Lacking a support contract

Arranging technical support for your pSeries machine at the time of purchase is a wise move. The pSeries machine is highly flexible, extremely powerful, and quite complex. Assistance may be necessary as you configure your machine, test it, and use it in production. Being prepared, having a plan, and being able to contact IBM support at a moment's notice will save you and your company time. Having a support contract is really the best way to go. However, there are many ways to obtain help from IBM even if you lack a support contract.

Lacking a support contract Investigate obtaining a support contract Investigate technical manuals and online self-help resources Obtaining training or education Version information

If you don't already have a contract for technical support, please find out what IBM can do for you. Call 1-800-IBM-4YOU and request to speak with someone who can help you arrange technical support for your company.

As of mid-2003, technical support contracts have been bundled in along with the price of buying pSeries hardware. This technical support contract is called "AIX SWMA," which stands for "AIX Software Maintenance." This contract gives direct access to support technicians and even 24x7 support under certain conditions. Read more about AIX SWMA in the "Background" section of this handbook.

Formerly purchased "EAS" or "SupportLine" contracts are still valid until the termination date. At that time, AIX SWMA contracts can be purchased. Contact your IBM represenative or call 1-800-IBM-4YOU and ask to speak to someone about technical support contracts.

The most up-to-date, complete customer support plan information for pSeries can be found in "Customer Support Plans for pSeries." These pdfs contain contact numbers and URLs for IBM's services and support for pSeries, along with explanations of the different levels of service and support available.
"Customer Support Plan for pSeries, US"
"Customer Support Plan for pSeries, Canada"

Information about extended support services including Warranty, HW and SW Maintenance, AIX, Linux, and Premium Support services can be found within the IBM pSeries SPEC Sheet below. The IBM pSeries SPEC Sheet documents these additional pSeries technical support services, highlights of each service, customer benefits, and contact information.
IBM Technical Support Services for IBM eServer pSeries Servers
To gain more insight on the full spectrum of comprehensive pSeries services, you can also visit:
IBM eserver pSeries Support Services

The IBM Software Support Handbook gives detailed information about support for various application software and middleware. The IBM Software Support Handbook is actually pointed to by the SWMA contract addendum for pSeries, and gives excellent information about the inner workings of application software support.

IBM has an enormous amount of information available for all who seek it, whether you have a contract for support or not. There are online resources such as:

• the main pSeries webpage
• knowledge databases
• redbooks
• whitepapers.

Train to be your own support! A great way to prepare for owning and operating a pSeries machine is to get some education and training. "The Campus" is an exciting resource for customer education. This IBM website displays pSeries education topics along with how the education can be delivered- classroom, web-based, CD-ROM, etc.

To jump straight to pSeries education in "The Campus," use this link:
IBM eServer and TotalStorage education - pSeries.

The main link to "The Campus" is: The Campus.

There are two things to take note of. One is the link "IBM Training" in the left frame (nav bar) of the "IBM Campus" webpages. It has some additional offerings. Secondly, when navigating "The Campus" webpages, remember that pSeries machines are classified as:

Server --> Unix Server --> pSeries

There will be times when the link to follow will be named "Unix Server." If you click on the Unix Server link, you will get to the pSeries information.

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