Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook

Transcription

1 Handbook Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook Global Guide

2 P r e f a c e This handbook is intended as a practical guide to using, and getting the most from, Novell Technical Support. Referenced in this document are support programs available to Novell Volume, Master, Academic and Schools License Agreement (VLA, MLA, ALA, SLA) customers. Many Novell policies are outlined in the Master Services Agreement (MSA). Information regarding Support Terms and Conditions, the Technical Support programs and a complete description of available services may be found in the Services Guides at We encourage you to read this information carefully. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 2

3 Preface... 2 Introducing Novell Technical Support... 4 Your Technical Support Purchase... 5 Using Novell Support Tools... 7 Accessing Novell Technical Support Expectations and Responsibilities Understanding the Novell Support Process Escalation Policies Useful Information Appendix Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 3

4 I n t r o d u c i n g N o v e l l T e c h n i c a l S u p p o r t Novell Services is dedicated to providing quality service offerings that consistently meet or exceed our customers expectations. Our professional, customer-focused services are backed by more than 25 years experience in building and supporting technical solutions for multi-vendor, multi-lingual, global enterprises. Regardless of your platform mix, the Novell Services team can provide the support you need. Services range from 24x7 support center assistance (via chat, or call back on standard Novell product configurations) to Dedicated Support Engineers providing full-time support, knowledge and expertise for business critical or highly customized solutions. We provide extensive self-help options via our award winning 1 support Web site. The support knowledgebase has been used by customers and employees alike for more than 10 years, and provides access to more than 421,000 articles, including Technical Information Documents (TIDs), white papers, read me documents and more. The forums and communities are available at no cost and allow users to interact with Novell and each other to build individual expertise and enhance the collective store of information. Through the comprehensive search capability you can find the most recent patches for products, look for product documentation, search for technical information documents, find tips and tricks and more than 10,000 additional technical articles and free tools. Novell Technical Services is a global organization with personnel providing technical support across all Novell technologies and select third-party products. Support is delivered via in-country support centers, as well as extensive field-based resources located close to customers around the world. The Novell support organization follows established processes (developed over more than 25 years) to ensure timely resolution of support issues; and, it has attained certification under the Service Capability and Performance (SCP) Support and Field Service Standards. Additionally, Novell is an active member of TSANet ensuring that multi-vendor issues can be resolved without adverse impact to customers. To learn more about TSANet, read Resolving Multi-vendor Issues (see page 20), or visit To learn more about Novell Support, please visit and 2008 winner of the Association of Support Professionals (ASP) Ten Best Support Web Sites ( Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 4

5 Y o u r T e c h n i c a l S u p p o r t P u r c h a s e Depending on the way you purchase software products from Novell, you will either have access to maintenance (providing technical support benefits), or, you may purchase a technical support package. The following shows the technical support options available to customers based on the buying program: Volume License Agreement Master License Agreement Academic/Schools License Agreement Support/ Maintenance Features Standard Maintenance Support (Linux Only) Access 12x5 12x5 Response Time 4 hours 4 hours Coverage Product specific support via chat, or call back Product specific support via chat, or call back Priority Maintenance Support Access 24x7 24x7* Response Time 4 hours (1 hour severity 1**) 4 hours (1 hour severity 1**) Coverage Product specific support via chat, or call back, phone for severity 1** Product specific support via chat, or call back, phone for severity 1** Premium Service Some MLA customers qualify for higher-level services (Advanced 1, 2 and Enterprise 1, 2). For complete details go to grams/mla.html Academic Service Request Packs Access Response Time Coverage 24x7 2 hours Various Service Request packs are available. Go to ograms/academic.html Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 5

6 Optional Additional Support Services (available to all customers ) (Further services are available. For details please contact your local Novell office or visit Premium Service Engineers Access to a named engineer with increased levels of contact; Assigned, Primary or Dedicated Support Engineer (ASE, PSE, DSE) package; includes Service Account Management Service Account Management Non-technical account management to assist with coordinating and advocating your Novell software services needs as well as providing escalation assistance On-site Assistance Services to assist with technical issues at your site Scheduled Standby Assistance with pre-planned work such as upgrades and migrations * For Linux purchases, MLA customers can also purchase Standard maintenance ** See description on page 17 for a definition of severity levels For VLA and MLA customers, maintenance must be current prior to purchase of optional services Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 6

7 U s i n g N o v e l l S u p p o r t T o o l s Novell support tools are designed to provide you with the latest technical information, patches, fixes and more, which allow you to immediately resolve many of your technical issues. You have access to a customized Web site via your Novell Account: Accessing Service Request Information Online You can get access to the secure areas of novell.com through your Novell account. To set up your Novell account profile, go to and select Login from the top menu bar. Select Create Account and complete the required fields, and click Create Login. Once you have set up your profile, you can enter the electronic Service Request site at You may be asked to enter your last name and Contact ID when you login to the self-service site for the first time. Your Novell account profile will then store this information for future logins. For detailed information on using the electronic Service Request portal, please visit Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 7

8 Also, please read Accessing Novell Technical Support on page 10 for more information on how to log Service Requests. We encourage you to use one or more of the following support tools before logging a technical support Service Request: Novell Support Web Site The Novell Support Web site provides a single source of comprehensive technical information and support options. With daily updates, this site gives you access to the latest news on Novell products and technologies through Technical Information Documents (TIDs), downloadable files, patches and drivers. This site also offers advanced searching capability with answers ranked according to relevance. Novell Professional Resource Suite The Novell Professional Resource Suite (NPRS) combines all the support resources you need to troubleshoot problems, update your systems and train yourself on Novell products (at your own pace). This subscription also includes the Novell Software Evaluation and Development Library; shipping, beta and early-access release versions of Novell software and the Novell Developer Kit (NDK); a comprehensive set of software development tools to help take your technology skills to the next level. With this all-inclusive subscription, everything you need to make the most of your Novell products is available 24x7 online through the Subscriber Portal (updated daily), or on CD/DVD (updated monthly). (Some resources such as training resources and access to Linux* registration codes are only available via the Subscriber Portal.) You can manage your subscription online and track CD shipments, as well as modify subscription recipients within your organization. To access the Subscriber Portal, go to and select Subscriber Portal from the left navigation menu. The Novell Professional Resource Suite is also available as an expanded subscription Novell Professional Resource Suite - Portal Advantage. This subscription includes more than just physical deliverables. You also receive four additional subscriber portal accounts, server installation and expanded licensing. This is an ideal option for teams of five or less professionals. A subscription can be purchased as an add-on to your maintenance or support package. Simply contact your Novell partner or order online. For order details and additional information please visit (Note: For MLA customers qualifying for Enterprise 1 or 2, subscriptions to the NPRS plus four portal accounts are included as part of your benefits.) To access any of your online benefits, assign or reassign subscriptions (within your account), change your online profile or check on CD/DVD shipments, activating your subscription is required. Soon after you purchase your Enterprise 1 or 2 contract, you will receive an informing you that your starter kit will be sent within 10 days. You will also receive instructions on activating your subscription and completing the account set up process. These same instructions are listed here: Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 8

9 How to Activate your Subscription: 1. Click the Activation link included in Step 1 of the you received 2. Follow the on-screen instructions 3. If you have or are purchasing or receiving a subscription (e.g. Novell Professional Resource Suite Portal Advantage which includes several subscriptions), follow the online instructions to assign any unassigned subscription, to others at your company. How to Access your Subscription Benefits: 1. Access the Subscriber Portal at 2. Select your subscription under My Subscriptions (e.g. Novell Professional Resource Suite) 3. Select one of the benefits listed on the page: Download software Access self-study manuals Download licenses Access on-demand training Request Linux* registration codes Upgrade or renew a subscription (see Download utilities Subscription Details) Search technical resources Edit your current shipping address Review your shipping history How to Assign or Reassign Subscriptions within your Account: 1. Access the Subscriber Portal 2. Select your subscription (e.g. Admin Account, Novell Professional Resource Suite-Portal Advantage ) within the My Subscriptions area 3. Click on Manage Subscription 4. Click Assign by an Unassigned Subscription or Reassign by an Activated Subscription and provide the required contact information. The individual you are assigning or reassigning will receive an that instructs how to activate their account before they re able to take ownership. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 9

10 How to Get Help with your Novell Technical Subscriptions: If you have questions or problems with your subscription, please a Novell Services specialist at subscriptions@novell.com. How to Subscribe to Updates and Newsletters You can subscribe to a range of notifications and newsletter services that automatically provide you with the latest Novell technical information. By subscribing to any number of list servers, you can customize your flow of information to include only the information that is relevant to your systems. To manage your subscriber options, go to Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 10

11 A c c e s s i n g N o v e l l T e c h n i c a l S u p p o r t Activating Product Maintenance Prior to Accessing Support If you purchase products under a Master or Volume License Agreement and purchase maintenance, you will receive an entitlement to technical support. Once your order is placed with Novell, the main contact on the order for your organization will receive an confirmation. If you have an existing Novell account, all product subscriptions and support entitlements will be activated automatically if the address used to place your order matches that in your Novell Login Account. To check or update your address, log in at and select from the navigation menu My Profile > Login Profile. If you do not have a Novell Login Account, click the "Installation" link in the confirmation . This will take you through the steps of creating a Novell Login Account so you can activate your products and support. Once activated, you will receive another confirming (with technical details) your Support and Training entitlements. For more information, please visit What to do Before Submitting a Service Request Prior to escalating any issue to Novell, ensure you have first searched the Novell support website for possible answers to your issue. If you cannot find a resolution to your issue and need to log a Service Request, the following basic information will assist Novell in resolving the problem as quickly and efficiently as possible: WHAT is the problem? Which version of Novell product(s) is/are having the problem? Which service pack level is loaded? What error messages (if any) are returned? What troubleshooting steps have already been performed prior to escalating to Novell? WHERE does the problem occur? What is the production environment or test environment? On which sites, servers, directories or clients does the problem occur? Where does the problem not occur? WHEN does the problem occur? When did the problem first occur? Were changes made prior to the problem occurring? If so, what (e.g. installation of products, service packs, network changes, etc.)? How frequent is the problem (constant, hourly, daily, weekly, etc.)? WHAT is the extent of the problem? Is a workaround available? What is the business impact of the problem? Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 11

12 Information Required to Log a Service Request After purchasing Maintenance, or a technical support package, your Contact ID will be ed to you. This unique number identifies you when accessing Novell Support online or by telephone, and is used to log support Service Requests against your support entitlement. All of your Accounts, Agreements and Entitlements with Novell support are connected to your Contact ID number. Logging a Service Request You can submit Service Requests online by visiting First, log in using your Novell account username and password. Then select Submit New SR and follow the on-screen instructions. (You will need to enter your Contact ID the first time you set up your Novell account. This number will then be stored for future logins.) As part of the process, you choose your preferred response method: Chat Now you re able to get real-time access to Novell support engineers and allow your support engineer to connect to your system for improved troubleshooting and easier walk-through directions. You can even grant full control of your desktop or server so that he/she can work directly on your problem, without requiring any assistance from you. Chat support is available in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. For detailed information about this service, go to or Call-back - Request support via a call back or and a Novell support engineer will contact you within the response time parameters of your support agreement. Please provide all of the details so that the engineers can begin to quickly resolve your issue. We encourage you to enter Service Requests electronically where possible; however, if your issue needs immediate attention, or is outside of business hours and is of a critical nature, you may register your Service Request by phone. Logging a High Severity or Severity 1 Service Request A high severity issue is defined as a system down situation absent of any procedural work-around (production server or system is completely down and is not operational, or the operation of a mission critical application is severely impacted by the problem and work cannot reasonably continue). In this situation you must log the Service Request by phone (there is no High severity option to select online). Unless your agreement grants you access to an Assigned, Primary or Dedicated Support Engineer, a Customer Service Representative (CSR) will handle your call. The CSR will log your Service Request and then assign you to a Novell Support Engineer. Calling the Support Center Americas Toll free Toll Asia Pacific Australia Macau China (Northern) Malaysia China (Southern) New Zealand Hong Kong Philippines India Singapore Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 12

13 Calling the Support Center Indonesia Taiwan Japan Thailand Korea Toll direct dial USA Europe, Middle East and Africa (by language) English Italian French Spanish German Logging a Service Request with Your Assigned, Primary or Dedicated Support Engineer If you have purchased, or are entitled to a level of service providing access to an ASE, PSE or DSE, you should call your Primary or Dedicated Support Engineer directly, using the numbers provided to you at the commencement of your service agreement. Checking the Status of Open or Resolved Service Requests You can access the most current information on your Service Requests from the electronic Service Request portal at Once logged in, a list of your Service Requests and the current status of each is made available. Select one to view the details (which can include current status and detailed descriptions of the actions taken by the support engineer). To display all Service Requests created under your account(s) (by yourself or other authorized contacts), click the All SRs tab. Customer Satisfaction Surveys At the closure of each Service Request, you will receive an invitation to complete a survey regarding your experience (unless your Service Requests are serviced by a PSE or DSE, in which case surveys are conducted no more than once every 20 days). The survey measures your satisfaction with the overall Service Request process, as well as specific areas, such as resolution effectiveness and Novell product quality and support engineer performance. Surveys are delivered in one of eight languages, as specified during the service agreement set up. We encourage your participation in completing this survey to detail your experience on each opened Service Request. Additionally, if you are designated as Novell's primary support contact at your organization, you may receive up to two additional surveys per year. One is specific to better understanding your thoughts regarding our support offerings and resources. The other survey will ask about your collective experience with Novell (including sales, marketing and product experiences). Rest assured, Novell takes customer satisfaction and feedback seriously, and we use this information to determine where improvements can be made. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 13

14 E x p e c t a t i o n s a n d R e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s Setting correct expectations that will deliver the best possible experience from Novell Technical Support is the responsibility of both Novell and you, the customer, as outlined below. (More detailed descriptions of processes and procedures are defined within sections of this handbook.) Responsibilities of Novell Depending on your support level, Novell provides the following deliverables: Technical Support Novell follows set processes for the submission, assignment, response, analysis/problem determination, monitoring and closure/resolution of Service Requests Should an issue be a previously unknown and unreported defect in Novell software, the issue can be submitted to Novell as a bug report (see page 20 Software Defect Reporting Policy ) Novell follows established escalation procedures (see pages 21-22) It may be necessary for Novell to remotely dial-in to your systems. This is done only with your permission and you have control over which systems Novell accesses Technical Support via Novell Support Centers Maintenance from Novell provides an unlimited number of Service Requests per product covered, worked on by technicians at Novell Support centers: For Standard Maintenance agreements, you can access Novell Support during normal business hours (12x5). For Priority Maintenance agreements, you have around-the-clock access (24x7) Your Service Request will be assigned to the next available technician with the appropriate skills according to the response times defined in your agreement (see page 5) Technical Support via Assigned, Primary or Dedicated Support Engineers (ASE/PSE/DSE) The following services are available to those with support agreements that include the services of an ASE, PSE or DSE: Support for your environment is provided by a single point of technical contact Novell will match the skills of your Premium Service Engineer to the most critical areas of technology for your business as determined between you and Novell at the start of your support agreement Where necessary your Premium Service Engineer will liaise with and engage other members of the team to expedite the support process Your Premium Service Engineer will maintain ownership of the Service Requests you submit from response to resolution or closure Should your Premium Service Engineer be unavailable (in training or on vacation) Novell will assign, and notify you of a backup engineer from the PSE or DSE team Service Account Manager (SAM) The services of a SAM are available to purchase as an additional service, or you may be eligible for the service based on your MLA maintenance purchase. Each SAM is assigned a limited number of customers in a nontechnical account management capacity. The principal activities of your SAM include: Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 14

15 Communication coordination Your SAM is your main point of contact at Novell on all support and servicerelated issues. Through regular communication, your SAM will gain knowledge of your particular business and support needs. Your SAM also provides communication coordination within Novell (for instance, working closely with Novell Consulting and Novell Training Services.) Your SAM should work with your organization s primary Novell contact, but may also work with authorized contacts when necessary. Escalation assistance As your main point of contact, your SAM will assist you with any incidents requiring escalation. Service activity reporting If desired, your SAM will provide service activity reports on a regular basis, showing the Service Requests submitted, their progress and any other support activity or projects. Service Request review Your SAM may conduct reviews of Service Requests during and after resolution, via telephone or with a personal meeting. This will ensure that issues are progressed to resolution quickly and that any additional concerns experienced during the resolution process can be addressed. Service satisfaction review Your SAM will provide feedback to Novell on all service-related issues in order to continually improve the service you receive. Support planning Your SAM will assist you with any planned implementations or migrations by organizing resources such as on-site support, Scheduled Standby service, Proactive Analysis and potential training needs at your request (see After Hours Support Options on page 19). Information Access Novell provides a comprehensive set of support knowledge and tools to enable you to get the most from your Novell technology. A description of these tools, and how you access them, begins on page 7. Responsibilities of the Customer Novell requires the following to be fulfilled by you, the customer, in order to satisfy your technical support expectations: Use the range of support knowledge and tools available to you to troubleshoot issues before escalating to Novell. A description of these tools, and how you access them, begins on page 7. Designate a primary contact to will be responsible for coordinating the flow of communication on Novell support issues between your organization and Novell. This individual will manage your process for submitting Service Requests Assign authorized contacts (in addition to the primary contact) who will be able to submit support Service Requests within Novell's support database. (The number of available authorized contacts varies by support program, as the chart below indicates.) Please ensure that your selected authorized contacts are individuals who have an appropriate level of Novell technical ability. This will assist in speeding up the support process. Support program Standard Maintenance, Priority Maintenance, Advanced 1 Advanced 2, Enterprise 1, Enterprise 2, ASE / PSE / DSE Package Number of authorized contacts 3 No limit Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 15

16 Update your list of authorized contacts by logging into the Novell Support portal ( and click the Entitled Accounts tab. Select the appropriate account, the location and the product. You will be routed to the Product Details page where you may click the User Access tab to view and update your authorized contacts. If you have any issues concerning your Contact IDs, or wish to update authorized contacts associated to an Assigned, Primary or Dedicated Support Engineer (ASE/PSE/DSE) service, please Novell at: o Americas and Asia Pacific: PremiumContracts@novell.com o Europe, Middle East and Africa: Premium@novell.com When submitting a Service Requests, Novell expects you to carry out the following steps and perform the following actions under the guidance of the support technician (depending on the issue): o Report error messages o Collect configuration information o Run diagnostics as instructed by Novell o Run network traces o Collect diagnostic / de-bug information Where you require a Dedicated Support Engineer based at your site, you agree to provide a desk, telephone with international dial (for business purposes only), car parking (if available) and remote access (ideally, unrestricted high speed Internet connection) to the Novell corporate network. Additionally, from time to time it may be necessary for Novell to reserve time with the DSE for training. Novell expects you to respond to requests for troubleshooting information within a timeframe appropriate to the severity of the issue and its impact to your business operations. For high severity issues, you should respond to requests within four hours (or less), and commit to make reasonable efforts to apply the suggested solution to your production environment that same day. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 16

17 U n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e N o v e l l S u p p o r t P r o c e s s The Novell Product Support Lifecycle 2 Novell provides technical support on products according to the Novell Support Lifecycle. The Novell Support Lifecycle defines the duration and levels of support customers can expect to receive as products mature. Full details can be found at There are three support phases: 1. General Support Includes all free and fee based support options Novell offers when a product is made available to the general public, including warranty support, maintenance, incident support and annual support agreements. General Support divides Novell technologies into two categories: Infrastructure Products and Software Services Products. For a current and complete listing on support status, visit Novell provides no less than five years of General Support for a Platform and Operating System product, and three years for a Software Service and Application product (starting with the date of a product's general availability). When General Support ends, Novell provides Extended Support for a minimum of two years. 2. Extended Support Includes all free and fee based support options available to customers when General Support has been discontinued. 3. Self Support Includes free and fee based online services and technical subscriptions that allow customers to resolve technical issues on their own. Platform and Operating System Products This timeline illustrates the period and phases of support provided for Platform and Operating System Products: Software Services and Application Products This timeline illustrates the period and phases of support provided for Software Services and Application Products: 2 All content is subject to change and is governed by the actual content found on the specific program pages. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 17

18 Response Times When registering Service Requests, Novell works to service levels, defined as targets for the maximum elapsed business time in responding to the logging of a Service Request. A response is defined as the time between creation of the Service Request and the initial communication between the assigned engineer and your company. Response times vary according to the support agreement you have: Support Program Response Time Buying Program Standard Maintenance* 4 hours VLA, MLA (Linux only) Priority Maintenance 4 hours, 1 hour severity 1 VLA, MLA Academic SR Packs 2 hours ALA, SLA Assigned Support Engineer (ASE) Package 1 hour (to the ASE) VLA, MLA ALA, SLA** Primary Support Engineer (PSE) Package 30 minutes (to the PSE) VLA, MLA, ALA, SLA** * Standard Maintenance provides access 12 x 5. The 4-hour response applies to the period when support is available. For example, a Service Request logged at 6pm, will have a response before 10am the following day. ** Current maintenance required for VLA and MLA customers Severity Levels The severity of a Service Request is defined when created, and can be set electronically by the customer creating the Service Request, or by a Customer Service Representative over the telephone (for Severity 1 issues). Novell has defined three types of severity issues, as follows: Severity 1 (High) System down situation. The production server/system is completely down and is not operational, or the operation of a mission critical application is severely impacted by the problem and work cannot reasonably continue. No procedural work around exists. Severity 2 (Medium) Limited functionality. There is limited use of the production server, application, or system. Some features work, but others do not. The production server or application is subject to periodic interruptions in service and is considered unstable after service has been restored. This is the most common type of Service Request. Severity 3 (Low) An error that does not cause a significant portion or feature of the software to be inoperative yet more than a mere irritant). Sometimes used if there is a general question about a product. Problem Phases There are typically five phases in resolving problems. These include: Phase Assignment Response Description An engineer (including your PSE or DSE) is assigned the Service Request. A response is defined as the time between creation of the Service Request and the initial communication between the assigned engineer and your company. Analysis/Problem Determination During this phase your assigned engineer will work to analyze and identify the nature of the problem. This phase may require your staff (working with Novell) to assist in and/or complete further analysis. Monitor Closure / Resolution A potential solution for the problem has been provided to your company. When the solution or workaround provided has been monitored and confirmed as resolving the issue. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 18

19 Novell has established escalation guidelines to ensure you receive resolutions as quickly as possible. Customers may ask the support engineer to expedite the escalation procedure in critical situations or if they feel the Service Request is not receiving adequate resources to ensure the quickest resolution. (Customers who have purchased the service may ask to expedite the escalation process by contacting their SAM). Process Overview: Novell Support Center Customers submit Service Requests via chat, , request for call back, or call into the Support Center for Severity 1 issues. Service Requests submitted via the Web site are automatically routed. Severity 1 Service Requests submitted by telephone are assigned to engineers by the Customer Service Representatives (CSR), as previously outlined. An engineer will contact you to begin the troubleshooting process. Should a Service Request require escalation, it will be routed to Global Technical Support (GTS). Should the issue require code changes, GTS will escalate the Service Request to Product Development. If necessary the Service Request can be declared a Critical Situation (see page 21). Process Overview: Support via an ASE, PSE, DSE Customers submit Service Requests by calling their Assigned, Primary or Dedicated Support Engineer directly - full contact details are provided at service set up (or you may also log calls using chat, or request for call back). Service Requests submitted via the web site are automatically routed to the assigned Premium Support Engineer. Your PSE will work on the issue and communicate directly with you on progress and resolution, involving other members of the support team as necessary (but remaining the main point of contact). Should a Service Request require escalation, it will be routed to Global Technical Support Services (GTS). Should the issue require code changes, GTS will escalate the Service Request to Product Development. If necessary the Service Request can be declared a Critical Situation. Customers with a SAM (included in the service agreement) will benefit from their assistance in the Service Request management and escalation process. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 19

20 Service Request Closure Novell has a policy of closing Service Requests only upon mutual agreement with you. Unless otherwise requested, Service Requests are closed as soon as the issue is confirmed resolved to satisfaction. After Hours Support If you experience a high severity issue outside business hours, and have access to a 24 x 7 access support program, it is recommended that you phone for support (rather than logging a Service Request electronically). NOTE: Scheduled Standby is a chargeable service that can be pre-arranged for in blocks of 4-hours during and outside business hours. This service gives you direct access to a Novell engineer on a standby basis. Now, should you have a scheduled product upgrade or network maintenance task you re unsure about managing correctly, you can have the confidence of talking with an experienced technician. Novell requires that a minimum of 72-hours notice to arrange for this service. Software Defect Reporting Policy For the purposes of this policy, a software defect is either: An error in a shipping product s design that results in the software s failure to perform substantially in accordance with its specifications and for which Novell is responsible; or A critical defect in a product that is in Extended Support phase. Critical defects are product defects that cause the performance or continued performance of any one or more mission-critical program functions to be impossible To contact Novell regarding a software defect, please register a bug report at (You will not receive a call back from a Novell support engineer unless Novell needs additional information to resolve the issue.) If you choose to register a Service Request rather than a bug report, you will be charged for the Service Request (or it may be decremented from a support agreement with a limit on Service Requests), unless the problem is determined to be a Novell software defect, for which information was not previously published as a Technical Information Document (TID) or on the Novell Support Web site knowledgebase. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 20

21 Resolving Multi-vendor Issues Novell was a founding sponsor and remains an active member of the Technical Support Alliance Network (TSANet) a global, vendor-neutral, not-for-profit industry support alliance. This organization creates an industry infrastructure allowing members to collaborate and work on multi-vendor issues without finger pointing. Most TSANet relationships are many-tomany type relationships, maximizing the number of partners involved. Most major IT vendors participate in TSANet, including Novell key partners. While relationships may vary based on specific requirements, all follow industry-standard support policies and obligate members to collaborate issues to isolation and/or resolution. This process gives the customer a seamless interface in solving complex multi-vendor problems among two or more partners. TSANet allows the assigned engineer to work directly with other partners to solve support issues. Think of it as a behind-the-scenes mechanism where customers may not even be aware the service is being used. TSANet is a direct partner-to-partner contact; therefore, partners may require specific customer entitlement information prior to the interaction. This customer information allows members to work on your behalf and not waste time duplicating support incidents with multiple vendors. More information on TSANet, including a list of participating members, is available at Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 21

22 E s c a l a t i o n P o l i c i e s How to Escalate an Issue If you have logged a Service Request, but are not satisfied with the support or advice provided, you may request escalation assistance by contacting: A Novell Customer Service Representative (CSR) via the support center telephone numbers (see pages 11-12). Your Service Account Manager (SAM), if agreement allows, and request that he/she escalates the issue Critical Situations Handling Procedure In exceptional circumstances where a mission critical component is down causing a major business impact, Novell can declare a critical situation. Novell defines a critical situation as one or more Support Service Requests whose timely resolution will minimize or prevent a major financial loss to one of Novell's customers (or Novell). A critical situation is the highest level of escalation, raising the Service Request visibility to the executive levels within Novell. When you have an issue involving Novell products creating a major, adverse impact to your business, Novell wants to ensure that the proper resources are quickly involved in order to resolve the issue in a timely manner. Novell has internal escalation procedures that involve specialized and focused levels of technical and management personnel working together on the specific Service Request to speed resolution. There are several things you can do during any critical situation that will enable Novell to help you more effectively. Please follow the guidelines below when reporting a critical situation: Have an authorized contact open the Service Request by phone. Do not rely on or the Novell Support Web site to open a critical Service Request. Please contact us as early as possible. At the beginning of your call, indicate the critical nature of the situation. If the issue did not start out as critical, but has since turned become such, notify Novell with a phone call. Information on the level of impact the particular critical situation is having on your business operations is extremely helpful. Be ready to provide Novell with all relevant information: Contact ID, product versions, patch levels, configuration, troubleshooting steps performed, etc. (It may be helpful for you to call from the site where the critical situation is occurring.) If you have a SAM, notify him/her as soon as possible regarding the critical situation. This is a vital step in ensuring that the appropriate resources are ready to help you. Should a Service Request become critical, authorized contacts should notify their support engineer, ASE/PSE/DSE and/or SAM to make them aware of the business impact. The support engineer or ASE/PSE/DSE will be able to co-ordinate all of the relevant resources needed to progress a problem to resolution. Where additional escalation assistance is required, the SAM can help facilitate this process. Following this communication process will ensure that relevant resources from the Novell support organization are engaged and that you are updated regularly on the resolution progress. Once approved, critical situations are reviewed on a daily basis by the Global Technical Support team who will initiate regular action plan updates from the assigned support engineer (or SAM) to all appropriate management contacts within your organization until the Service Request is resolved. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 22

23 U s e f u l I n f o r m a t i o n Web Site Addresses Novell Web Site Novell Support Site Novell Patches and Updates Novell Connection Magazine Novell Users International Bug Reports Technical Subscriptions Product Enhancement Request Support Lifecycle Novell Support Programs Novell Support Forums Novell Technical Documentation Developer Collaboration Novell Partner Products Novell List Servers Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 23

24 A p p e n d i x Glossary 12 x 5 Support access hours; 12 hours a day, 5 days a week in the local time zone 24 x 7 Support access hours; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year ALA ASE Authorized Contact Contact ID Crit Sit CSR DSE Extended Support GTS MLA Novell Professional Resource Suite (NPRS) Novell Professional Resource Suite Portal Advantage PSE Response Time Academic License Agreement Assigned Support Engineer Authorized contacts are defined as specific named individuals authorized by the customer to contact Novell for support. Authorized contacts should be highly skilled and qualified personnel. Each authorized contact is provided with a Contact ID. (This number is confidential and should be used ONLY by the individual to whom it is assigned). The Contact ID is assigned at support entitlement and is a unique identifier within our call center database and allows you access to Novell support on the Internet and/or via phone. Critical situation Customer Service Representative Dedicated Support Engineer The Novell Extended Support incident package allows customers to receive technical support for a product that has moved from the General Support to the Extended Support phase. Extended Support is an interim solution for customers who intend to move to the most current version of a Novell product, but need additional time to make the transition. Global Technical Support Master License Agreement The suite contains the Novell Support Resource Library, all the Novell Product Toolkits and the complete Novell Software Evaluation and Development Library. Provides a physical subscription to the NPRS, four portal access accounts for expanded resources and the ability to manage the subscription online. Primary Support Engineer A Response is defined as the time between creation of the Service Request and the initial communication between the assigned engineer and the customer. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 24

25 SAM Severity 1 Severity 2 Severity 3 SLA SR TID VLA Service Account Manager Severity 1 (High) = System down situation. The production server/system is completely down and is not operational, or the operation of a mission critical application is severely impacted by the problem and work cannot reasonably continue. No procedural work around exists. Severity 2 (Medium) = Limited functionality. There is limited use of the production server, application, or system. Some features work, but others do not. The production server or application is subject to periodic interruptions in service and is considered unstable after service has been restored. This is the most common type of Service Request. Severity 3 (Low) = An error that does not cause a significant portion or feature of the software to be inoperative and yet is not an irritant only. Sometimes used if there is a general question about a product. Schools License Agreement or Service Level Agreement Service Request. This is one Novell support issue, problem or question and the reasonable efforts required to resolve it, regardless of the number of communications needed. Technical Information Document Volume License Agreement Quality Standard Certification Novell considers the pursuit of quality and continual improvement to be an ongoing responsibility of every employee in our organization. In active support of this philosophy, Novell Technical Services pursues certification in the following internationally recognized quality standards: SCP (Service Capability and Performance) Certification Service Capability and Performance (SCP) Standards provide the definitive benchmark of service excellence in the technology industry. Three distinct disciplines support, field service and professional services provide the framework for measuring performance, implementing best practices, and leveraging a network of professionals actively engaged in enhancing the quality of their service and support operations. The SCP Standards were created and are updated annually by a consortium of industry leading companies (including Service Strategies Corporation, Novell and industry associations such as the Association for Services Management International, AFSMI) committed to delivering world-class services. For more details, please visit Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 25

26 For more information For more information about worldwide support, training and certification and professional services from Novell, contact your local Novell sales representation, or visit U.S./Canada Worldwide Facsimile Novell, Inc. 404 Wyman Street Waltham, MA USA /08 Novell, Inc. All rights reserved. Novell, the Novell logo are registered trademarks, and Novell Professional Resource Suite is a trademark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *All other third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Novell Technical Support Customer Handbook December 2008 p. 26