SUSE Support Definitions
To understand policy information for each support offering from SUSE, please select an option below:
SUSE Technical Support
SUSE technical experts give you the help you need, when you need it. With Priority Support, you get follow the sun, 24x7x365 technical support from our globally based experts. Customers with standard and priority subscriptions can open incidents through our SUSE Customer Center or search our self-help knowledge base. For a production system down, we recommend all customers to call their local number as listed in our support handbook. View the technical support policy handbook.
SUSE categorizes technical support into the following categories:
Problem determination, which means technical support designed to provide compatibility information, usage support, ongoing maintenance, information gathering and basic troubleshooting using available documentation.
Problem isolation, which means technical support designed to analyze data, reproduce customer problems, isolate problem area and provide a resolution for problems not resolved by Level 1 or prepare for Level 3.
Problem resolution, which means technical support designed to resolve problems by engaging engineering to resolve product defects which have been identified by Level 2 Support.
Security and Maintenance Patches
SUSE provides security and maintenance patches for all currently supported solutions because we know keeping your systems up-to-date helps ensure maximum performance and security. Through the SUSE Customer Center, SUSE will proactively notify its customers when patches are available for their systems. You will also find the powerful tools you need to update them quickly and easily.
During a product’s general support period, SUSE’s Support team is available for:
- Break-fix technical support related to
- Installation
- Upgrade
- Configuration
- Unplanned outages and errors
During a products general support period, you will also have access to software repositories for maintenance and security patches.
During a product's extended support period, customers with active subscriptions continue to have access to software repositories, where previously released maintenance patches are posted. During the extended support period, SUSE will deliver security patches for critical vulnerabilities, and maintenance patches for critical non-security issues.
Program Temporary Fixes and Defect Resolution
SUSE provides security and maintenance patches for all currently supported solutions because we know keeping your systems up-to-date helps ensure maximum performance and security. Through the SUSE Customer Center, SUSE will proactively notify its customers when patches are available for their systems. You will also find the powerful tools you need to update them quickly and easily.
Service Packs
Service Packs are up-to-date product versions which contain enhancements, as well as all maintenance and security patches released since its prior version (if there is one), packaged into a single, convenient, installable image. Once a new service pack is released, customers have six months to upgrade to this latest service pack, and continue to receive current patches and fixes.
Long Term Service Pack Support
Long Term Service Pack Support provides up to 3 years of continued access to technical support, maintenance and security patches for selected products that have reached the end of general support date. You can purchase this continued support in 1-year increments to continue access to migration, configuration, break-fix help, and Defect Resolution for Level 1 and 2 severity issues.
Extended Service Pack Support
Extended Service Pack Overlay Support (ESPOS) provides an additional 3 years support for a specific product release, in addition to the 6 months overlap support period already provided, for a total of 3.5 years. This eliminates the need to purchase LTSS until the last service pack.
During this period, you receive support and all relevant maintenance updates under the terms of Long Term Service Pack Support (LTSS). LTSS does not include any software enhancement requests or hardware enablement, and is available as an extension to an existing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server subscription. Both LTSS and ESPOS are not available for new deployments that are past the end date of general support.
