MEF Launches MEF 3.0

So what comes after Carrier Ethernet 2.0 for MEF? Over the last few years, the MEF has been focusing on the ‘Third Network’, and this morning they put it all together under a new and more specifically-defined umbrella, the MEF 3.0 Transformational Global Services Framework.

MEF 3.0 blends standardized services with the growing list of Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) APIs that have been emerging over the last few years as part of the SDN and NFV revolution. The automation of network services across different service providers and technologies is something a lot of folks have been working on, and MEF 3.0 aims to standardize how it will get done.

The framework combines standardized like Carrier Ethernet, wavelengths, IP, SD-WAN, and security-as-a-service with an LSO Reference Architecture to orchestrate their delivery across multiple network technology domains. The first releases within the framework will be MEF 3.0 CE R1 (the latest for Carrier Ethernet) and two LSO SDKs addressing validation, serviceability, and ordering in an inter-provider context, and an intra-provider API for provisioning.  There are of course certifications to be delivered, with Iometrix providing a test platform. And there’s a lot left to do to make it all happen.

But the main thrust is that the various initiatives that made up the MEF’s Third Network push are now ready to be put into practice, moving beyond the proof of concept stage.

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Categories: Ethernet · NFV · SDN