The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) has released its MEF SDN/NFV professional certification. Following a beta-exam review period, the MEF-SDN/NFV exam is designed to provide an industry-wide certification to validate professionals' knowledge, skills and abilities in the domains of software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV). MEF also announced that five training companies that are members of the MEF Accredited Training Provider (MEF-ATP) program are qualified to deliver approved training for the certification. Incentives for IT/telecom professionals to earn this credential were also announced today by MEF.
"We are delighted that MEF has created yet another skills certification in software-centric networking technologies, adding to its world-renowned Carrier Ethernet Certified Professional (MEF-CECP) credential," said Nan Chen, president of MEF. "Given the rising deployment of SDN and NFV solutions globally, and the tremendous potential for telecom and enterprise IT organizations to leverage SDN and NFV, we are confident that this certification will open new doors, new jobs, and new horizons for the networking workforce. Organizations that encourage their IT professionals to train for and earn this credential will signal their commitment to excellence in their workforce. Already we have received inquiries from companies wanting to get their engineers, operators and technical architects certified."
With the help of SDN and NFV subject matter experts around the world, MEF built the certification exam to ISO 17024 quality specifications for accuracy and reliability.
"This is the first certification of its kind in the exploding field of virtualized networking," said Rick Bauer, certification director at MEF. "We're grateful to have so many companies and organizations collaborating and providing their expertise, and we look forward to broad industry acceptance of this credential."
MEF also announced that five of its Accredited Training Providers (MEF-ATPs) are prepared to deliver training in preparation for taking the MEF-SDN/NFV certification exam and will be offering classes in the weeks ahead. Those organizations are Carrier Ethernet Academy, Criterion Networks, Perpetual Solutions, SDN Essentials and Tech2000.
The MEF-SDN/NFV certification exam is built around the themes of "Design, Deploy, and Manage," and details and references are contained in the newly released examination blueprint. Professionals seeking to validate their competencies must be able to demonstrate their abilities in various design, installation and security scenarios involving SDN, NFV, and instances when virtualized objects such as VNFs (virtualized network functions) are deployed into SDN architectures.
