Chapter 2. Overview of the OS/2 PCM Compatibility Testkit

The OS/2 PCM Compatibility Testkit is a set of automated test cases that verify that your hardware is compatible with OS/2 Warp. The OS/2 PCM Compatibility Testkit Version 4.6 tests the networking capabilities of the system. Personal computer manufacturers must establish network compatibility before a system can be added to the list of compatible systems.

This chapter describes:

Using the Testkit

A good way to create your test environment is to start with systems that you know are compatible with OS/2 Warp and run all the tests in that environment. If a test case fails in an environment that is known to be compatible with OS/2 Warp, troubleshooting is not complicated by having a new system that may or may not be compatible with OS/2 Warp.

The steps involved in using the OS/2 PCM Compatibility Testkit are:

  1. Obtaining the necessary hardware and operating system software

  2. Connecting and configuring the machines to create a stable test environment (see Chapter 3, "Building the Test Environment")

  3. Testing your machine in the stable environment by doing the following:

  1. Submitting the results to the OS/2 PCM Compatibility Test Program Office

  2. Receiving email or fax confirmation from the OS/2 PCM Compatibility Test Program Office that your hardware has passed the test and will be added to the lists of compatible systems

This document provides detailed instructions to guide you through these procedures.

OS/2 PCM Compatibility Testkit Materials

The OS/2 PCM Compatibility Testkit Version 4.6 consists of:

Which Tests are Required

To be placed in the list of compatible systems your hardware must pass:

See Chapter 8, "PCM Base Test Case Details" and Chapter 9, "LAN Test Case Details" for a complete listing of the test cases.

Base Tests

You must perform the OS/2 base compatibility tests on all systems, whether they are designated as client or server systems. The OS/2 base compatibility tests consist of:

Running the entire set of base tests takes approximately one and one half days. This includes time for setup and results processing.

Network Tests

In addition to the base tests, your hardware must pass the network tests, which verify networking functions. A system may be tested as a client system, as a server system, or both.

Testing as a Server

If you want your system included in the list of compatible server systems, you must test it in both the additional server and domain controller roles as shown in Figure 3. You must submit a test results diskette showing that your system has passed the base tests and the network tests. Base system testing must be done only once using the additional server role. Network testing must be done for both the additional server and domain controller roles.

Testing as a Client

If you want your system included in the list of compatible client systems, you must test it in both client 1 and client 2 roles as shown in Figure 3. You must submit a test results diskette showing that it has passed the base tests and the network tests. Base system testing must be done only once using the client 1 role. Network testing must be done for both the client 1 and client 2 roles.

Testing as Both Client and Server

If you want your system included in both lists, compatible client systems and compatible server systems, you must perform all the tests and submit two test results diskettes, one from server testing and another from client testing.

Base testing is required in both client and server roles because the OS/2 base differs between the client and server products.

Duration of the Tests

The network tests take approximately two days to complete, including setting up the test environment, running the test cases, and collecting the results.

You should allow at least four days for the network tests to allow time to resolve problems and to rerun test cases after you fix problems discovered during the tests. This document describes an environment that can eliminate or minimize setup problems. If you choose to use a different configuration, troubleshooting might be more difficult.

The Test Environment

The test environment consists of a network of systems configured as shown in the following figure:

Figure 3. The OS/2 PCM Compatibility Testkit Test Environment

The systems in this environment are:

This server system controls access by users, manages the resources of your network, and controls the sharing of resources.

This system handles other server functions, such as file access, remote connections, and network printing.

The test cases require both domain and server tests to verify that your system correctly handles the handshaking between the domain and server systems.

These systems act as requesters of services provided by the domain controller and the additional server, and test the peer-to-peer networking features of OS/2 Warp Version 4.

To set up this environment, you need:

Note:

PCM compatibility testing requires only two client systems in the test environment. However, to meet certain requests from your customers, you may need to test server systems with more than two clients. See Appendix G, "Testing with Additional LAN Clients" for more information.

Note:

If analog phone lines are not available, you can choose to test with a Null Modem cable instead of using modems.

Server Software Requirements

Installation materials (CD and diskettes) for the server operating system. This can be any of the following:

Server Hardware Requirements

The minimum hardware for each server is:

Client Software Requirements

You may install one of these operating systems on a client system:

Client Hardware Requirements

The minimum hardware for each client is:

Selecting LAN Adapter Cards

Note:

Additional information on LAN Adapters supported can be found on the WEB at: http://service.software.ibm.com/os2ddpak/html/index.htm.

Finding a Supported Modem

Use a modem that is supported by LAN Distance. A list of supported modems is provided in the online IBM Remote Access Guides.