How to Improve Driver Quality With Winqual / WHQL Scott Herrboldt Director Windows Hardware Online Services (WHOS) microsoft.com Microsoft Corporation

Session Outline Windows Hardware Online Services State of Driver Quality Today Participating in the Designed for Windows (DFW) Logo program Recent improvements Windows codenamed “Longhorn” Partner Logo Program Using Windows Error Reports Responding to customer issues Updated tools now available Using Windows Update Customer feedback update The right driver for the right machine Planned expansion of Windows Update Content for Longhorn

Windows Hardware Online Services The Windows Hardware Online Services (WHOS) team focuses on helping IHV and OEM partners create, support and deliver high quality products running Windows Key Services offered: Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) Winqual.Microsoft.com Product testing submissions Windows Error Reports Driver Distribution Center for Windows Update Windows Catalog & Marketplace Listings

State of Driver Quality - Trends March ‘04March ‘05 #Category# 1Display17.9%1 Display ▬ 17.9% 2Pool/Memory Corruption13.6%2 Pool/Memory Corruption ▲ 15.9% 3OS Core13.5%3 OS Core ▲ 14.2% 4Networking12.6%4 Networking ▼ 10.8% 5Multimedia9.51%5 Multimedia ▼ 7.68% 6Application Drivers6.57%6 Application Drivers ▲ 7.51% 7Anti-virus5.54%7 Hardware Failures ▲ 7.00% 8CD-Burning5.39%8 Anti-virus ▼ 5.42% 9Hardware Failures4.99%9 Storage ▲ 4.94% 10Storage4.60%10 CD-Burning ▼ 4.28%

Customers are Not Getting Needed Assistance Customer responses exist for only 48% of all crashes Only 58% of those responses offer the user a solution 20% identify what driver or hardware caused the problem, but no solution is available We need to work together Share symbols with Microsoft so we can better analyze customer crashes Security & Privacy of symbols covered by legal agreements Use Winqual to provide assistance to for our mutual customers

Customers Expect Better Reliability Freq% Cust% V-Sat% D-Sat 00%-- 133%70%3% 219%53%6% 312%39%9% 48%40%10% 56%35%5% >523%26%21% On average, how many times per month does Windows crash or experience serious bugs? Driver reliability issues are costing you money January 2003 survey of 754 homes and 503 small businesses Derived Crash to PSS Cost Ratio $30/call) Crashes A large OEM did a study of blue screen related calls Result: OCA predicted blue screen-related calls on a 6:1 ratio In a Microsoft survey, crash frequency was found to be highly correlated with decreases in customer satisfaction

Customers Expect Ease of Use Expectation When I report a crash, I will receive help When I plug in a new device, it works automatically When a solution exists for a problem I’m having, Windows should automatically update me Reality 52% of crashes still need solutions Many product installation experiences require loading software manually Only 19% of improved drivers that have been submitted to WHQL are available to users through Windows Update

Microsoft Service Investments in Driver Quality Need An understanding of what your top customer satisfaction issues are Mechanisms to validate quality in your products The ability to reach your customers when an update is needed Solution Windows Error Report data analysis for your products Logo Programs, HCT & WDK, WHQL assistance Driver Distribution Center for Windows Update What tools does Microsoft provide to help meet increasing customer expectations?

Participating in the DFW Logo program

WHQL Response & Supportability Improvements Dramatic simplification of tech support Reduced complexity in contacting WHQL support 2-tier support model Reducing turnaround and improving response quality Latest HCT releases address most critical errata Planning regular service pack cycle focused on errata reduction Top 36 Errata fixed

WHQL Program Improvements & Expansion Open for x64 driver business HCT released for testing x64 drivers WHQL is now accepting x64 submissions x64 submissions free of charge at this time Improved Universal Test Process For devices where formal logo program does not exist Test process is changing from full-test to self-test effective May 1, 2005 Submission fees reduced to normal self-test fees Turnaround time is now 7 vs. 30 days Requirements Run & pass the universal section of HCT Sign the Windows Error Reports Terms of Use agreement Provide symbols

Introducing the “Premium" Logo Program A new qualification level for the Longhorn hardware logo program The “Premium" program will recognize products that deliver the premium Longhorn experience The “Standard” program equates to today’s DFW program New level created in response to partner feedback and Microsoft improvement efforts Need to differentiate products Relevance of requirements to an evolving industry Harmonize the different Microsoft logo programs

A Foundation for Future Driver Quality Programs Microsoft is producing a set of device class independent tests and tools* to verify driver quality Drivers that successfully pass these tests will be digitally signed, regardless of logo program participation “Premium” Requirements build on each other “Standard” “Quality”

Introducing Driver Quality Rating (DQR) Method of measuring driver quality in the field Derived from mathematical probability that a given driver caused a system crash Data is normalized to treat low and high volume drivers equally The DQR will be a score from 1 to 9 Values 1 to 3 (Red) indicates a high level of problems Values 4 to 6 (Yellow) indicates a medium level of problems Values 7 to 9 (Green) indicates a low level of problems DQR for your products will be available to you on Winqual Uses of DQR Prioritize driver maintenance work Help OEMs update preloads for optimal user experience Gold logo requirement Clarify Windows Update content policy

Industry DQR Distribution Today Most drivers on today’s scale fall into the green category 91% Green 5% Yellow 5% Red Providing symbols is critical for an accurate DQR Providing symbols will likely increase your DQR (higher is better) Rating Percent of Drivers* 12.43% 20.75% 31.31% 41.08% 51.83% 61.53% 75.35% % % *Most popular drivers from Feb 2005

Utilizing Windows Error Reports

Using Windows Error Reports Kernel mode crash data is updated hourly on Winqual Example of Realized Value Release of driver to web increased crashes by 10x in 3 days In this example it took a number of days to catch problem This company now uses Winqual to monitor new releases of drivers in real time

Using Windows Error Reports to Assist Through Winqual you can provide customized responses to customer who are experiencing crashing problems

Using Windows Error Reports to Assist Microsoft regularly surveys customers and will work with you to provide the best possible customer experience

Announcing Windows Error Reports 4.0 Improved UI including navigation and shrink & grow sections New chart mode Comparison against industry average Various trending views New result set filtering with over 20 new filtering attributes Now search by bucket, driver, device and PnP ID New data drill-downs by vendor, driver, and device Improved bucket details New CAB details with call stacks, in memory processes and system uptime Filter CAB files prior to downloading Available NOW on

Using Windows Update

Windows Update Operational Facts Total Investment $60+ million per year (HW, FTE’s, egress) $23 million FY’04 egress bandwidth Data Centers, Download Servers and Egress 3 Data Centers 436 Servers Caching Servers 24 Languages 100Gb/s peak egress capacity WUv5 Site Availability Microsoft Domain Availability 99.85% (Keynote report 2004) Top most available site/service (Keynote) when compared with AOL, Google Cost Effective Distribution Service Technological advantages Economics of scale Inexpensive in-house hosting Relationships with CDNs, ISPs Average Monthly Driver Downloads (Nov04-Mar05) 20,545,964

Customers Requesting Hardware Updates on WU Consumers rank most important to update: 1.Windows 2.Anti-virus 3.Hardware 4.Anti-spam 5.Office Corporations rank most important to update: 1.Outlook/Exchange 2.ISA Server 3.MBSA 4..NET Framework 5.SQL Request 6/03 Rank 12/04 Rank More hardware updates21 Better information32 More update types13 Speed up the process44 Fewer reboots65 Filter updates56 Misc. smaller updates, CD)77

Effectiveness of Windows Update Huge impact on driver quality when we partner for the fix and get the right driver on Windows Update Audio Driver Example Fix available for everyone in February 2004 Worked with a key OEM to put fix on WU as a critical update WU Critical Fix released

Drivers on Windows Update Today Increased reach with WU v5 release at Windows XP SP2 Hosting 1000’s of driver packages from 100’s of companies 44 active driver packages being tracked for OCA reduction Drivers can be posted to WU through Driver Distribution Center on Winqual Critical Driver Updates Push critical OCA fixes down to customers Currently 18 critical update packages posted for drivers Contact microsoft.com to participate

Rich Targeting on Windows Update Challenges OEM/IHV wants custom drivers on generic hardware that supports custom value-add software Driver is specific to a premium sku of Windows (MCE, Tablet) Driver should be critical for customers who are experiencing problems, recommended for everyone else Goals Allow driver packages to specify granular applicability criteria beyond PnP ID Provide flexibility in detection mechanism without adding arbitrary code Make it simple for driver package developers

Rich Targeting Technology basis Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) A component of Windows that provides management information and control in an enterprise environment Exposes Windows component properties through a consistent object- oriented interface WMI queries are similar to (SQL) queries Available fields Win32_ComputerSystem.Manufacturer Win32_ComputerSystem.Model Win32_BIOS.SMBIOSBIOSVersion Win32_BIOS.Name Available operators = <> or != LIKE Acceptable query values Vendor provided text strings

Rich Targeting – How It Works USB\VID_045E&PID_008C OEM: Unknown USB\VID_045E&PID_008C OEM: ComputerCo Standard Retail driver for USB\VID_045E&PID_008C Custom OEM driver for USB\VID_045E&PID_008C Windows Update

Announcing the Online Provisioning Initiative Microsoft plans to expand Windows Update to support all device-related software in Longhorn What this means: Your device software product can be distributed through Windows Update, not just the device driver portion Goals: “It Just Works” - deliver an integrated end user experience that makes devices fully functional with Windows automatically Adjust content policies to balance customer, partner & Microsoft needs What you need to do: Include your full product software in your WHQL submissions Testing requirements remain unchanged, focus on the driver Move to DIFx based setup packages

Planned Improvements to Longhorn Driver Search Windows Update treated as an extension of inbox driver support Online Provisioning of device related software ensures full functionality after install If support not found customer can be routed to 3 rd party website

Call To Action Improve Driver Quality using Winqual / WHQL Understand what your top driver quality issues are Provide symbols so we can better analyze your crashes and provide you with an accurate DQR Distribute fixes to customers via Windows Update Move forward with your x64 driver plans, demand is growing Provide feedback on the "Gold" logo requirements Will be available in the draft 0.6 version of the Windows Logo Program 3.0 requirements document Include your full product software in your WHQL submissions

Community Resources Windows Hardware & Driver Central (WHDC) Technical Communities Non-Microsoft Community Sites Microsoft Public Newsgroups Technical Chats and Webcasts Microsoft Blogs

Additional Resources microsoft.com Web Resources: Tools: Information: Related Sessions Business Value of the Windows Device Software Life Cycle The Next Generation Logo Program An Introduction Windows Driver Quality Signature The WDK for Engineering Managers and Product Planners: An Introduction DMI: Driver Install Frameworks Tools and Strategies

© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This presentation is for informational purposes only. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, in this summary.