, partners, and enterprises efficiently and securely.

Equinix Fabric

Equinix Fabric is a software-defined interconnection service that allows businesses to connect their digital infrastructure seamlessly across Equinix's global platform. It provides secure, direct connections to a wide range of network, cloud, and IT service providers, facilitating optimized and reliable data exchange. The demo environment utilizes Equinix Fabric connections to provide network interconnectivity.