The System.Server.Assurance certification requirement for the current Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB) of Windows Server 2016 (version 1607) has been updated.
You can view the updated requirement on MSDN via the following link:
The requirement to support the Hardware Security Test Interface (HSTI) is now conditional based upon the generation of server-class systems being certified for Windows Server 2016, and being tested for the Assurance Additional Qualification.
The specific change to this requirement is as follows:
The platform is required to implement hardware security test interface and share documentation and tools as specified in the Hardware Security Test Interface Specification document, available at http://aka.ms/wmic
This requirement is IF IMPLEMENTED for Server system designs not based on Intel® Xeon® processor Intel64 Family 6 Model 85 Stepping X, or later – where X will vary, nor AMD® Opteron® AMD64 Family 23 Model 1 Stepping 1 or later processor, for Windows Server systems seeking the Hardware Assurance Additional Qualification.
This requirement will be REQUIRED for Server system designs that are based on Intel® Xeon® processor Intel64 Family 6 Model 85 Stepping X, or later – where X will vary, or AMD® Opteron® AMD64 Family 23 Model 1 Stepping 1 or later processor, for Windows Server systems seeking the Hardware Assurance Additional Qualification.
As a reminder, certification for Windows Server 2016, Azure Stack, and SDDC must continue to meet the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program requirements as stated in version 1607 of documentation, must use version 1607 of the HLK (build 14393) with matching playlist and supplemental content to generate logs, and must follow policies as stated in the Windows Server Policy document. Questions about the Azure Stack or SDDC programs or how to submit the results for solution validation should be directed to the appropriate Microsoft technical account manager or partner management contact.
Submitting test results for Windows 10, version 1703 (for client versions)
As previously mentioned, submissions for Windows 10, version 1703 must be done using version 1703 of the HLK. Please remember that if you are submitting results for Windows 10, version 1703, the results must be packaged for submission using a controller with version 1703 of the HLK installed. If a controller with version 1607 of the HLK is used to package and submit results for Windows 10, version 1703, the submission will fail due to invalid formatting in the submission package. Submissions affected by this will appear to be stuck in the Validating HCK/HLK Submission Package step. We will monitor for this scenario and reach out to partners with affected submissions. A controller using version 1703 of the HLK can be used to submit results from previous versions of the kits (HCK/HLK).
You must continue to use the Windows Hardware Certification Kit (HCK) version 2.1 to certify hardware for following operating systems:
- Windows 7
- Windows 8
- Windows 8.1
- Windows Server 2008 R2 (x64)
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows Server 2012 R2
For the first 90 days after the release of Windows 10, version 1703, OEMs looking to achieve compatibility for client systems shipping Windows 10, version 1703 may factory-install drivers for components that achieved compatibility with Windows 10, version 1607. After 90 days, OEMs looking to achieve compatibility for client systems shipping Windows 10, version 1703 can factory-install drivers for components that achieved compatibility only with Windows 10, version 1703.