Inside Intel: From Silicon to the World

Intel’s Compatibility Validation Labs

After a platform makes it through the SV labs, it’s tested in the CV labs in a manner much more like what an end-user would encounter.  The types of tests run in the CV labs range from network tests to playing games (which seemed to gather the majority of the CV engineers).  Platforms are also validated using various types of hardware to ensure compatibility. 

CV Client testing

More CV testing

...CV testing continues

The best part of the job

For example, Intel’s Enterprise Platforms & Services Division let us in on just how much of a validation effort went into their SCB2 motherboard.  That particular board is representative of what normally goes into server motherboard validation. 

The board was extensively validated in 5 operating systems (most motherboard manufacturers do 2, some with different languages, some perform extensive tests under 4 OSes) and “power on” tested in a few other operating systems as well. 

The board was also tested with:

Over 15 memory modules
Over 4 Fiber channel cards
Over 10 Network cards
5 SCSI controllers
More than 5 CD/DVD drives
More than 10 hard drives
More than 7 removable media devices
More than 10 different reference cases
Multiple input devices, tape drives, and modems

These boards face over 10,000 hours of validation which ends up being almost 1.5 years of pure testing before they’re able to be sold.