[German]The Microsoft networking team has changed the way network interface cards (NICs) are certified in future for use in Windows Server. This affects vendors who want their drivers for network adapters listed in the Windows Server Catalog. Microsoft changes the rules for certification for an operating system from time to time. For administrators, the question is: Can my NIC be used for all workloads? Which NIC is best for my workloads? How does Azure Stack HCI use Windows Server certifications?
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Increasing demands on NICs
Microsoft states in this article that with each new OS release, Microsoft provides new offloads for the NIC. These provide additional functionality (e.g., RDMA, VMMQ, etc.) or increased system efficiency (in the form of reducing the host CPU processing network traffic). These offloads can take years to develop and are the result of collaboration between NIC vendors (IHVs), OEMs and Microsoft.
With each new offload, Microsoft publishes tests in the Hardware Lab Kit (HLK) to ensure that the NIC vendor and Microsoft have done everything right in developing the feature. These tests complement the functional (e.g., RDMA, VMMQ, etc.) and scenario (Storage Spaces Direct, etc.) tests that a NIC vendor performs during the development of its driver.
To be certified for Windows, each vendor must pass the tests Microsoft specifies for various NIC capabilities. If the vendor passes additional tests, it can qualify for a special designation in the Windows Server Catalog called "Additional Qualification" (AQ). These include the SDDC Standard or SDDC Premium nomenclature listed on some NICs. Here is an example of a certified device that received our highest designation, SDDC Premium.
But it crystallized that the previous test scenarios for certifying NICs with current Windows Server versions were not sufficient.
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Previous certifications outdated
The previous certification structure (for Windows Server 2019) was based on adapter connection speeds. This meant that additional requirements (Microsoft tests) were imposed for any adapter with 10 Gbps or more, regardless of the adapter's intended use (as intended by the manufacturer). This resulted in lower driver quality for some adapters. The reason was that the partners running Microsoft tests were not aware of the additional scenarios for which their adapters were to be used. For example, a 10 Gbps management adapter would not be tested by the NIC vendor for Storage Spaces Direct.
The bottom line was that this led to confusion for customers who were unaware of these scenario limitations of the adapter they were purchasing. The old certification structure worked for common scenarios designed for Windows Server 2008 through Windows Server 2019. There, the general assumption was that all adapters should offer the same capabilities – and that a faster NIC is a better NIC.
Not enough for Windows Server 2022
After discussions with our NIC partners and a growing number of support cases during our last certification cycle with Windows Server 2022, it became clear that the existing structure was not a good fit for several scenarios that were becoming more common. The problem areas were as follows:
- Switchless storage adapters that do not require some of the advanced virtualization features
- Single-node clusters that do not require high-performance storage replication capabilities
- Increasing network speeds of adapters that pass all link speed tests but failed in specific customer deployment scenarios.
The bottom line was an increasing number of support cases that resulted in the frustrating statement "not supported" even though the NIC device was certified.
The new certification requirements
Microsoft is replacing the old "connection speed" based NIC certification structure with a "role-based" structure that matches a device certification to its intended purpose. Administrators can already see these changes in Windows Server 2022 certifications in the Windows Server Catalog. A certified adapter can now list how the NIC can be used, for example:
- Management Traffic – traffic such as (but not limited to) Remote Desktop, PowerShell Remoting, Windows Admin Center, and connecting to Active Directory and DNS. You will likely add a default gateway to this adapter.
- Non-SMB based live migration (TCP or compression).
- Replication of data between Stretch cluster sites, as this adapter has a default gateway.
- Compute Traffic – this adapter can be used to carry virtualized network traffic. This includes traffic originating from or destined for a VM or container. This can also include virtual NICs used by the host.
- Storage Traffic – This adapter can be used for "east-west" traffic over the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, such as Storage Spaces Direct or SMB-based live migration.
Note: The official definitions (listed here) may be updated over time to make them more descriptive and to keep you informed. Administrators for whom the topic of NIC selection is relevant in their server environment (Windows Server 2022) can find further clarification in the Microsoft Techcommunity postNIC Certification updates in the Windows Server Catalog. Hopefully, the NICs listed in the Windows Server Catalog will meet the requirements. (via)
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