The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), founded in 2001, is a nonprofit international industry consortium

Consortium

A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....

, dedicated to worldwide adoption of Carrier Ethernet

Ethernet

Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....

 networks and services.
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The forum is composed of leading service providers, major incumbent local exchange carriers, network equipment vendors, and other networking companies that share an interest in Metro Ethernet

Metro Ethernet

A Metro Ethernet is a computer network that covers a metropolitan area and that is based on the Ethernet standard. It is commonly used as a metropolitan access network to connect subscribers and businesses to a larger service network or the Internet...

. It had 160 members as of February 2010.

The MEF is a combination of a technical and a marketing forum to promote the adoption of Metro Ethernet. This is a key differentiator from other standard bodies such as the Internet Engineering Task Force

Internet Engineering Task Force

The Internet Engineering Task Force develops and promotes Internet standards, cooperating closely with the W3C and ISO/IEC standards bodies and dealing in particular with standards of the TCP/IP and Internet protocol suite...

 and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...

. The forum makes recommendations to existing standards bodies and creates specifications that are not being developed by (or fall within the scope of) other standards bodies.

History

The MEF was preceded by the Ethernet in the First Mile Alliance (EFMA), also a nonprofit international industry consortium. It was established in 2001 to promote standards-based Ethernet in the First Mile

Ethernet in the First Mile

Ethernet in the first mile refers to using one of the Ethernet family of computer network protocols between a telecommunications company and a customer's premise. From the customer's point of view it is their "first" mile, although from the access networks' point of view it is known as the "last...

 (EFM) technologies and products and position EFM as a key networking technology for an access network

Access network

An access network is that part of a telecommunications network which connects subscribers to their immediate service provider. It is contrasted with the core network, which connects local providers to each other...

.

In 2005, with the completion of the 802.3ah

IEEE 802.3

IEEE 802.3 is a working group and a collection of IEEE standards produced by the working group defining the physical layer and data link layer's media access control of wired Ethernet. This is generally a local area network technology with some wide area network applications...

 standard by the IEEE, the EFMA became part of the Metro Ethernet Forum.

MEF white papers

These white papers provide a comprehensive technical overview of Ethernet services, based on the work of the Metro Ethernet Forum Technical Committee. The papers are intended to help buyers and users of Ethernet services understand the types and characteristics of the services and to help service providers clearly communicate their capabilities.

Technical specifications

As of March 2011, the MEF had approved 26 technical specifications (see the full list):

• MEF 2 Requirements and Framework for Ethernet Service Protection
• MEF 3 Circuit Emulation Service Definitions, Framework and Requirements in Metro Ethernet Networks
• MEF 4 Metro Ethernet Network Architecture Framework Part 1: Generic Framework
• MEF 6.1 Metro Ethernet Services Definitions Phase II (supersedes MEF 6)
• MEF 7.1 Phase 2 EMS-NMS Information Model (supersedes MEF 7)
• MEF 8 Implementation Agreement for the Emulation of PDH Circuits over Metro Ethernet Networks
• MEF 9 Abstract Test Suite for Ethernet Services at the UNI
• MEF 10.2 Ethernet Services Attributes Phase 2 (supersedes MEF 10, MEF 10.1 and MEF 10.1.1)
• MEF 11 User Network Interface (UNI) Requirements and Framework
• MEF 12.1 Metro Ethernet Network Architecture Framework Part 2: Ethernet Services Layer
• MEF 13 User Network Interface (UNI) Type 1 Implementation Agreement
• MEF 14 Abstract Test Suite for Traffic Management Phase 1
• MEF 15 Requirements for Management of Metro Ethernet Phase 1 Network Elements
• MEF 16 Ethernet Local Management Interface
• MEF 17 Service OAM Framework and Requirements
• MEF 18 Abstract Test Suite for Circuit Emulation Services
• MEF 19 Abstract Test Suite for UNI Type 1
• MEF 20 UNI Type 2 Implementation Agreement
• MEF 21 Abstract Test Suite for UNI Type 2 Part 1 Link OAM
• MEF 22 Mobile Backhaul Implementation Agreement
• MEF 23 Class of Service Phase 1 Implementation Agreement
• MEF 24 Abstract Test Suite for UNI Type 2 Part 2 E-LMI
• MEF 25 Abstract Test Suite for UNI Type 2 Part 3 Service OAM
• MEF 26 External Network Network Interface (ENNI)–Phase 1
• MEF 26.0.1 Amendment to MEF 26. The Bandwidth Profile Algorithm
• MEF 27 Abstract Test Suite For UNI Type 2 Part 5: Enhanced UNI Attributes & Part 6: L2CP Handling