Frequently Asked Questions

Does SUSE provide any free support?

Yes. SUSE offers complimentary access to its Knowledgebase, Documentation, and Tools at its Support Website. In addition, we offer access to Support Forums where you can post questions related to any of SUSE’s products. These forums are available 7x24x365 and are monitored by a community of expert administrators, consultants, and highly skilled System Operators.

Do I have to use an incident if I just have a quick question, or if it only takes a few minutes to get a resolution?

SUSE technical support is billed on a per-incident basis rather than time and materials, and the price is based on the cost of the average support call. Some calls may be resolved very quickly but will be considered an incident. You may also count on SUSE technical support to handle complicated issues that may take considerable time and effort from multiple SUSE resources, and these very complex issues will also be considered an incident.

For quick questions, we recommend that you visit the SUSE Support Website for a variety of online options, as well as powerful support tools. The Support Website is a very good resource and we have made it easy to find answers to simple questions. If you cannot find the answer you need in the knowledgebase, you may post your question out on our Support Forums. Typically you receive an answer within 24 hours.

Do I have to use an incident to get a file referenced in a Technical Information Document (TID) that is not available in your knowledgebase?

No. All released files are posted on the Downloads site for entitled customer and partner access. However, there is occasion when a TID mentions a file that is not posted on the web. Typically these files have not completed the required testing period. You can acquire such files by contacting a SUSE support engineer. Please keep in mind that when you call, the SUSE Support team will open an incident on your behalf. If all you do is acquire the file, the support engineer will close the call and you will not be charged for an incident. However, if you use this opportunity to ask the support engineer any other questions, it will be considered an incident.

Do I have to use an incident to get support for a bug?

Yes. If you are an Academic customer or Partner with limited incident, we will credit back the incident upon your request if the issue you are reporting has not already been documented in our release notes, patch documentation, or as a TID in our support knowledgebase.

What steps should I take before registering an incident?

Before registering an incident, you should first search our vast support resources including, Knowledgebase, Documentation, and Tools at its Support Website. In addition, we offer access to Support Forums where you can post questions related to any of SUSE’s products. These forums are available 7x24x365 and are monitored by a community of expert administrators, consultants, and highly skilled System Operators. If you cannot find an answer to your particular issue, we encourage you to file an incident.

Can I use someone else's CID to register an incident?

No. CIDs are to be used only by the person to whom they are assigned.

How can I get a faster response time or higher level of service?

SUSE offers two subscription levels with tiered levels of response and access, as well as add-on programs such as Premium Support, which offers higher levels of service and expedited response times. SUSE also has programs to extend the amount of time (lifecycle) you receive support on a solution and programs to support other Linux platforms. Learn more on our Support Offerings page.

How do I register an incident?

The process for logging your incident varies depending on the severity of your issue. For Severity 1 issues, first submit your incident online, and then contact your SUSE support center by phone to ensure the issue has been appropriately escalated to a Severity 1. For all other severities, these two steps are not necessary, and you can open an incident by phone or online. As part of the process, you choose your preferred response method:

• Chat—Request real-time access to SUSE support engineers. Using this technology, you can also 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 or she can work directly on your problem, with no assistance from you required. Chat support is available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese or Polish depending on availability.
• E-mail or call back—Request support via a call back or e-mail and a SUSE support engineer will contact you within the response time parameters of your support agreement.

What is SUSE CHAT?

SUSE offers the ability for customers to choose chat as a method of receiving support. This method provides the ability for Technical Support Engineers to chat, diagnose, and establish remote control all through a single tool and session.

What if the support engineer doesn't resolve my problem? Am I still charged for the support?

If you spent time working with a support engineer, you will be charged for an incident. If you never communicated with a support engineer, your incident will be canceled and you will not be charged.

How can I provide feedback about my support experience?

You may provide feedback about the SUSE website at any time via the feedback tab on the side of this page. You can also provide feedback through your support tickets, either electronically or via telephone. Additionally, unless you choose to opt out, a short survey will be sent to your e-mail address each time one of your incidents is closed. SUSE uses this information to improve our products and support services.

How do I request to escalate my incident?

Many things can happen during the course of troubleshooting technical problems that may necessitate escalating your SUSE incident. SUSE may initiate such an escalation on its own. To request an incident escalation yourself, you may use any of the following methods:

• Contact the assigned Technical Support Engineer (TSE) to ask him/her to escalate the incident.
• Initiate a chat with the call center agent to request an escalation.
• Call the SUSE Support Center to ask the 1st Line for a manager to request escalation.
  When you request the escalation, specify what you would like to see happen. Escalating an incident may mean raising its severity level, reassigning it to another engineer, involving second level resources, or speaking with a manager.
  
  SUSE is committed to resolving problems quickly. By using this process to communicate clearly what you need from us, we can do a better job of helping you be successful with SUSE technology.

Which ports need to be open in order for Bomgar CHAT to work?

Port 443.