Chapter 1

Using the Hardware Certification Test Suite

The Hardware Certification Test Suite (HCTS) includes system certification tests, controller certification tests, utilities, and a browser-based user interface. HCTS tests certify systems, motherboards, and network, storage, and serial I/O controllers to work with the Solaris Operating System on x86 platforms. HCTS collects log files, determines test pass or fail results, and generates a final test report. Hardware that passes either Level 1 or Level 2 Certification is eligible to be included in the Solaris OS Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) as Test Suite Certified.

This chapter discusses the following topics:

Certifying Your Hardware
Starting the HCTS Application

Details on how to certify systems and controllers are provided in subsequent chapters.

Certifying Your Hardware

This section presents a high-level overview of the steps you need to take to certify hardware to work with the Solaris OS.

Make sure your test platforms meet certification requirements.

See the Hardware Certification Test Suite Installation Guide for hardware and software requirements.
If you are certifying a controller, make sure you have followed the Solaris Operating System Driver Design Guidelines.
Successfully complete all manual tests required for the hardware and certification level you are testing:
Download and install the HCTS package.

See the Hardware Certification Test Suite Installation Guide for download and installation instructions. See the Release Notes provided with the HCTS package for any known issues and recommendations.
Run the HCTS automated testing as described in this manual.

Note - To certify the hardware, all tests must pass in a single test run.

See "Certifying Systems" for step-by-step instructions on how to certify systems and motherboards. See "Certifying Controllers" for step-by-step instructions on how to certify network, storage, and serial I/O controllers.

Be sure to use Copy Test Results to get the test report summary file that is required for certification submission. See "Reviewing and Copying Test Results" for detailed instructions on getting this file.
Submit your test results using the submission checklist for the hardware and certification level you tested.

The submittal forms listed below reside on the internet. These forms require you to upload the test report summary tar.Z file that was generated when you used Copy Test Results after successfully completing HCTS testing. Make sure this summary tar file is on a system with internet access.

If you are certifying a system, you must first certify every disk, network, and video controller in the system. Each controller must work with an existing Solaris OS driver or with a driver that is certified by Sun.

If you are certifying a controller, you must send a separate submission checklist and test report summary file for each controller that the driver supports. In addition, you must submit the driver and controller to Sun for audit.
Print, sign, and mail the Certification Agreement.

Send the certification agreement and any required documentation to the following address:
```
Hardware Certification Team
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
222 North Sepulveda Boulevard, Floor 10
El Segundo, California 90245 U.S.A.
```
Submit to the HCL.

See the test suite certification policies and the HCL submittal forms on the HCL overview page.
Uninstall HCTS and reinstall your test system back to its original configuration.

Reinstalling your system removes any modifications made to your system during the certification process. See the "Uninstalling the HCTS Application" section of the Hardware Certification Test Suite Installation Guide for uninstall instructions.

Starting the HCTS Application

HCTS is a web-based application that requires you to point your browser to the system under test. Make sure the system under test meets the hardware and software requirements stated in the Hardware Certification Test Suite Installation Guide.

If you might run a test that includes a video test, do both of the following steps:
- Start Xwindows on the system to be tested.
- Log on to the system to be tested as user root.
Halt all non-global zones that are installed on the test system.
Start your browser.

Make sure your browser is listed as a supported browser in the "Requirements" section of the Hardware Certification Test Suite Installation Guide. See Usage Notes for issues and recommendations regarding browser usage.
Type the name or IP address of your test system in the browser Location field.

For example, if the name of your test system is lab1, type http://lab1/ or just lab1 in the Location field of your browser.
Press Enter to start HCTS on the test system.

The HCTS Welcome Screen appears as shown below.

Figure 1-1 HCTS Welcome Screen
Accept the license terms.

Read the license terms printed on the Welcome screen, scroll to the bottom of the Welcome screen, and select the checkbox in front of the "I accept the above license terms" acceptance statement.

Figure 1-2 Accept License Terms and Continue
Click the Continue button to start the HCTS certification process.

See Chapter 2, Certifying Systems and Chapter 3, Certifying Controllers for detailed information on certifying different hardware.

Next: Certifying Systems