Before contacting IBM

Preparing to contact IBM with a pSeries support request is not a difficult task. In fact, taking some time and gathering information before you contact IBM will save you time in the long run. Familiarize yourself with the process of getting support, so that if you need to engage IBM in a hurry, you know what to expect. This AIX on pSeries Customer Care Handbook is the support process viewed from a hardware and operating system perspective. Becoming familiar with its content will round out your education regarding IBM support specific to the AIX operating system and pSeries machines.

Before contacting IBM Define the problem Gather supporting data Version information

Once you've identified that your hardware, operating system, or application software is malfunctioning, the next step is to define what the problem is. When calling in for technical support from IBM, the phone menu will prompt you to pick one of two support categories:

• hardware or
• software - which includes the operating system and application software

If you are not sure if the problem is hardware or software, pick software. IBM Support will work with you to sort out what the problem actually is. A different support technician may then be called to take over your computing problem and drive it to resolution.

If you are unsure about how to define your computing problem, the "Support Questionaire" below will assist you.

When contacting IBM, customers will need to supply various types of information IBM so that a problem management record (PMR )can be created. IBM personnel update this electronic record when you call in, creating a history of the interactions between you and IBM.

Customer information

When you call into IBM for technical support, IBM will need to verify who are and what type of support you have a contract for. This verification process is called "entitlement." Every time a PMR is opened, entitlement must performed. The entitlement process for hardware relies on the serial number of the machine. The entitlement process for operating system or application software hinges on the customer number. Having the following information gathered before calling IBM will help the entitlement process go smoothly.

• A customer number if you have an IBM support contract.
• The model number of the machine and its serial number (can be found on the exterior of the machine).
• The name of your company, and the name and contact information for the person in your company who will be handling the technical portion of the problem.
• The AIX operating system version and maintenance level, and the name and version number of any application software affected.
• The name, model number, and/or serial number of any hardware involved.

If you are not entitled for support, the Response Coordinator will create the PMR and pass it through to support. A different IBM represenative will soon call you to discuss your support options.

Support Questionaire

The answers to this questionaire can help AIX pSeries technical support better understand the problem. Please take the time to answer these questions before you contact IBM.

1. What is the model number of the pSeries hardware that the problem is happening on?
2. What is the version and maintenance level of AIX on that hardware? ( Command: instfix -i | grep AIX )
3. Is your pSeries machine divided into logical partitions?
   If so, how many LPARs and what operating system is in each?
   Does the problem occur on every LPAR?
4. Is the machine a production machine (currently used by people who need the machine to do their daily jobs or used by your end customers) or a development system (used for testing or application development)?
5. What were you attempting to do when the problem occurred?
6. Describe the symptoms you see. What did you expect to see, and how is it different from the problem that you are seeing? Are you getting any error messages?
7. Has the problem always been there?
   If not, what changed on the system between the time that the problem wasn't occuring and the time that it did occur? For example, did you apply or back off any fixes, remove or replace any hardware?
8. Can you reproduce the problem by doing any particular thing? If so, what are you doing to reproduce the problem? Please be very specific, such that if anybody else was trying to reproduce the problem from your instructions, they could.
9. Can you provide a testcase- files or scripts that can be run to show the problem?
10. What are your expectations of IBM for assisting with the problem? Is there any time limitation? Is there some type of loss (or potential loss) of revenue involved?
11. Are any other IBMers already involved in the resolution of this problem? If so, who are they and what are their roles?

Other data and information

• outputs of data showing corruption and an output showing no corruption of data
• screen captures of what the monitor is displaying at the time of the problem
• a crash dump
• an application core dump
• a reproducible testcase

When you contact IBM for support, the technician who will work your PMR will explain how to send data to IBM.

Version 1.2
Last updated January 2006
Original created April 2004
For questions or comments on this handbook, please email Dawn Patterson.