General Component Requirements

This section lists requirements and recommendations for system components such as memory and power management.

All operating system–controlled hardware complies with these guidelines and is listed on the Windows NT HCL

Required

All hardware included in the server system that is to be controlled by the operating system must meet the guidelines defined in this guide and must be included on the Windows NT HCL. The server system itself must pass the tests provided by Microsoft to qualify for the Windows NT HCL.

Components that are not managed or controlled by the operating system must properly reserve resources using ACPI 1.0 methods to avoid conflicts with other devices in the system that are visible to, managed, and configured by the operating system.

Components included with the system or embedded on the system board (network adapter, video, SCSI, and so on) must meet two criteria for testing:

• Pass the Windows NT HCT for the specific system being tested.
  
  
• Have drivers provided by the vendor or use drivers included with Windows NT for the system being tested.

Systems available in complete server configurations from the manufacturer must also be tested in those configurations, as follows:

• If a system is available in an extremely basic configuration, it will be tested with industry-standard add-on options.
  
  
• If a system is available completely configured as a server, it will be tested in that hardware configuration (and alternate configurations as shipped by the manufacturer).
  
  
• The system must include all configuration utilities required to configure components in the system for Windows NT Server.

Systems provided for testing must be production level, which means that no prototypes will be accepted for testing. Peripheral devices provided with a system must also meet any additional requirements specified in this guide. Notice, however, that a listing on the HCL does not necessarily qualify a device for inclusion in a system defined by these guidelines.

Recommended: For servers running Windows NT Server/Enterprise Edition, version 5.0, all device drivers in the system should have Digital Signatures and should pass the enhanced testing requirements of the driver signing program. For information, see http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/desinit/digupwiz.htm.

System and components support dates from the year 2000 and beyond

Required

The BIOS, real-time clock, CMOS, and the system as a whole must work correctly for dates from now to past the year 2000.