Introduction
- What is SGI® Electronic Support?
- Who is entitled to access this service? What are the prices?
- What do I need to access this service?
- Where is this service available?
SGI Electronic Support vs. Remote Support and Remote System Administration
Activation and Licensing Information
Security and Performance Information
Introduction
What is SGI Electronic Support? [Top]
SGI Electronic Support is the industry's most comprehensive electronic support.
No other company offers this level of integration and ease of use. On the front
end, it is a complete integration of five electronic tools:
- SGI Embedded Support Partner (ESP)
- SGI Supportfolio™
- SGI Knowledgebase
- SGI Update Online Server
- SGI Software Download
SGI Electronic Support leverages the unique capabilities of each of these tools
to deliver an end-to-end support solution. It enables customers to:
- Proactively monitor and manage their SGI systems for increased availability
- Easily access vital system performance, configuration, availability, and system event information
- Enable 7x24 system monitoring
- Receive field-tested solutions from SGI that can be applied to potential system problems in a proactive manner
- Automatically update SGI ProPack™ or SGI Performance Suite SW
- Order SW media and download SW
- Open support cases online and interact with SGI service experts via a web-based portal
- Search for and download patches
Who is entitled to access this service? What are the prices? [Top]
ESP is included with all systems shipped with SGI Foundation Software installed. There is no license required to use basic features such as local event logging and notification; however, for more advanced capabilities, such as automated case creation, the customer must have an SGI system under warranty or covered by one of our Support Plans: SGI® FullExpress™ 7x24, SGI® FullExpress™, or SGI® FullCare™. Also, the use of ESP in System Group Manager (SGM) mode, requires a license, and the system must be under warranty or covered by a Support Plan.
Access to our Support portal, Supportfolio is available to customers with a valid Support Plan. Feature capabilities vary depending on the level of support purchased.
The SGI Knowledgebase is available to customers that have at least one registered SGI system under warranty or a Support Plan.
Our software ordering tool, SGI Update Online Server, is available to customers that have purchased a Support Plan that includes coverage for software (eg, FullExpress 7x24, FullExpress, FullCare or SoftwareCare™).
What do I need to activate ESP automated case creation? [Top]
For systems under warranty or covered by a qualified Support Plan, registering your system with the ESP BackEnd at SGI is easy. To get an up-to-date set of activation instructions, log on to Supportfolio and do a Quick Search for keywords, 'activate esp' in the SGI Knowledgebase.
Where are the Electronic Support Services available? [Top]
SGI Electronic Support Services are available 24x7 worldwide.
SGI Electronic Support vs. Remote Support and Remote System Administration
What is the difference between SGI Electronic Support and SGI Remote Support? [Top]
Both services require a valid support contract with SGI Global Services. However, the required contract levels are different:
- SGI Remote Support is a separately priced service, requiring either a FullExpress 7x24 or FullExpress contract.
- SGI Electronic Support requires a Warranty, FullExpress 7x24, FullExpress, or FullCare contract.
From a deliverables perspective, SGI Remote Support permits SGI's skilled technical engineers to quickly resolve system problems via a remote high-speed connection. With SGI Electronic Support, if the automated case creation feature is enabled, ESP sends e-mail (plain text or encrypted) to the SGI Customer Support Center. Thereafter, the SGI Customer Support Center will provide proactive system monitoring, notification of potential system problems along with the associated high-probability resolutions, and system configuration, performance, and event reports. However, no dedicated high-speed connection is required.
What are the differences between SGI Electronic Support and SGI Remote System Administration (RSA)? [Top]
SGI Remote System Administration is an SGI Installation Services offering, whereas ESP is included with all systems shipped with SGI Foundation Software installed. There is no license required to use ESP basic features such as local event logging and notification; however, for more advanced capabilities, such as automated case creation, the customer must have an SGI system under warranty or covered by one of our Support Plans: SGI FullExpress 7x24, SGI FullExpress, or SGI FullCare.
RSA provides a service akin to an onsite system administrator and may include services such as system environment configurations, corrective actions, and periodic reports. RSA must be purchased separately and requires the supported system(s) to have a minimum FullCare service level contract in addition to the RSA contract.
Activation and Licensing Information
How can I start to receive SGI Electronic Support? [Top]
Activate ESP and the automated case creation feature by following the steps listed in the ESP Basic Activation Guide or contact your local service sales representative.
How can I get a System Group Manager (SGM) license? [Top]
The SGM enables customers to monitor and manage a group of systems. The license is available to authorized customers with a valid Warranty, FullExpress 7x24, FullExpress, or FullCare contract and is renewable on a yearly basis.
What are the interfaces like for SGI Electronic Support? [Top]
The three Electronic Support tools (ESP, Supportfolio, and Knowledgebase) use a
web-based interface. For ESP, a command-line interface is also available.
What are the operating system requirements? [Top]
ESP is included with all Linux-based systems shipped with SGI Foundation Software installed.
How do I activate the automated case creation feature of ESP? [Top]
For systems under warranty or covered by a qualified Support Plan, registering your system with the ESP BackEnd at SGI is easy. To get an up-to-date set of activation instructions, log on to Supportfolio and do a Quick Search for keywords, 'activate esp' in the SGI Knowledgebase.
Security and Performance Information
How does ESP handle security? [Top]
While no system can offer absolute security, SGI has implemented a high-level of protection, in accordance to recommendations from an RSA Security evaluation:
- Validates user permissions of process for proactive actions and disabling actions by root
- Implements ReverseDNS lookup for both the Web server and the ESP SGM
- HMAC/MD5 digital signature of all data transfers to the ESP SGM
- Disables login attempts with time-out periods
- Features a full CLI for all ESP configuration/reports and disabling use of the Web server
- Restricts all ESP database transactions locally
Additionally, the e-mail alert that the auto-call-logging feature of ESP sends
to the SGI Customer Support Center contains only system-level event
information; no customer's proprietary data file content is included.
Customers can opt to send the alert e-mail in plain text or encrypted mode.
How much does ESP impact system performance? [Top]
ESP's two daemons, eventmond and espdbd, are event-driven and thereby consume CPU resources only when an incident is seen by ESP. However, when ESP receives an event, the time taken to process the event is less than 2 milliseconds of CPU time. This time includes the complete processing and storing of the event in the ESP database.
The memory utilization by eventmond and espdbd are ~200KB and ~500KB, respectively. Most utilization comes from storing system configuration data and may therefore vary based on the configuration of the system. Disk utilization is less than 30MB for 64-processor systems with 75 to 125 boards.
An archiving facility of ESP (esparchive) can also be run to compress the database. Compression is between 40% and 60% of the original size of the database.
