Contents VMware Technical Support Guide ......................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Building an Effective Support Relationship ......................................................................................... 4 Roles and Responsibilities .................................................................... ................................. 4 Customer Roles and Responsibilities ........................................................................ 4 Primary and Secondary License Administrators (PLAs and SLAs) ............................. 4 Support Administrator (SA) ....................................................................................... 5 VMware Support Roles and Responsibilities ............................................................. 5 Licensing Support Team ........................................................................................... 5 Customer Support Representative (CSR) .................................................................. 5 Technical Support Engineer (TSE) ............................................................................ 5 Best Practices ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Educate Your Administrators ................................................................................................. 6 Plan Ahead ............................................................................................................................ 6 Assign Appropriate Resources .............................................................................................. 6 Utilize Self-Help Resources ................................................................................................... 6 Provide Complete and Accurate Information ......................................................................... 7 Keep your Account and Profile Up-to-Date ............................................................................ 8 Register your Products ............................................................................................. 8 Support Request Life Cycle ................................................................................................................... 8 Before You Begin ................................................................................................................... 8 Collecting Information ............................................................................................................................ 8 Customer Number .................................................................................................................. 8 Configurations ........................................................................................................................ 9 Log File ................................................................................................................................. 9 Support Script Output ............................................................................................................ 9 Record Any Recent Changes ................................................................................................ 9 Understanding Technical Support Severities ...................................................................................... 9 Submitting a Support Request ............................................................................................................ 10 Filing a Support Request Online .......................................................................................... 10 Filing a Request by Phone: What to Expect ........................................................................ 12 Working the Problem ........................................................................................................... 12 Viewing and Updating Open Support Requests .................................................................. 13 Reporting an Error or Requesting a Feature ....................................................................... 13 Error (Bug) Report .................................................................................................. 13 Feature Requests ................................................................................................... 13 VMware Technical Support Guide T E C H N I C A L S U P P O R T G U I D E – A P R I L 2 0 1 1 / 3 Experimental Feature Support Definition ................................................................. 14 VMware Global Support Services Offerings ....................................................................................... 14 Mission Critical Support ....................................................................................................... 14 Production Support .............................................................................................................. 14 Basic Support ....................................................................................................................... 14 U.S. Federal Technical Support ........................................................................................... 14 vFabric Developer Support .................................................................................................. 14 Developer Support for SpringSource ................................................................................... 14 SDK Support Program for vSphere ..................................................................................... 15 After Hours Support ............................................................................................................. 15 Beta Support Overview ........................................................................................................ 15 Bug-Related Support Requests ............................................................................... 15 Feature Requests ................................................................................................... 16 Participating in a Beta Program ............................................................................... 16 Technical Support Policies .................................................................................................................. 16 Third-Party Hardware/Software Support .............................................................................. 16 Support for Microsoft Software in VMware Virtual Machines .............................................. 16 Software Developers Kit (SDK) Support and Application Programming Interface (API) Policy ................................................................................................................................... 18 VMware Open Source Project Support Policy ..................................................................... 18 Basic and Production Support for Open Source Projects can include: ..................... 18 Developer Support for Open Source Projects can include: ...................................... 18 Open Source Project Version Support ..................................................................... 18 Security Response Policy .................................................................................................... 19 Support Request Escalation Policy ...................................................................................... 19 Local Language Support Policy ........................................................................................... 19 Acquisition Support .............................................................................................................. 20 Support Request Closure .................................................................................................................... 20 Customer Satisfaction Surveys ............................................................................................ 20 Account, Support Contract and Licensing Questions ..................................................................... 20 Additional Information ......................................................................................................................... 21 Appendix A: Support Offerings Portfolio ........................................................................................... 22 ................................. 4 Customer Roles and Responsibilities ........................................................................ 4 Primary and Secondary License Administrators (PLAs and SLAs) ............................. 4 Support Administrator (SA) ....................................................................................... 5 VMware Support Roles and Responsibilities ............................................................. 5 Licensing Support Team ........................................................................................... 5 Customer Support Representative (CSR) .................................................................. 5 Technical Support Engineer (TSE) ............................................................................ 5 Best Practices ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Educate Your Administrators ................................................................................................. 6 Plan Ahead ............................................................................................................................ 6 Assign Appropriate Resources .............................................................................................. 6 Utilize Self-Help Resources ................................................................................................... 6 Provide Complete and Accurate Information ......................................................................... 7 Keep your Account and Profile Up-to-Date ............................................................................ 8 Register your Products ............................................................................................. 8 Support Request Life Cycle ................................................................................................................... 8 Before You Begin ................................................................................................................... 8 Collecting Information ............................................................................................................................ 8 Customer Number .................................................................................................................. 8 Configurations ........................................................................................................................ 9 Log File ................................................................................................................................. 9 Support Script Output ............................................................................................................ 9 Record Any Recent Changes ................................................................................................ 9 Understanding Technical Support Severities ...................................................................................... 9 Submitting a Support Request ............................................................................................................ 10 Filing a Support Request Online .......................................................................................... 10 Filing a Request by Phone: What to Expect ........................................................................ 12 Working the Problem ........................................................................................................... 12 Viewing and Updating Open Support Requests .................................................................. 13 Reporting an Error or Requesting a Feature ....................................................................... 13 Error (Bug) Report .................................................................................................. 13 Feature Requests ................................................................................................... 13 VMware Technical Support Guide T E C H N I C A L S U P P O R T G U I D E – A P R I L 2 0 1 1 / 3 Experimental Feature Support Definition ................................................................. 14 VMware Global Support Services Offerings ....................................................................................... 14 Mission Critical Support ....................................................................................................... 14 Production Support .............................................................................................................. 14 Basic Support ....................................................................................................................... 14 U.S. Federal Technical Support ........................................................................................... 14 vFabric Developer Support .................................................................................................. 14 Developer Support for SpringSource ................................................................................... 14 SDK Support Program for vSphere ..................................................................................... 15 After Hours Support ............................................................................................................. 15 Beta Support Overview ........................................................................................................ 15 Bug-Related Support Requests ............................................................................... 15 Feature Requests ................................................................................................... 16 Participating in a Beta Program ............................................................................... 16 Technical Support Policies .................................................................................................................. 16 Third-Party Hardware/Software Support .............................................................................. 16 Support for Microsoft Software in VMware Virtual Machines .............................................. 16 Software Developers Kit (SDK) Support and Application Programming Interface (API) Policy ................................................................................................................................... 18 VMware Open Source Project Support Policy ..................................................................... 18 Basic and Production Support for Open Source Projects can include: ..................... 18 Developer Support for Open Source Projects can include: ...................................... 18 Open Source Project Version Support ..................................................................... 18 Security Response Policy .................................................................................................... 19 Support Request Escalation Policy ...................................................................................... 19 Local Language Support Policy ........................................................................................... 19 Acquisition Support .............................................................................................................. 20 Support Request Closure .................................................................................................................... 20 Customer Satisfaction Surveys ............................................................................................ 20 Account, Support Contract and Licensing Questions ..................................................................... 20 Additional Information ......................................................................................................................... 21 Appendix A: Support Offerings Portfolio ........................................................................................... 22