Welcome

The intended audience of this document is any North American IBM customer who is currently running the AIX operating system on pSeries hardware. Future versions of this document will attempt to give information relevant to other geographies. While the information in this handbook is geared towards North American technical support, the "self-help," "background," and "preventing problems" sections may be interesting to all parties. The purpose of this document is to help people find online resouces for self-help, and to provide assistance in engaging IBM for AIX or pSeries remote technical support. To that end, this document provides: support-oriented links to existing IBM websites and online reference materials for AIX and pSeries, including: hardware and software downloads troubleshooting planning & upgrading installation & use information regarding the use of pSeries online resources IBM terminology regarding pSeries and AIX support detailed information regarding AIX & pSeries problem reporting a helpful guide for interacting with IBM technical support to speed your problem to a quick resolution Thank you for choosing IBM!

Welcome The IBM commitment pSeries customer support organizations How to view this handbook Clickable outline of handbook chapters Portable Document Format (PDF) Version Disclaimer Acknowledgement Version information

We believe that having your business is both a privilege and a responsibility. We hope to maintain that business by providing you with solutions to your information technology problems. We also recognize that in order to enable you to concentrate on your core business issues, it is crucial that we provide world class information technology services that complement our information system solutions.

The intent of pSeries support is to provide you with the quality support and services you need. Our vision is to achieve a level of support excellence that exceeds your expectations and differentiates IBM in the marketplace by providing:

• Rapid response to your requests
• Fast relief to high impact problems
• Timely problem resolution
• High quality fixes and information
• Up-to-date service and installation information.

We are committed to achieving the highest level of customer satisfaction in the industry, with quality focused programs designed to provide services that enhance and maximize the use of IBM products. As your solutions partner, we are dedicated to enabling your success.

IBM's pSeries support organizations in the U.S. are a network of centers with expertise across the broad spectrum of pSeries topics. Teams of skilled specialists work together to provide you with timely, responsive technical support as your need arises.

As a leader in technoloy, IBM is committed to providing world-class technical support for pSeries customers. Through our excellent online resources and our highly skilled technical analysts, we strive to maintain the level of excellence that you've come to expect from IBM. To help you maximize your pSeries investment and support your business needs, IBM provides:

• online pSeries problem submission
• online self-help resources such as knowledge databases, redbooks, and white papers
• a 1-800 number for pSeries hardware and AIX operating system assistance
• a database for obtaining operating system, application software and firmware fixes
• education services and media

This handbook is best viewed in a standards-conformant browser, such as Mozilla. Mozilla is an open-source browser which works well with the technologies that IBM uses in its websites, such as cascading style sheets. Mozilla has been ported to many platforms, including AIX, Linux, and Windows. Downloads can be obtained from http://www.mozilla.org. An AIX-ready installp version can be obtained from the IBM download site here.

The links in this handbook will not pop up in separate browser window unless it is a link to a non-IBM website. If you desire a link to appear in a separate browser window, there are ways to achieve this.

• Windows environments - right mouse click over the link, select "Open link in new window."
• AIX and Linux environments - middle mouse click over the link

If you are having difficulty reading the webpage and would like to increase the size of the text, this can be done through your web browser's settings.

• Internet Explorer: View --> Text size --> (pick a size)
• Mozilla: View --> Text Zoom --> (pick a size)
• Netscape: View --> Increase Font or Decrease Font
  or, Netscape: Edit --> Preferences --> Appearance -->Fonts (pick a size)

Increasing the text size may distort pictures and the placement of things in the webpage in order to display the larger text.

Currently the content of this handbook is unique to the North American perspective. It is our intention to ensure the information in this document is available and relevant to all geographies .

Browse the HTML version by using the links below, or by using the high-level links in the navigation block in the top left side of the page

• Background information
  • Unix Server, eServer, pSeries relationships
  • RS6000 machines, "Power," and pSeries
  • Support contracts EAS & SWMA
  • Organization of IBM and pSeries webpages
• Lacking a support contract
  • Investigate obtaining a support contract
  • Investigate technical manuals and online self-help resources
  • Obtaining training or education
• Self-help
  • IBM eServer pSeries Support
  • pSeries Information Centers
  • AIX online resources
  • IBM Servers - Welcome Kit
  • Knowledge databases
  • Education, educational materials, training
  • Software support (not including the operating system)
  • Fixes
  • Subscriptions, alerts, announcements
• Before contacting IBM
  • Define the problem
  • Gather supporting data
• Contacting IBM
  • Contacting IBM remote technical support by phone in North America
  • What to expect of AIX and pSeries hardware technical support
  • Electronic problem submission over the internet
  • For out-of-scope support
  • What helps IBM technical support help you
  • Understanding the scope of IBM AIX operating system and pSeries hardware support through AIX Support Line and SWMA
  • Understanding the role of IBM technical personnnel in the support process
  • Understanding the role of the customer in the support process
  • Handling difficulties
  • Satisfaction
• Preventing problems
  • Preventive maintenance
  • Maintenance Strategy
  • Upgrading
  • Thorough testing
  • Anticipating growth
  • Making backups
  • Stay informed with automated alerts
• Support contacts
  • Phone numbers in this handbook
  • Websites in this handbook, by topic
  • Websites in this handbook, by chapter
  • Other sources of contact information
• Acronyms & terminology
  • Acronyms and terminology in this handbook
  • Other resources for acronyms and terminology

This handbook is available in PDF. This format makes the handbook easier to print and to search. PDF requires the Adobe Reader, which can be obtained at Adobe.

Click on the link below to download the PDF version of this handbook.

AIX on pSeries Customer Care Handbook

IBM reserves the right to make changes to the AIX on pSeries Handbook and the policies discussed within it at our discretion. Although this webpage is oriented towards North America (US and Canada), it is our intention to address world-wide publication in the future.

Thanks to Roger McKnight, author of IBM Software Support Handbook for the section above, "The IBM Commitment." Many ideas for the topics in this AIX on pSeries handbook were derived from the very fine example that Roger McKnight has set in his IBM Software Support Handbook.

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