Hardware Certification #
How a model of hardware is certified for a role. The records are under Certification → Hardware.
What is certified #
A model at a hardware revision, for a role. The same model in a different role, or at a different hardware revision, is a separate certification. Hardware revisions do change what a board carries, such as the NIC chipset.
It is evaluated with the software it will run: the OS and driver are part of what is tested, because a NIC’s maturity depends on the driver. The record names the software it was tested with. That software’s own certification is separate ( Software Certification).
Criteria #
Draft. Each area is checked, and the record says what was done and what was seen.
| Area | What is checked |
|---|---|
| Automated install | PXE or unattended install; no manual step the build cannot reproduce |
| Recovery | Console access, which cable, and whether it survives a factory reset from code |
| Network | NIC chipset and driver maturity on the chosen OS; sustained throughput without errors |
| Management | An API or CLI the automation can drive; firmware upgrade path |
| Power and thermals | Draw, behavior on power loss, sustained load in the mobile case |
| Longevity | Vendor support window, firmware cadence, spare availability |
Process #
- Open the record. Create the item if it’s new, and a revision page for this evaluation, with the verdict Under evaluation.
- Evaluate on the bench, against every criterion, with the software named in the record. Nothing in service depends on it yet.
- Record the evidence. For each criterion: what was tested, how, and what was seen. A criterion that could not be tested is written as not tested, never as passed.
- Set the verdict. The operator decides. Certified with conditions names each condition and what would clear it.
- Update the item page: its current verdict, and the new row in its revisions table.
- Select it. Only a certified model becomes a selection on its layer’s platform page, which links to the certification.
A failure is kept like a pass. The next evaluation of that model starts from what is already known.