Tips to solve support cases faster

Here are tips to improve the speed and effectiveness of the support received from DataCore:

• Start with specifics — Support tickets are received with vague problem descriptions (such as "Swarm is not replicating" or "One node does not") and no information about the version of software involved, the configuration, the exact messages or symptoms received. Without that information, DataCore support responds and ask for more information. Time is saved by being precise and detailed and including the maximum possible amount of configuration information. 

• Configuration — The basics about the configuration are needed to diagnose almost any problem:

  1. Basic hardware architecture (number and type of nodes, connectivity, etc.)

  2. Software versions (Swarm, CSN, etc.)

  3. Swarm configuration (cluster.cfg/node.cfg file)

• Logging — Being able to see what happens over time is essential to understanding behavior. DataCore Support likely needs to see logs.

  1. Enable logging: Verify logging is enabled.

  2. Retain logs: It is likely impossible to definitively determine a cause if not logging to a syslog server or if logs are not retained.

  3. Target the timeframe: Provide logs for the period during which the problem occurred. 

Problems are able to be diagnosed quickly if these details are sent early.