ONAP Certification Launches to Help Close Talent Gap with Growth of Network Automation, 5G and Edge Computing

The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, and LF Networking (LFN), which facilitates collaboration and operational excellence across open source networking projects, today announced the Certified ONAP Professional (COP) exam, previously announced to be in development, is now generally available.

COP is a three-hour, performance-based certification exam that provides assurance that a certificant has the ability to onboard Virtual Network Functions (VNFs), design and deploy network services, and configure VNFs. The exam is based on the Dublin release of ONAP. It is conducted remotely with a live proctor monitoring via webcam and screen sharing, and simulates on-the-job scenarios. The existing ONAP Fundamentals training course is also available to assist candidates in learning the proper use of ONAP and preparing for the exam.

The certification exam tests specific domains and competencies including:

• Service Design
• Service Deployment
• Service LCM
• Troubleshooting
• Closed Loop Automation

COP is designed for engineers at service providers and enterprises who develop, deploy, and scale their networks and next-generation services, especially in light of the growth in 5G and edge computing. The exam expects a baseline understanding of the underlying cloud platform, such as Kubernetes and OpenStack, and minimal familiarity with modeling languages like Heat and TOSCA.

“Telecommunications may be the area of technology that has seen the most significant shift in terms of how networks are built and managed in recent years, and there is a tremendous need for upskilling and reskilling in this industry,” said Clyde Seepersad, SVP and general manager of training & certification at The Linux Foundation. “It is essential we have accessible, high quality training available to help both new and existing workers in these industries to obtain the skills they need to utilize these new technologies, as well as verifiable ways of confirming those skills; this new exam helps accomplish that.”

“Global service providers need network automation and as ONAP increasingly becomes a de facto choice, re-training network admins and personnel is the highest priority,”said Arpit Joshipura, general manager networking, edge & IOT at the Linux Foundation.

The COP exam is available to be scheduled immediately. More information about the exam and topics covered in it is available here. The ONAP project will be issuing its Guilan release in the coming weeks. Guilan contains updated features to support 5G open source automation for network slicing, integration with open RAN, and more. Additional details available upon software release. Please visit www.lfnetworking.org.