A Significant Opportunity for Higher Bandwidth and Network Capacity to Economically Meet the Demand for Dynamic Services

MEF LogoLos Angeles, 14 May 2015 — The MEF today announced that it has extended its Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Certification Program to include network equipment used for delivering E-Line and E-Access services up to 100 Gigabits per second. The new 100G certification opens the way to compliant Carrier Ethernet services delivered at speeds that are an order of magnitude faster for highly demanding customers.

“CE 2.0 certification is foundational for supporting the shift to dynamic “Third Network” connectivity services delivered over more automated, interconnected networks,” said Kevin Vachon, Chief Operating Officer of the MEF. “Driven by data center interconnection and peering relationships, 100G performance represents the next step in transforming metro network deployments and scaling cloud-centric connectivity services across the globe. Service providers and equipment makers have been asking for a certification program for Carrier Ethernet faster than 10G, and the MEF is delighted to extend the program to 100G today.”

CE 2.0 100G certification focuses on point-to-point E-Line and E-Access services with added test cases covering the full set of 100G service attributes such as performance and bandwidth profiles. Network equipment vendor members of the MEF are invited to register with Iometrix – the MEF’s official test laboratory – by 30 May 2015 for the CE 2.0 100G Testing Pilot Phase.

The first group of CE 2.0 100G certified companies and equipment will be announced at the GEN15 global networking event that will be held during 16 – 19 November 2015 at the Omni Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

About the MEF

The MEF is the driving force behind the $70+ billion global market for Carrier Ethernet services and technologies and the defining body for LSO standards that underpin emerging Third Network services with CE 2.0, SDN, and NFV. An industry alliance consisting of 220+ member organizations based in 43 countries, the MEF operates through a powerful collaborative framework of service providers, network solutions suppliers, and other stakeholders to achieve CE 2.0 and LSO development and globalization objectives.

MEF’s flagship work is CE 2.0, including specifications, operational frameworks, and certification programs for services, equipment, and professionals. Visit www.mef.net for more details on these programs.

Building on fourteen years of success with Carrier Ethernet, the MEF is now focused on development of LSO with APIs to enable paradigm-shifting agile, assured, and orchestrated services over more efficient, automated networks. The MEF’s vision for the transformation of network connectivity services and the networks used to deliver them is referred to as the “Third Network,” which combines the on-demand agility and ubiquity of the Internet with the performance and security assurances of CE 2.0. For information on the Third Network and LSO download the MEF’s Third Network Vision & Strategy White Paper and Third Network Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) Vision White Paper.

About Iometrix

Iometrix is the preeminent testing authority in the networking industry. The company is globally recognized as the official test laboratory of the MEF and has performed certification testing for all MEF Carrier Ethernet programs for more than a decade.

Contact Thomas Mandeville at Thomas@iometrix.com to learn more about CE 2.0 services and equipment certification programs and to sign up for the CE 2.0 100GE Testing Pilot Phase.

Stan Hubbard
GEN15 Program Director
Director of Communications & Research, MEF
Email: stan@mef.net