[Hwcert-announce-list] Red Hat Hardware Certification Test Suite (hwcert-client-1.5.9-37) Release Candidate Package Available

[Engineering Partner Management]

Greetings Red Hat Partners,

We are pleased to announce the availability of the Red Hat Hardware 
Certification Test Suite Release Candidate (RC) (hwcert-client-1.5.9-37) 
for testing purposes with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x releases.

The Red Hat Hardware Certification Test Suite RC package 
(hwcert-client-1.5.9-37) is *not* an official release and should *not* 
be used for Red Hat Enterprise Linux certification submissions. The 
current Red Hat v7 Hardware Test Suite (v7-1.5-33) should continue to be 
used for official Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x certifications.

The Red Hat Hardware Certification Test Suite RC is available at the 
following location:

ftp://partners.redhat.com/a166eabc5cf5df158922f9b06e5e7b21/hwcert/RHEL5/hwcert-client/1.5.9/37.el5/


Highlights of the hwcert-client-1.5.9-37 test suite RC include:

* The test suite name is changed from v7 to hwcert-client.

* The hwcert-client-1.5.9-37 package only supports Red Hat Enterprise 
Linux 5.x releases. This continues the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 
version-specific test suite split introduced with v7-1.6 for Red Hat 
Enterprise Linux 6.x.

* The command "hwcert" (/usr/bin/hwcert) is introduced as the new 
default command. This command will attempt to complete any outstanding 
tests to certify the system while avoiding duplicate testing. This 
command behaves similarly to the previous "v7 certify" command.

* The previous manual "v7" command behavior is migrated to the 
"hwcert-backend" command. For example, "v7 print" is now "hwcert-backend 
print". Running specific tests use a command like "hwcert-backend run 
--test=core --test=memory".

* The storage test is now interactive by default. Users need to add 
"--auto" to the command line if they want the test to automatically 
choose the partition on which to run the test (the swap partition, by 
default).

* The hwcert-server-1.5 package is now deprecated. Test servers are 
standardized on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and are required to use the 
hwcert-server-1.6 package.

* The "plan" step is automated in the hwcert command and does not need 
to be manually run.

* A new package called "hwcert-client-info" is added. This package 
contains product release information, including kernel versions, that 
can be used by the test suite in environments where the the Red Hat 
partner FTP server cannot be reached to retrieve the latest product 
information.

* The results RPM data format is now deprecated. Results RPMs are no 
longer built during the "submit" step.

* Bug #957553, which was causing kdump and reboot tests to fail, has 
been fixed.

* New hwcert-{arch} and hwcert-{data} images are provided on:

ftp://partners.redhat.com/a166eabc5cf5df158922f9b06e5e7b21/hwcert/RHEL5/fv-images/

The FV guest images here are identical to those used with previous v7 
releases. The "hwcertData" image is a beta image containing the beta 
test suite hwcert-client-1.5.9-28.el5 for the RHEL5 + Xen based FV guest 
images. It can be used with the RC version of the test suite on the host.


The hwcert-client-1.5.9-37 package has been tested against Red Hat 
Enterprise Linux 5.9 on the x86, x86_64, ppc64, and s390x architectures. 
If you encounter any problems, please file bugs against the 'Red Hat 
Hardware Certification Program' product in Red Hat Bugzilla 
(https://bugzilla.redhat.com).


Changelog between v7-1.5.33 and hwcert-client-1.5.9-37:

   A traceback from "hwcert-backend continue" is fixed
   Hwcert-client man page updated to use the new commands
   872434 - pccard: Traceback if no PC Card plugged into the slot
   916358 - The xml should be updated to include RHEL5.9 GA kernel
   918737 - v7 tracebacks when <partner-server> is empty or missing
   918741 - [1.5] FEAT: ship kernelinfo.xml in it's own package
   919498 - FEAT: change the test suite command set to attempt to ...
   919499 - FEAT: deprecate results rpm building code
   920737 - hwcert-client 1.5.9 fv_tests fail - naming inconsistencies
   921224 - hwcert-client 1.5.9 R6 syntax error in kdump test
   921227 - FEAT: Rename v7 to hwcert-backend
   921236 - FEAT: address prompting quirks from 'hwcert' command
   921585 - hwcert-client 1.5.9 should not include a server package
   923199 - kdump reboot fills console output asking for deleting ...
   947961 - INFO: traceback when check rpm package
   951676 - need %obsoletes v7
   952829 - adding reboot test causes traceback
   955759 - plan on xen kernel errors with NameError: global name ...
   956323 - 1.5 fv_* test traceback
   956275 - hwcert-client 1.5 should require RHEL5
   963480 - fv_ tests INCOMPLETE after first run on a data image
   966723 - Using forced timer config on profiler always fails
   976694 - info tests failed in RHEL5.0 x86 and x64

Known Issues list for hwcert-client-1.5.9-37:

   957557 - hwlatdetect fails to import
   An issue with the KVM modules in RHEL 5.9 will cause an INFO test
     failure if virt testing is done with KVM. However, Xen testing
     is the requirement in RHEL 5 and Xen guests will not be affected
     by this issue.

We value your ongoing participation in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 
development, testing, and certification efforts. Thank you for your 
continued partnership. If you have any questions or comments, please do 
not hesitate to contact your Partner Manager or Technical Account Manager.

Regards,

The Red Hat Hardware Certification Team