Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) GEN15 is coming up soon. The conference looks to be bigger and better than ever. Here's a quick summary of the basics:

• Who: Service Providers, Media Providers, Equipment Vendors and Analyst/Research Firms
• What: Gathering of Worldwide Industry Professionals focused on Metro Ethernet Services
• When: November 16 -18, 2015
• Where: Dallas, Texas at the Omni Hotel Dallas
• Why: Great opportunities for information gathering, training and peer interaction

Cisco is participating in GEN15 on many fronts. Activities begin with the Cisco Workshop on Monday, November 16^thfrom 1pm to 5pm. This workshop will be packed with new and interesting information from several top speakers. We will cover topics like Virtualization and the impact of Cloud on the Enterprise WAN, Agile Carrier Ethernet, Packet Optical Carrier Ethernet, new services, and new technologies. There are only 70 seats for this workshop, so please contact your Cisco Account Manager for registration.

Throughout the conference Cisco will have booth space and meeting space to foster discussion and interaction. Cisco is taking part in the first ever Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) Hackathon as well as the traditional the Proof of Concept (POC) demos. Cisco's Chief Architect, Dave Ward, will be delivering a keynote presentation at the show. Cisco Distinguished Engineer Simon Spraggs will be part of a panel discussion of SDN/NFV and speaking at the Cisco Workshop.

I'm a Dallas native, so please allow me give you some tips on things to see and places to eat while you're at GEN15.

Food within a short cab fare:

• Texas BBQ -The Pecan Lodge, 2702 Main St.
• Tex-Mex -El Fenix at 1601 McKinney Ave.
• Seafood -Al Biernat's, 4217 Oak Lawn Ave.
• Steak -Bob's in the Omni or the original at 4300 Lemmon Ave.
• Texas Pub -The Common Table, 2917 Fairmount Ave.
• Outdoor Casual -Katy Trail Ice House, 3127 Routh St.

Things to see within walking distance:

• Original Pegasus from the Mobil/Magnolia Oil Building just outside the Omni
• Texas School Book Depository & 6^thFloor Museum
• Cattle Drive Sculpture in Pioneer Park
• Old Red Courthouse Museum

I'm sure your hotel will have more suggestions for things to do and see in Dallas. It's great to have an event with international appeal in Dallas in the Fall. The attendance from Service Providers and software and hardware vendors is shaping up to be one of the best MEF events ever. Please take a look at the event website and go online to register. Contact your Cisco Account Team for more information about the show, to register for the workshop, or setup a meeting!

For more questions or comments, please tweet us @ciscoSP360.