In a significant move for regional internet service in the Philippines, VyOS Networks has revealed how its technology empowered ISP KCAT Inc. to overhaul its network. The project, announced on January 19, 2026, centered on replacing legacy hardware with VyOS's open-source platform, leading to dramatic performance gains for the Negros Island provider.
From Legacy Bottlenecks to Open-Source Agility
Facing rapid growth that threatened to overwhelm its old infrastructure, KCAT's previous Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT) solution was struggling. During peak hours, the system imposed throughput ceilings and latency spikes, constraining the experience for its expanding customer base. The ISP needed a scalable, high-performance foundation to support its plan to grow from 5,000 to 10,000 subscribers.
KCAT turned to VyOS Networks, attracted by its "Your network, your rules" philosophy. This approach promised full control without vendor lock-in, using an enterprise-grade open-source platform designed specifically for carrier-grade performance. The solution runs on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers, offering flexibility and cost savings compared to proprietary hardware appliances.
A Phased and Meticulous Deployment
To ensure stability, KCAT executed the transition in carefully managed phases. The team left nothing to chance, conducting extensive lab testing to validate configurations before going live. Their production readiness focused on three key areas:
System Optimization: They fine-tuned the network interface cards (NICs), adjusted interrupt settings, configured hugepages, and optimized Receive Side Scaling (RSS) to extract maximum performance from the bare-metal hardware.
Automation: Leveraging the VyOS API and Ansible, KCAT automated configuration management. This enabled fast, repeatable deployments and changes, reducing human error and operational overhead.
Integration: Thorough testing ensured the new NAT policies worked seamlessly with existing network operations center (NOC) visibility tools and day-to-day operational workflows.
Tangible Results: Performance and Efficiency Soar
The production deployment yielded impressive, measurable outcomes that directly addressed KCAT's initial challenges:
The ISP now achieves a stable 7 to 10 Gbps of traffic under peak conditions, eliminating previous throughput bottlenecks.
Perhaps most notably, NAT latency was reduced by 35 to 50% compared to the old platform, significantly improving user experience.
Network efficiency saw a major boost, with conntrack utilization kept under 40% during peak usage, ensuring headroom for future growth.
The new system has maintained perfect reliability with zero unplanned downtime since deployment.
Operationally, the move to VyOS on commodity hardware slashed the cost per gigabit of throughput. It also simplified scaling out the network while improving troubleshooting capabilities through transparent configurations and the optional use of native Linux tooling.
Santiago Blanquet, Chief Revenue Officer at VyOS Networks, highlighted the strategic win. "KCAT's journey shows what's possible when ISPs move from vendor constraints to open standards," he said. "With VyOS, they didn't just remove a capacity limit; they built a cost-sustainable, automated foundation to scale subscribers and roll out IPoE on their own terms."
This case study underscores a growing trend in telecommunications: leveraging open-source software on standard hardware to gain performance, control, and financial advantages over traditional, proprietary network solutions.
