SDL Customer Portal

Portalyx / SDL Maintenance Services Guide

Contents

Ticket (Issue) Information

In order to for Portalyx Technical Support to provide assistance we will need some information when you contact us. Based on the information you provide, we will then work to resolve your issue. Below is an overview of the support process.

Contact Information

As soon as you receive your software, we ask that you register your technical contacts on the SDL Customer Portal. If you do not yet have a SDL Customer Portal login please use Request Portal Login on the Portalyx Support web site.

Please include all telephone and e-mail contact information. If you move, change phone numbers, or have personnel changes relating to your technical support contacts, please let us know so we can update our database. When you place an issue, it is preferred that the issue is placed and managed by the primary or secondary technical contacts.

Customer Site Code / Contract

The Site Code is a nine-digit number assigned to the server by the SDL Sales Administration Department. This is usually your five-digit customer code, followed by another four digits to differentiate between multiple servers, if any. Example: 12345-0101. You will find this in an existing license file.

Product and Computing Environment Information

In order for Technical Support to provide assistance we will need the Product Name, Version, Patches and the Operating System for both servers and clients. The Product Name, Version, and Patch can be found in the Help, About menu of your SDL product.

Severity (Priority) of Issue

It is important that a severity level is defined for each issue. This allows us to assign the right resources to get your issue resolved as quickly as necessary. Please assist us in establishing a severity level by letting us know the impact of the issue on your business, and informing us of what you think the priority should be when you submit your request.

Once you have opened a ticket, we will respond to your issue based on the severity level. The following lists the severity levels that can be assigned to an issue and response time goals:

Critical Priority Issues (P0)

This is the highest priority level. This priority level is reserved for issues that have the most urgent impact on operation and prevents the output of time critical data from the production system. This is used for any issue where there is no available work-around and production is stopped. We will provide an initial response and activity to solve the issue within 4 hours after notification and a status upon request until resolution.

High Priority Issues (P1)

This priority level is for issues affecting operation, but does not prevent the output of time critical data from the production system. This is used for any issue where there is a reasonable work around for, but production is impaired. We will provide an initial response and activity to solve the issue within 4 hours after notification and a status upon request until resolution.

Medium Priority Issues (P2)

This is the default priority level assigned to any issue not specified as Critical or High. This priority level is for issues that have no major impact on operation or production. We will provide an initial response and activity to solve the issue within 8 hours after notification. The status of these issues will be available upon request or in release notes.

Low Priority Issues (P3)

This priority level is for questions, requests for information, or requests for feature enhancements. We will provide an initial response and activity to solve the issue within 8 hours after notification. The status of these issues will be available upon request or in release notes.

Synopsis and Problem Description / Details

When you contact Technical Support you will be asked to provide an issue synopsis so that it can be tracked, along with a full description and details of the issue.

Before you contact Technical Support, gather the information you will need to give to the Technical Support Representative. All of the assistance we provide is based on the description and supporting data that you provide to us. Make notes about the difficulties you are having and try to make an attempt to narrow down the steps to reproduce a problem as much as possible before contacting us.

When you place a ticket or contact us, please be prepared to provide us with a description and supporting data, including the following:

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Reproducing Issues for Technical Support

Technical Support uses various methods to identify and resolve issues. Depending on the nature of the problem the resolution may be found by a simple question and answer, or the customer may be asked to provide a sample job or database.

Due to the complexity of many customer environments it will be necessary to isolate the issue in a standard environment and send us only the files needed for us to reproduce the issue. The following guidelines should be followed based on the type of issue.

Note: If you need assistance in determining the best way to reproduce an issue, please contact Portalyx Technical Support.

XPP Jobs and Style Specifications

For all issues relating to general Composition, Editing, XML/SGML, Style Specifications, Libraries, Printing and PDF output, Fonts, the PathFinder, etc., please reproduce issues using the following:

Note: Portalyx maintenance services do not include debugging custom macros and style specifications unless it has been isolated to an issue with standard product functionality. Should you elect to have Portalyx diagnose issues related to custom macros and style specifications, it will be billed at Portalyx’s current consultancy rates.

XPP Archive Jobs

The Archive Jobs option allows you to archive XPP jobs with all the files, graphics, and style data referenced by one or more divisions. The utility archives only the files associated with the current session of a division and all sessions of supporting data files and style specs. For more information, please see the documentation Managing XPP, Archive/Restore Utility.

XPP Configuration and Environment

For all issues relating to Setup and Configuration, PostScript resources (fonts), Job Tools, Automatic Processing, CITI Processes, XyDiff Configurations, Command Line Utilities, Environment Variables, Web Services, SDL Utilities and Tools, etc., please reproduce issues using the following:

Note: Portalyx maintenance services do not include technical support for Custom Applications, Transformations, Programs, Scripts or Code unless it has been isolated to an issue with standard product functionality. Should you elect to have Portalyx diagnose issues related to your custom environment, it will be billed at Portalyx’s current consultancy rates.

SDL Software, Upgrades and Patches

For all issues relating to installing SDL software, upgrades and patches and associated hardware and activities relating to upgrades or conversions due to new versions of the operating environment, please provide the following:

Note: Portalyx maintenance services do not include on-site or remote installation of SDL software, upgrades and patches. Should you elect to have Portalyx assist in loading software, upgrades and patches, it will be billed at Portalyx’s current consultancy rates.

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Issue Escalation and Resolution Process

Portalyx Technical Support provides assistance to customers who are under warranty or have a current software maintenance agreement. Support is provided on the currently supported versions of products and is subject to the terms and conditions in the product’s Software License Agreement.

Portalyx maintenance services do not include the following, unless it has been isolated to an issue with standard product functionality:

Portalyx Issue Escalation and Resolution

During the progress of an Issue, it may be changed to a higher or lower priority level, which will be agreed upon mutually with you in advance. If the issue requires escalation or has been resolved, please contact us so that we can update your ticket.

If the issue requires escalation we will ensure that the appropriate business and technical focus is maintained and work with you to build an action plan until the issue is brought under control. To escalate a request, the Technical Support Representative may need to ask you for information to understand the impact on your business, as well as the technical nature of the problem, such as:

SDL Customer Support Issue Escalation and Resolution

If Portalyx is not able to resolve the issue after reproducing it, the issue will be sent to SDL Customer Support along with all the information that you have provided to us. SDL Customer Support will then reproduce the issue and attempt to resolve it.

If the issue is found to be caused by a problem in the core software, then an Engineering issue is opened against the Technical Support ticket number and sent to SDL Engineering. In cases where it is determined that the software is functioning as designed and the customer is requesting additional functionality, a Request for Enhancement (RFE) can be requested. Request for Enhancements are considered for possible inclusion in future software releases.

It is also possible for the customer to request an “Engineering Special”. This is a request by the customer for special functionality, above and beyond core product. This is similar to an RFE, except the customer is requesting the special feature to be included sooner than later. This is a purchasable request and the customer will need to consult with their account representative. The account representative will then consult with SDL to first determine feasibility, as well as a level of effort. If it is determined that the Engineering Special is possible, the customer will be presented with a financial quote.

SDL Engineering Issue Escalation and Resolution

SDL’s Engineering Department maintains a separate database for tracking issues reported against the software. If SDL Customer Support opens an engineering issue against a call, you will be provided with a five-digit code to reference that engineering issue.

Issues are acted upon by priority and severity. Issue fixes are usually targeted for specific “Patch Sets” to that particular product release, or the next software upgrade or new release. Once generated, Patch Sets are made available to maintenance customers, free of charge, either via download from the SDL Customer Portal, or via CDROM delivery. Non-maintenance sites should contact their account representative should they wish to purchase a release patch set.

SDL Customer Support meets with Engineering once a week to discuss new and outstanding Engineering issues, with a goal to target a fix. Once an issue is targeted, the customer is notified about the targeted Patch Set release. The customer can request a status at any time.

With each software release, SDL provides a list of issues fixed by that release. These are available on the SDL Customer Portal or on the release media. The customer can use the Fixed Issues Report, which accompanies a release or Patch Set, to verify the fix for their specific issue. SDL may also provide Release Notes for a Patch Set, which will contain additional documentation on fixed issues that may be of special interest.

Issue Escalation Contacts

If you have followed the procedures and are not getting the desired response or if your business requirements have changed, we recommend that you first contact the contact the Technical Support Representative assigned to the call.

If you would then like to escalate an issue, please contact the following account representatives, based on the organisation which your maintenance agreement is with, either Portalyx or SDL Europe:

Portalyx XPP and Contenta Customers

Ms. Ellyn Larson, Director
Portalyx B.V., The Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 570 8979
Fax: +31 20 570 8989
E-mail: elarson@portalyx.com

SDL Europe XPP and Contenta Customers

SDL Customer Support
Corporate Headquarters, United States
Tel: +1 (800) 925.1269
Fax: +1 (781) 756.4320
E-mail: dispatch@sdl.com

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