|
|
|
|
V1.1 |
April 23 2012
|
General Questions |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
Which documents should I read first to become familiar with the Open Brand Certification Program? |
|
Q. |
What test suites do I need and where can they be obtained from? |
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
Who do we contact regarding the Trademark License Agreement (TMLA)? |
|
Q. |
|
Issues during Certification |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
The product fails one or more of the tests in the test campaign. What happens now? |
|
Q. |
We have encountered some problems with the Open Brand Test Suites. What do we do? |
|
Q. |
We are using the test suites and some of the tests are failing or hanging. Can you help? |
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
|
Problem Reporting |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
|
|
Q. |
Where can I find out what has happened to the Problem Report I sent in a week ago? |
|
|
|
General Questions
|
|
|
|
What is the Open Brand Certification Program? |
|
|
The Open Brand Certification program is a voluntary program of the The Open Group, open to any product meeting the conformance requirements. Open Brand Certification is a formal process built around the The Open Brand Trademark License Agreement. Suppliers of certified products, warrant and represent that the product meets all the conformance requirements applicable to the class of Open Brand Certification being certified. The key documents describing the obligations, terms and conditions of Open Brand certification are: the Open Brand Trademark License Agreementthe Open Brand Certification Guide The technical requirements for a conforming system are described in detail in the Product Standards. Once a supplier has achieved certification for a product, they are permitted to use the Open Brand trademarks in connection with that product. |
|
|
What are the advantages of Certification? |
|
|
Open Brand certification is widely supported and accepted by government and other major procurers of IT @ T devices. To compete with the major suppliers whose products are certified you may wish to consult your intended customers to ascertain their needs. We believe the return on investment is substantial. |
|
|
Which documents should I read first to become familiar with the Open Brand Certification Program? |
|
|
To become familiar with the Open Brand Certification program, you should read the following program documents: The Open Brand Certification Guide The Open Brand Trademark License Agreement The Trademark License agreement only needs to be entered into once per organization. When it is in place multiple products can be certified. The Open Brand Product Standards Certification Checklists |
|
|
What test suites do I need and where can they be obtained from? |
|
|
The list of test suites currently authorized for use in the Open Brand Certification program, is available here. Contact The Open Group for information on obtaining the test suites. The exact test suites required depends on the product standard and in some instances the test campaign selected, information is available here. |
|
|
How do I get help running the test suites? |
|
|
The Open Group offers support contracts for all its test suites referenced in the program, which includes email support provided through the web at http://www.opengroup.org/testing/support/ . |
|
|
I want to certify a product which is based on a model previously certified by The Open Group. Is the procedure the same even though the software hasn't changed? Does certification cover the same product recompiled for different processor architectures? |
|
|
The Open Brand policy allows for an existing certified product to be renamed without the need for further certification or testing. You will be required to provide a written statement to the CA indicating that there have been no material changes to the certified product. If there are changes then it depends on the nature of the changes, please refer to the TMLA. The same product on a different processor architecture, even if built from the same source constitutes a new product with respect to the certification requirements, and is subject to a full test and certification. The act of recompilation is a material change and requires demonstration of conformance. |
|
|
What is required of the software version that the certification is started with? Does it have to be commercially available, or is a R&D version sufficient? How does the version need to be identified? |
|
|
Certification may take place at any stage of the product's life cycle. If under development you may wish to certify the product prior to formal product launch, with the certification being held confidential prior to a public launch. The product declared on the public register needs to be commercially available for procurement. The software version of the product should be clearly identifiable. If the R&D name and version is very different from the commercial release then we have to be assured that it is indeed a maintenance release. Please communicate with the Certification Authority regarding any uncertainties. We will respond to you regarding the scope of testing if, for any reason, the situation is not clear. |
|
|
How long does it take to test and become certified? |
|
|
Timescales and preparations for formal testing depend on each situation, so it is not possible for us to provide an estimate. Timescales also depend on the Product Standard, since some are more complex than others. From the time we receive your initial submission,including conformance statement and test campaign definition form, for simple programs such as LDAP Certified the normal timeframe is up to 10 working days. For more complex programs such as UNIX certification, the normal timeframe is up to 25 working days after receipt of the complete application for certification to be confirmed. This assumes there are no queries or issues. |
|
|
How many tests are involved in Open Brand Certification? |
|
|
This varies depending on the Product Standard and the test campaign required. For UNIX 98 certification there are approximately 35,000 tests. For COE Platform Certification, if you require full testing of all the items in the COE Platform Standards Product Standard rather than referencing existing certificates there are aproximately 18000 automated tests, and thirteen sets of manual validation procedures (which total approximately 1000 pages). For LDAP Certified there are presently 235 tests. |
|
|
How long does it take to do test runs? |
|
|
Again this depends on the Product Standard and the test campaign selected. For UNIX Certification a full run of the test suites might take three days to one week. For LDAP Certified a full run of the test suite takes a few hours at most. For COE Platform certification, the automated test runs typically take 2-3 days to run, with the manual validation procedures taking up to 10 days to complete. |
|
|
How long does Open Brand Certification last ? |
|
|
Once you have tested and your results have been approved as conforming to the current Open Brand Specification, you will be certified for a period of twelve months years. If you are given permission to OEM or Re-Badge another companies product then your product will have the same renewal date as the original certified product on which it is based. |
|
|
Who do we contact for Certification information? |
|
|
Open Brand Certification Authority |
|
|
Who do we contact regarding the Trademark License Agreement (TMLA)? |
|
|
Any questions about the TMLA should be addressed to: the Open Brand Cerification Authority as above. |
|
|
How much does certification cost? |
|
|
Please see the fee schedule by clicking here. |
Issues during Certification
|
|
|
|
How can we get the Conformance Statements? |
|
|
To view the Conformance Statements please go to http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/. In order to complete a conformance statement you need an account in the Conformance Statement system, please contact the Open Group as above for details. |
|
|
The product fails one or more of the tests in the test campaign. What happens now? |
|
|
Please check the Problem Report Database first, which can be accessed from the test suite web pages. If your fail results are covered by and agreed test suite deficiencies (TSD's) or agreed interpretations for the version of the test suite used, then certification may be able to proceed. If you have submitted your test results for certification and you have unresolved fail results, your certification fee covers two attempts to certify. |
|
|
We have encountered some problems with the Open Brand Test Suites. What do we do? |
|
|
If you believe there is a bug in the test suite, or the Certification system, or a specification, please raise a Problem Report at http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/PR/ giving enough detail for the problem to be reproduced. This will enable any fault with the test suite and the particular version to be dealt with satisfactorily. If you are having difficulty running tests or operating the test suite, and these are maintained by The Open Group please report the problem to the Test Suite Maintenance Authority (see http://www.opengroup.org/testing/support/) |
|
|
We are using the test suites and some of the tests are failing or hanging. Can you help? |
|
|
The Open Brand Certification Authority does not provide support for the test suite and is unable to provide help directly in debugging products. Please contact the Test Suite Maintenance Authority (as noted above), please provide sufficient information for then to determine what the problem is ( for example, specific syntax or logic error in the content and the journal output). |
|
|
We started certification testing for a product and while testing was taking place, we found there are product problems requiring some bug-fixing modifications. Do we have to rerun the entire tests in the campaign? |
|
|
For certification we need clear runs of the test suite. If your product requires bug fixing during the test cycle, the fixes should be made and the product re-tested from the beginning if you want to certify the latest release of your product. After certification, if more product changes are required, the requirements of the TMLA apply. |
|
|
I have some FIP results in the automated tests. How Do I handle these? |
|
|
For FIP results (further information provided) you need to sign off that the manual resolution of the test is a pass result. An explanation of the result codes from the automated test suites which use TET follows below: PASS - a test result belonging to this group is considered to be a pass for certification purposes and does not need reference to any granted interpretations or waivers: Pass - the test has been executed correctly and to completion without any kind of problem Warning - the functionality is acceptable, but you should be aware that later revisions of the relevant standards or specification may change the requirements in this area. FIP - additional information is provided which needs to be checked manually. Unsupported - an optional feature is not available or not supported in the implementation under test. Not in Use - some tests may not be required in certain test modes or when an interface can be implemented by a macro or function and there are two versions of the test only one is used. Untested - no test written to check a particular feature or an optional facility needed to perform a test is not available on the system. FAIL - a test result belonging to this group is considered to be a fail for certification purposes (unless the failure has been waived by an agreed interpretation or waiver in the Interpretations database): Fail - the interface did not behave as expected. Uninitiated - the particular test in question did not start to execute. Unresolved - the test started but did not reach the point where the test was able to report success or failure. Unreported - a major error occurred during the testset execution. |
Problem Reporting
|
|
|
|
Where do I report a bug in the specification/test suite? |
|
|
If the bug is preventing you from certifying a product it should be reported into the Open Brand Certification Authority Problem Reporting system at http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/PR/ . From the Problem Reporting entry page select "Search/Submit", and then on the next screen "Submit an Interpretation (right hand column)". You are then presented with a screen where you must select the name of the Product Standard -- please select the lowest level product standard, for example if you are having a problem with the NFS Manual Validation Procedure within the COE Platform program select the COE Platform Standards Product Standard. When entering problems against the Manual Validation Procedures, select COE-VP as the name of the test suite, and give the chapter name, and version number, as well as the procedure reference (for example, A.1.1). If the bug does not concern Open Brand Certification, it should be reported into the test suite support team directly at http://www.opengroup.org/testing/support/ |
|
|
What must I check before referencing a Problem Report? |
|
|
Please check that the status of the Problem Report is either a test suite deficiency (TSD), certification system deficiency (CSD) or an interpretation (PIN or TIN). REJ means it was not agreed and therefore the PR may not be referenced. Please also check that the PR applies to the certification release of the test suite, which you are using. Please note that TSDs are test suite specific. If a Problem Report is an MSF (Minor System Fault) please note that it is system specific, and has an expiry date after which it is not valid (and will not be reissued). If you want the same MSF you need to apply for your system, but note that the expiry will be the same as the existing MSF. |
|
|
Where can I find out what has happened to the Problem Report I sent in a week ago? |
|
|
You can track problem report status on the Open Brand PR web site at http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/PR/ |
