“We didn’t want to just put a different sticker on it,” Vachon said. “We wanted to give the opportunity for operators to recertify their infrastructure so at least you’ve now got this very competitive infrastructure.”
Testing occurs on live production networks. The automated testing platform can be completed in days once technical preparation is finished. Organizations pay once per certification with predictable annual maintenance fees required to keep certifications active. Optional retesting can refresh certification test records.
Carrier Ethernet for AI
The Carrier Ethernet for AI certification takes the business certification baseline and adds a performance layer specifically designed for AI workloads. Rather than creating a separate track, the AI certification requires providers to first complete the Carrier Ethernet for Business validation, then demonstrate they can meet additional stringent requirements.
“What we identified was that there was another tier that we could produce a standard around for AI,” Vachon explained. “With extensive technical discussions with our membership, our CTO, and our director of certification, they identified the critical performance and functionality parameters.”
The additional validation focuses on three key performance parameters: frame delay, inter-frame delay variation, and frame loss ratio aligned with AI workload requirements. Testing uses MEF 91 test requirements with AI-specific traffic profiles and performance objectives that go beyond standard business service thresholds.
The program targets three primary use cases: connecting subscriber premises running AI applications to AI edge sites, interconnecting AI edge sites to AI data centers, and AI data center to data center interconnections.
