Guidance Required on Windows Hardware Certification Process and WHQL Infrastructure Deployment

Question

Hello Everyone,

I hope this message finds you well.

I have recently assumed responsibility for the Windows hardware certification process of a driver developed by our company. I am striving to grasp some finer details pertinent to our unique case, relating to deploying the WHQL infrastructure, conducting driver tests, and submitting our driver for certification. I would greatly appreciate any assistance or insights you could provide regarding the queries listed below:

We possess a Windows driver functioning as a service driver. Its primary role is to enable our client agent/connector to operate as a service, albeit in kernel mode. This service caters to ioctl requests coupled with a process ID, forwarded to our client agent/connector. Upon receiving this request, the service driver injects the process with our libintcore dll library. Essentially, the inception of this driver aimed to overcome a security limitation in earlier Windows versions that barred our client agent from process injection.

The previous certification of our Windows driver utilized an older certification method. However, I comprehend that the current approach necessitates deploying the WHQL infrastructure (comprising controller, studio, and test Windows clients). Despite having a partial understanding of the new process, there are specific aspects I am still uncertain about:

Windows Versions Supported: Our software is compatible with all versions of Windows still receiving support from Microsoft, covering Windows Server, Windows 10, and 11. Is it obligatory to test and certify the driver for each individual build of Windows (e.g., Windows 10: 21H1, 21H2, etc.), or is certifying for the latest build of each OS version sufficient?

Category of Tests: Given that our Windows driver is of a software driver type, which category of tests should I administer?

Automation through CI/CD Pipeline: Has anyone here successfully implemented a CI/CD pipeline to automate the Windows Hardware Certification Process? If so, could you share your experiences or insights on whether or not this is feasible?

I am eager to learn from your experiences and would be thankful for any guidance or suggestions you can offer to assist me in navigating through this process efficiently and effectively.

Thank you for considering my queries. Looking forward to your valuable responses.

Warm Regards,

Bruno