Creating a Hardware Entry on C3
===============================

You can run certification tests without submitting them to C3; however, if
you want to certify the system, you need a C3 account. *If
you do not have an account for your company on the private certification
web site, or if you do not have access to your company's account, please
contact your Partner Engineer, who will work with the Server
Certification Team to establish the account.*

Additionally, anyone who needs to access the account on C3 will need their own
account on ``launchpad.net``, and their Launchpad account will need to be added to
the Access Control List for the company account. You can create a Launchpad
account at http://launchpad.net/+login. *If, after the Launchpad
account is created and you have been added to the ACL, you still can not see
the Account Information on C3, try logging out of C3, clearing any browser
cache and cookies, and logging back into C3.*

In order to upload test results to C3, you need to create a hardware entry
for the machine which you will be certifying; however, creating a new entry
is not always necessary. You *should* create an entry if:

* A C3 entry for that specific machine (model and configuration) does not
  already exist; *and*

* You plan to submit certification data for that machine.

You should *not* create a new entry if:

* C3 already hosts an entry for that specific machine; instead, use
  the existing entry, even if it has existing submissions associated with
  it (say, for an earlier version of Ubuntu); *or*

* You don't plan to submit certification data for this computer.

You can put off creating the C3 entry until after the test, although doing
it before testing is usually preferable. To create an entry you can go
directly to:

https://certification.canonical.com/hardware/create-system

If you have problems accessing this site, contact your assigned Partner
Engineer.

.. image:: ../images/hardware-creation-flowchart-landscape.png
           :alt: This flowchart outlines the steps necessary to create
                 hardware entries on C3.
           :width: 100%

The process of creating an entry is outlined in the preceding flowchart.

On C3, physical machines that have the same hardware characteristics are grouped
under the same **configuration**. A configuration is a conceptual group of
physical machines that share the same hardware combination of motherboard, CPU
and peripheral components delivered by an OEM or ODM. Similarly, a **platform**
is a set of configurations that share the same motherboard and BIOS ID.

When you create a new machine, you should first check if a platform and
configuration already exists for that machine. If it does, use the
existing configuration. Otherwise, create a new platform and/or
configuration:

#. Log in to C3 at |c3_link|.

#. Select *Admin > Account* from the top menu, and check whether a platform exists
   for the machine you are certifying. If it does, use the existing platform, otherwise,
   create a new platform:

   #. Click *Create platform*.
   #. Enter the platform name an other details.
   #. Click *Submit*.

#. On the platform page, check whether a configuration exists for the machine you are
   certifying. If it does, use the existing configuration, otherwise, create a new 
   configuration:

   #. Click *Create configuration*.
   #. Enter the configuration name and other details.
   #. Click *Submit*.

#. On the configuration page, click *Create machine*.

#. Fill in the details:

   * **Account** -- The name of your account. If the account is incorrect
     or can't be set, please contact your account manager for assistance.
     This field is never published; it is for internal use only.

   * **Configuration** -- The name of the configuration, which usually matches
     the model name. If no valid configuration exists for your hardware, please
     contact your account manager for assistance.
   
   * **Canonical label** -- Internal identifier that will be assigned by Canonical.

   * **SKU** -- This optional field specifies the SKU for the hardware.

   * **Web site** -- This optional field links to the system information on
     the manufacturer's web site. This field is not currently published
     publicly.

   * **Comment** -- This optional field holds any comment you want to make
     about the
     hardware, including things like tester name, test location, etc. 
     These comments are never made public, they are for internal use only.

   * **Architecture** -- The CPU architecture of the SUT. This is used
     internally and is not published.

   * **Confidential** -- Defaults to False (unchecked). Check the box if
     the system has not been publicly announced yet or should remain
     unpublished for any reason. This will cause the entire entry to *not*
     be published to the public web site.

#. Click *Submit*.

#. Note the "Secure ID for testing purposes" value. You'll need this
   when submitting the test results. (Note that this value is unique for
   each machine.)