Monday, January 16, 2012

Microsoft release the Windows 8 Hardware Certification Requirements for Filter Drivers


Windows 8 Hardware Certification Requirements pdf
Windows 8 Hardware Certification Requirements pdf

Microsoft have just released the Windows 8 Hardware Certification Requirements for filter drivers.
The document begins with the following:

Introduction

This release to web (RTW) document contains the Windows Hardware Certification requirements for Windows 8 filter drivers. These requirements are Microsoft®’s guidelines for designing Windows Filtering Platform Drivers (WFP), File Systems Filter Drivers, Antivirus Filter Drivers, and Early Launch Anti-Malware (ELAM Filter Drivers). Successfully following this guidance will allow a partner to receive certification and signing for their filter drivers.
The requirements are organized by feature using a Camel Case naming convention, which facilitates grouping related requirements and communicating their relationship to the Windows feature they are intended to support. Tests assessing compliance with the features are exposed during testing with the Hardware Certification Kit and can be related directly back to these requirements.
Some requirements have passed forward from Logo requirements for earlier Windows versions which used a category based structure. We have included the older LogoPoint ID in the comments section for your convenience.

If Implemented Requirements

The Windows Hardware Certification program declares requirements which must be met by any filter driver addressing certain features or technologies in the PC ecosystem. However, additional functionality is built into Windows which is optional, and can offer a competitive edge for manufacturers should they chose to implement the feature. In these cases, there are requirements which must be met only if the additional functionality is implemented.
Because these additional requirements apply only if the relevant functionality is implemented, they are referred to as “if-implemented” requirements in this document.
The Hardware Certification Kit detects features exposed by a product automatically. The detected features the will be tested for compliance whether they were mandatory to successfully be certified as a defined product type or if the feature is optional. The title of the requirement or the exception field will indicate when a requirement applies.