VMware GLOBAL SUPPORT SERVICES User manual

VMware Global
Support Services
Accelerate Your Return on Investment
GSS Overview
B R O C H U R E

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GSS Overview
Tap Into Unique Expertise in Virtualization and
Cloud Infrastructure
Successful implementations of virtualization and cloud
infrastructures share important attributes: fast and easy access
to a pool of knowledgeable support professionals and extensive
self-help resources. VMware® Global Support Services provides
significant expertise in these areas to help ensure the success of
customers and partners with VMware virtualization and cloud
infrastructure solutions.
As part of the VMware Services family, Global Support Services
works in conjunction with VMware Consulting Services, VMware
Education Services and VMware Certification Services to
accelerate return on investments while mitigating risk. VMware
employs the largest technical force dedicated to virtualization
and specializes in the support of highly complex, varied,
heterogeneous and mission-critical virtual and cloud computing
environments.
“I personally appreciate the outstanding service that
Global Support Services has provided. My team also is
very impressed with your organization’s work ethic
andthe ‘do whatever it takes’ attitude.”
— IT Architect, Global Technology Provider for Industry,
Healthcare, and Energy Sectors
Global Support Services
The combination of VMware customer-proven virtualization and
cloud infrastructure solutions, and world-class Global Support
Services enables customers and partners to follow an evolutionary
path to cloud computing. By preserving existing application and
infrastructure investments while accelerating realized value from a
cloud computing approach, customers can achieve eciency
through utilization and automation, agility with control, and
freedom of choice. To meet the needs of organizations—large and
small, global and regional—VMware oers:
Production Support
VMware Production Support is ideal for enterprises that require
access to continuously available support on a global basis. Support
experts and online resources enable organizations to maintain
continuous operation of their IT environments.
Mission Critical Support
As a complement to VMware Production Support, VMware
Mission Critical Support is recommended for environments that
have little tolerance for downtime and desire a premium support
service. The Mission Critical Support option provides the highest
level of personalized, proactive customer support available from
VMware. The service includes the following:
• AssignedSupportAccountManager–Anescalationand
managementpointpersontoprovideproactiveplanningand
communicationsconductquarterlyreviewsandcreatea
customizedsupportplan
• Environmentinventory–Scheduledproactiveonsitevisits
toperiodicallyreviewandhelpoptimizecustomer
environments
• Supportinquiryreportingandanalysis–Regularreporting
andtrendanalysisbasedonactivitytoidentifyongoing
issuesandmitigatetheirimpact
• Onsitesupport–Proactiveonsiteassistanceasneededto
troubleshootissuesandhelpminimizedowntime
• Upgradeandmigrationsupport–Supportprocess
recommendationstocoveranytime-sensitiveissuesthat
mightoccurduringplannedmigrationsorupgrades
Basic Support
VMware Basic Support is for non-critical applications that require
support only during normal business hours. Basic Support provides
access to industry-leading experts to ensure success in deploying
and maintaining virtualized and cloud infrastructures.
Developer Support for VMware SpringSource
Ideal for the application development phase, VMware Developer
Support provides how-to guidance on the use of SpringSource®
software. Developer Support also includes assistance with
application configuration to enable the most ecient use of
resources during development.
SDK Support Program for VMware vSphere
The VMware SDK Support Program is recommended for
independent software/hardware vendors and enterprise-class
organizations that build solutions to manage the VMware
vSphere™ platform. This program helps third parties get vSphere
solutions to market rapidly by providing access to vSphere
application programming interface (API) expert engineers.

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GSS Overview
To learn more, visit vmware.com/support/services
Extensive Online Self-Help Resources
VMware has made significant investments in online, self-help
resources to speed time to operational status and enable rapid
return investment for existing systems. This wide array of
support tools helps ensure that customers and partners have a
fast, reliable and comprehensive support experience.
For product questions or managing account details, self-directed
support can be the quickest path to resolution. VMware provides
a variety of easy-to-use, online self-service tools:
Support Contract Renewals and Upgrades
VMware partners help facilitate the process of renewing or
upgrading an existing support contract. VMware works closely
with its partners to ensure the process is smooth and seamless
and there is no interruption in service. Visit vmware.com/
support/form/contract_renewal.html to request a renewal or
upgrade quote.
VMWARE GLOBAL
SUPPORT SERVICES
PRODUCTION
SUPPORT
MISSION
CRITICAL
SUPPORT
BASIC SUPPORT DEVELOPER
SUPPORT FOR
SPRINGSOURCE
SDK SUPPORT
FOR VSPHERE
Recommended
Audience
Enterprise-class
environments
requiring
continuous
operation
Environments that
have little tolerance
for downtime and
desire premium
support service
Non-critical
applications that
require support only
during normal
business hours
Application
development
phases
Third-parties
building solutions
for the vSphere
platform
Hours of Operation 24x7 24x7 12x5 12x5 12x5 (6 a.m. – 6 p.m.
local time)
Target Response Time 30 minutes or less:
24x7 for Severity 1
issues
30 minutes or less:
24x7 for Severity 1
issues
4 business hours for
Severity 1 issues
1 business day Standard: 2
business days
Premium: 1 business
day
Receive Product
Updates/Upgrades
Yes Yes Yes n/a n/a
Remote Support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Access to Discussion
Forums and Knowledge
Base
Yes Yes Yes n/a Yes
Number of Support
Requests
Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
• KnowledgeBase(kbvmwarecom)–Designedtobethe
firstgo-toresourceforissueresolutiontheVMware
KnowledgeBasecontainsthousandsofarticlesonbest
practicesandtheuseofVMwareproducts
• ProductSupportCenters(vmwarecomsupportproduct-
support)–VMwareproduct-focusedSupportCenters
provideresourcestosolvetechnicallicensingandor
customerserviceissues
• Documentationreleasenotesandtechnicalpapers
repository(vmwarecomsupportpubs)–VMwareprovides
afullrangeoftechnicaldocumentationoncurrentandolder
Global Support Services At A Glance
Product Licensing Assistance
Global Support Services has an experienced team of agents
available to assist with inquiries related to product licensing and
entitlement for customers with and without an active support
subscription. The Licensing Support Team will update profiles,
change account information, and adjust license relationships as
requested to aid the use and management of VMware products.
To learn more, visit vmware.com/support/licensing.

VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Avenue Palo Alto CA 94304 USA Tel [phone] Fax [phone] www.vmware.com
Copyright © 2010 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents listed
at http://www.vmware.com/go/patents. VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be
trademarks of their respective companies. Item No: VMW_10Q3_BRO_SERVICES_USLET_EN_P1_R5
GSS Overview
• RSSfeeds(vmwaresimplefeednetsubscription)–RSS
feedsareavailabletocustomersandpartnersinterestedin
receivinginformationalblogsautomatednotifications
regardingnewlyreleasedpatchesandKnowledgeBase
articlesaswellasnotificationsaboutproductlaunchesand
othermarketinginformation
• YouTube(youtubecomvmwarekb)–VMwareKBTV
leveragesYouTubetodelivertutorialsfromvirtualizationand
cloudinfrastructureexpertsonanumberoftopics
• Blogs(blogsvmwarecom)–VMwareregularlypublishes
how-toarticlesonproduct-specificblogswrittenbyVMware
expertsCustomersandpartnerscansubscribeviaRSSand
stayuptodateonthelatestVMwareproductinformation
andimplementationbestpractices
Customer Support Days
Customer Support Days (vmware.com/support/customer_days.
html) is a collaboration that brings together VMware Support, Sales
and customers. These events provide a forum to share VMware
product best practices, tips and tricks, and have discussions with
senior VMware technical sta and fellow customers.
Realize the Promise of Virtualization and Cloud
Computing
With an experienced sta, extensive self-help resources and
proactive use of interactive social media to reach customers
with vital information, VMware Global Support Services delivers
exceptional customer support that goes beyond the basics to
help ensure IT success.
To learn more about VMware Global Support Services, please call
toll-free 1-877-486-9273 in the U.S., or for global contact options,
please see vmware.com/support/us_support.html to find the
phone number for your region.
“I cannot praise the support we received enough! The
Technical Support Engineer again resolved our issue
swiftly. The support I have received over the past month
from VMware has been second to none.”
— Senior Systems Engineer, Major Banking and Financial
Services Organization
productsThisdocumentationincludestechnicalmanuals
releasenotestoolsandlibrariesUserscanalsoaccessto
technicalpaperswrittenbyVMwarepartners
• Downloadportal(downloadsvmwarecom)–VMware
customerscankeeptheirenvironmentsup-to-datethrough
theDownloadPortalwhichprovidesaccesstodriverstools
patchesreleasenotesandsecurityupdatesTheportalalso
enablesaccesstoolderproductreleasesand
documentation
• OnlineSupportRequest(vmwarecomsupportcontacts
file-srhtml)–VMwareenablesorganizationstoquickly
completeasupportrequestonlineOnlinesupportrequests
areoeredtocustomerswithasupportcontract
• AccountManagementportal(vmwarecomsupport
licensing)–AuthorizedvisitorstotheVMwareAccount
Managementportalcanobtainanewlicensemodifyan
existinglicenseregisteroractivatealicenseandmanage
theuseoflicensekeys
Collaborative Social Support Interaction
VMware leverages the power of social networks, and other
collaboration tools, to provide rich customer support. These tools
proactively engage customers and partners, and allow
organizations to easily connect with experts who have deep
knowledge of virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions.
They also provide a way for VMware to evolve its technical
content based on input from customers and partners.
• Onlinecommunities(vmwarecomcommunity)–VMware
sponsoredcommunityforumsenablecustomersand
partnerstonetworkwithpeersandsharebestpractices
issuesandresolutionsParticipantslearnaboutnew
releasesdiscusscurrentissuesregisterforeventsand
moreVMwarecommunitiesaretheplacetomeetonline
withvirtualizationexpertswhousethetechnology
everyday
• Twitter(twittercomvmwarecaresorwwwtwittercom
vmwarekb)–VMwareusesavarietyofproduct-centric
Twitteraccountstoprovideinteractivesupporttocustomers
andpartnersVMwareexpertstweetregularlytoanswer
questionsandproactivelyprovideupdatesrelatedto
announcementsissuesandalerts
• VMwareToolbar(vmwaretoolbarcom)–TheVMware
ToolbarcanbeinstalledonanInternetExplorerFirefoxor
SafaribrowsertoconnectwithVMwareexpertsandstato
receiveinstantaccesstopatchesdocumentationandmore