The Common Operating Environment (COE) Platform certification covers UNIX®, POSIX® and Linux® based systems. The Open Group launched the program in response to the DISA decision to transition DII COE certification to the industry. Based on the DISA Cross Platform Compliance criteria, the program provides assurance that conforming systems provide services to COE applications software through conforming APIs, that they present a specific appearance and behavior at the Human-Computer Interface level, have demonstrated interoperability and data interchange requirements, and meet a set of security requirements. The Open Group acts as the Certification Authority.

Benefits

The program benefits both customers and vendors by:

• Providing assurance of the platform conformance and interoperability
• Matching the level of assurance to the needs of the particular application
• Meeting the same levels of assurance as the former DISA program
• Reducing the costs and risks of getting certified.

Under the program, vendor guarantee conformance to specification. This guarantee ensures that products conform to a specification, remain conformant throughout the life of the product’s registration, and any non-conformance will be promptly fixed. All current certified products are listed in the Register of Certified Products

“We are pleased that The Open Group introduced this program as a way for the industry to certify conformance of their Linux platforms with the COE specification. This will reduce testing costs and allow the military to procure Linux systems with the confidence that they will support warfighters’ needs.”
Dawn Meyerriecks, Principal Director for GIG Enterprise Services, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), US Department of Defense

The conformance requirements are defined in the Product Standards. The Product Standards define what a conforming product must to do be compliant, provides mapping between products and the COE Platform compliance, and defines the testing requirements.

COE Platform Product Standards consist of

• Top level foundation product standard for the application
• Three constituent product standards organized by subject area
  • COE Platform Government-Supplied kernel Source
  • COE Platform Security
  • COE Platform Standards

• The COE certification program is a voluntary program administered by The Open Group and is part of the brand certification program.
• Vendors will be granted a license to use the certification trademark in connection with their product when this product has passed the applicable certification test suite(s) and they have formally agreed to all the required terms.
• The Trademark License Agreement must be fully signed by both the vendor and The Open Group in order to have a product certified.
• Vendors must enter into a Certification Agreement for each product registration. A certified product is subject to re-certification on a periodic basis as stated in the COE Platform Certification Policy.
• All product information supplied to The Open Group, which acts as the Certification Authority, will be treated as confidential as required by the Certification Agreement.
• The Open Group may, from time to time, request proof that a certified product remains in compliance with the requirements outlined in the COE Platform Conformance requirements as per the COE Platform Certification Policy Document.

• Starting Point for COE Platform Certification
• The COE Platform Certification Policy (pdf)
  The document defines the policies governing the operation of the COE Platform certification program. These policies address what can be certified, what it means to be certified, and the process for achieving and maintaining certification.
• Trademark License Agreement (TMLA)
• The COE Platform Certification Agreement
  The agreement covers the terms and conditions of the Certification Service.
• The Guide to COE Platform Certification
  The guide describes the certification process.
• Product Standards
• The list of currently authorized test suites
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Diagrammatic Overview of the COE Platform Certification
• Information on The Open Group's Open Brand Certification Program
• The Open Group Certification Register
• The COE Platform Certification Problem Reporting System and Database
• Conformance Statement Questionnaires
• COE Resources, including the Hosts Security Test Suite and the Manual Validation Procedures
• Testing