Contact IBM Software Support
IBM Software Support provides assistance with product defects. Contact IBM if you require assistance with a WebSphere Commerce problem.
You can open a PMR online, or open a PMR using IBM's phone support: 800IBMSERV.
Before you submit the problem to IBM Software Support, ensure that the company has an active IBM software maintenance contract, and that you are authorized to submit problems to IBM. The type of software maintenance contract that you need depends on the type of product you have:
- For IBM distributed software products, such as Tivoli, Lotus, and Rational products, DB2, and WebSphere, enroll in Passport Advantage in one of the following ways:
- Online: Go to the Passport Advantage Web site
- By phone: For the phone number to call in the country, go to the "Contracts" page of the IBM Software Support Handbook and click the name of the geographic region.
To contact IBM Software support, follow these steps:
Procedure
- Determine the business impact of the problem.
- Describe the problem and gather background information.
- Submit the problem to IBM Software Support.
Results
IBM Support Assistant
Use the IBM Support Assistant (ISA) software tool to help you solve problems. The IBM Support Assistant is a tool that helps you investigate and resolve problems by making it much easier to find and access many different resources. If you do need to contact IBM support for additional assistance, the Support Assistant helps you submit the problem to IBM Software Support, allows you to open Problem Management Records (PMRs) electronically, and collects logging and configuration information to make the overall process run smoother. WebSphere Commerce 6.0 uses the IBM Support Assistant 3.0. See Install the IBM Support Assistant.
Determine the business impact of the problem
When you report a problem to IBM, you are asked to supply a severity level. Therefore, understand and assess the business impact of the problem that you are reporting. Use the following criteria:
Severity 1 The problem has a critical business impact: You are unable to use the program, resulting in a critical impact on operations. This condition requires an immediate resolution. Severity 2 This problem has a significant business impact: The program is usable, but it is severely limited. Severity 3 The problem has some business impact: The program is usable, but less significant features (not critical to operations) are unavailable. Severity 4 The problem has minimal business impact: The problem causes little impact on operations, or a reasonable circumvention to the problem was implemented.
Describe the problem and gather background information
When describing a problem to IBM, be as specific as possible. Include all relevant background information so that IBM Software Support specialists can help you solve the problem efficiently.
To save time, know the answers to these questions:
- What software versions were you running when the problem occurred?
- Do you have logs, traces, and messages that are related to the problem symptoms? IBM Software Support is likely to ask for this information.
- Can you re-create the problem? If so, what steps do you perform to re-create the problem?
- Did you make any changes to the system? For example, did you make changes to the hardware, operating system, networking software, or other system components?
- Are you currently using a workaround for the problem? If so, be prepared to describe the workaround when you report the problem.