Carrier Ethernet 2.

0 Certification

Frequently Asked Questions

Background, Purpose, Audience

This document is a companion to the MEF Carrier Ethernet Generations Certification
Blueprint and is aimed at providing answers to the most common questions asked by
companies considering certifying their Carrier Ethernet services or supporting
equipment for Carrier Ethernet 2.0 compliance.

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Q: What is Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certification?

A: The MEF CE 2.0 Service Certification program is the MEF framework through which
a) Service providers can demonstrate that their services
b) Equipment vendors can demonstrate that their equipment
comply with globally recognized MEF Carrier Ethernet services specifications in Carrier Ethernet 2.0.

The eight services for which services and equipment can be certified are shown in the CE 2.0 Services
Menu below:

The Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Certification Blueprint is a detailed document that describes all the service
attributes per CE 2.0 service that are tested during the certification process. The Blueprint is a useful
technical reference for those companies considering entering the certification process.

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Q: Who benefits from Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certification?

A: Hundreds of companies around the world offer wide area services based on Ethernet technology to other
service providers and to business customers. Because of the wide scope of the term Ethernet, it requires
knowledge and expertise for service providers and enterprises to distinguish so called Carrier Ethernet
services from true fully featured Carrier Ethernet 2.0 services compliant with MEF specifications.

By certifying a service as an MEF certified Carrier Ethernet 2.0 service, a service provider/operator:
 Accelerates the sale of Carrier Ethernet services by saving its enterprise and service provider
customers considerable time and resources in assessing its service offering
 Differentiates its high quality Carrier Ethernet service products from the proprietary offerings of its
service provider competitors.

By certifying a device as an MEF certified Carrier Ethernet 2.0 device, an equipment vendor:
 Differentiates its standards compliant products from the proprietary products of its competitors -
decreasing the time to be assessed and accepted for testing by Carrier Ethernet service providers
 Accelerates product testing in service provider customer test labs since the CE 2.0 compliance
testing is covered by the 680 test cases in the MEF CE 2.0 Certification Test Plan.

By demanding Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certified services, an enterprise

 Increases the likelihood of obtaining fully featured, standardized Carrier Ethernet services solutions
that will serve the enterprise’s growing and increasingly mission-critical connectivity requirements.

Q: Who can obtain Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certification?

A: Any service provider or equipment vendor can go through the certification test process to obtain CE 2.0
certification providing it is a member company of the MEF at the time of the certification testing.

.
Q: How is Carrier 2.0 certification obtained?

A: A company seeking CE 2.0 certification applies to the MEF approved certification test lab – Iometrix
(www.iometrix.com) – in order to start the certification process. A qualification process is followed by a
pre-configuration phase and finally a test phase. The duration of the whole certification process varies
depending on individual circumstances. More detailed information is available from Iometrix by contacting
Thomas Mandeville at thomas@iometrix.com

Q: Is it required to use CE 2.0 Certified equipment for CE 2.0 services certification ?

A: In order to certify Carrier Ethernet 2.0 services, service providers are strongly recommended but not
required to have Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certified equipment operating at the UNI and ENNI.

Q: Does a certifying company have to achieve certification for all eight CE 2.0 services?

A: A service provider or equipment vendor can choose to certify its services or equipment respectively for
any one or more of the following eight Carrier Ethernet 2.0 services: EPL, EVPL, EP-LAN, EVP-LAN, EP-
Tree, EVP-Tree, Access EPL and Access EVPL.
Any MEF member company that has a valid certification of at least one CE 2.0 service or device can use
the Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Certified logo on their products and collateral for the certified service/product. It
is not required to have certifications for all eight CE 2.0 services in order to claim Carrier Ethernet 2.0
certification.
Self-declared compliance with Carrier Ethernet 2.0 is not equivalent to Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certification
and does not entitle a company to use the Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Certified logo.

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Q: Who can use the CE 2.0 Certified logo?

A: Only a company that has in its possession a CE 2.0 Certified certificate.

Q: How much does CE 2.0 certification cost?

A: All commercial discussions and arrangements will be made directly between the certifying company and
the MEF approved test lab. Therefore, for pricing information, certifying companies are requested to
contact Thomas Mandeville directly at thomas@iometrix.com

Q: For how long is a CE 2.0 certification valid?

A: In the case of a service provider, a CE 2.0 certification is valid so long as the equipment operating at the
UNI (and at the ENNI for E-Access) is the same as the equipment used during the certification testing.

In the case of an equipment vendor, a CE 2.0 certification is valid so long as the equipment marketed as
certified has the same commercial designation as the equipment tested during the certification process.

Q: Is a CE 2.0 certification still valid if the certifying company is no longer a member of the
MEF?

A: Yes. However, the certification will not be shown on the MEF Certification Register on the MEF public
site (www.metroethernetforum.org) once a company leaves the MEF.

Q: When and how are CE 2.0 certifications made public?

A: The first group of CE 2.0 certified equipment vendors are expected to be announced at the 4Q2012
Quarterly Meeting in Shanghai in October following the completion of the pilot phase for equipment
vendors.

Similarly, the first group of CE 2.0 certified service providers are expected to be announced in January
2013 following the completion of the pilot phase for service providers.

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 In general, when a certification is completed successfully, the MEF approved test lab issues a certificate
and a test report to the certifying company. It is at the discretion of the certifying company to whom and
when to show the certificate and test report.

In addition, the name and logo of the certifying company are added to the MEF Certification Registry on
the MEF public web site (www.metroethernetforum.org) together with the commercial designation of the
service or equipment and the date of the completion of the certification. The timing of this publication on
the Registry is coordinated with the certifying company.

It is then at the discretion of the certifying company whether or not to take advantage of the considerable
MEF marketing presence to promote awareness of its certification in the Carrier Ethernet market.

Q: What is Carrier Ethernet 1.0 (CE 1.0) certification?

A: Carrier Ethernet 1.0 certification is the branding given to MEF 9 and MEF 14 certifications of EPL, EVPL
and E-LAN. MEF 9 and MEF 14 certifications are widely recognized as MEF certifications and those
terms will continue to be recognized in parallel to the term ‘Carrier Ethernet 1.0 certification’.

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Q: Who can use the CE 1.0 Certified logo?

A: Any company that has in its possession at least one MEF 9, MEF 14 or MEF 18 certificate.

Q: What is the difference between ‘Certification by Spec’ and ‘Certification by Service’?

A: In CE 1.0, certification was obtained by testing based on a single MEF Abstract Test Suite (MEF 9, MEF
14 or MEF 18)
With the introduction of Carrier Ethernet 2.0, the MEF has moved to a service-orientation for
certifications. Certification test plans are underpinned by a range of Abstract Test Suites rather than just
one and the test plans are oriented to the service (e.g. EPL, EVP-LAN, Access EPL etc.) for which the
service or equipment is being certified. The Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Technical Foundation document is a
useful reference in this context.

Q: Will existing MEF 9 and MEF 14 certifications continue to be valid?

A: Yes. Existing MEF 9, MEF 14 and MEF 18 certifications will not be impacted by the availability of Carrier
Ethernet 2.0 certifications and will remain valid indefinitely subject to the validity requirements already in
place for MEF 9, MEF 14 and MEF 18 certifications.

Q: For how long is a CE 1.0 certification valid?

A: A CE 1.0 certification for a service is valid as long as the requirement is met that the same equipment is
used at the operational UNI as was used at the time of the certification process.

A CE 1.0 certification for equipment is valid so long as the equipment marketed as certified has the
same commercial designation as the equipment used during the certification process,

Q: Will it be possible to obtain new MEF 9 and MEF 14 certifications for services and
equipment even after the release of CE 2.0 certification?

A: Yes. There will be no change in availability of these certifications. There will be an option to have these
branded as ‘CE 1.0 certified’.

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Q: Is it required to use CE 1.0 Certified equipment for CE 1.0 services certification?

A: Yes. In order to certify Carrier Ethernet 1.0 (MEF 9 and MEF 14) services, service providers are required
to have Carrier Ethernet 1.0 (MEF 9 and MEF 14) certified equipment operating at the UNI.

Q: If a company already has EPL, EVPL and E-LAN certification (MEF 9 and/or MEF 14), then
is there a reason to obtain CE 2.0 certification for them?

A: EPL, EVPL and E-LAN in Carrier Ethernet 1.0 are not the same as EPL, EVPL, EP-LAN and EVP-LAN in
Carrier Ethernet 2.0. The latter have many enhancements. Therefore CE 1.0 certifications (MEF 9 and
MEF 14) only reflect the capabilities of Carrier Ethernet 1.0, whereas CE 2.0 certification of these services
reflects the many new capabilities of all the Carrier Ethernet 2.0 services. This is the central reason for
obtaining CE 2.0 certification even for services and products that already have CE 1.0 certification. More
information on the technical differences between Carrier Ethernet 1.0 and Carrier Ethernet 2.0 are
provided in the Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Technical Foundation document to be found at
www.metroethernetforum.org.

Q: Is CE 1.0 certification automatically achieved when a service or equipment is CE 2.0

certified?

A: No. Although a large portion of the test cases in MEF 9 and MEF 14 are present in CE 2.0 certification
testing, the latter will result only in CE 2.0 certificates being issued. Companies wanting to achieve CE 1.0
certification for the same services and products will need to certify them separately according to the CE
1.0 (MEF 9 and MEF 14) certification framework.

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