Oracle Application Server 10g Essentials [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

3.6 Working with Oracle Support

No matter how much you know about Oracle
Application Server, there are bound to be some issues that you
can't resolve without help from Oracle Corporation.
Part of the job of the Oracle Application Server administrator (or
the DBA serving in that role) is to help resolve those issues. Oracle
offers several levels of support:

Basic product support

Advanced support

Incident support

Each support option costs extra, but regardless of your support
level, you can get the most from Oracle by understanding how to best
work with them.

Resolving problems with the assistance of Worldwide Customer Support
Services can initially be frustrating to novices who report problems.
You may be required to provide a lot of detailed technical
information as part of this process. Oracle's
mechanism for responding to a reported Oracle Application Server
problem is called a Service
Request (SR)formerly known as a
Technical Assistance
Request (TAR). Oracle
responds to Service Requests based on the priority or severity level
at which problems are reported:

Priority level 2

If the problem is impacting your ability to complete a project or do
business, you should report the problem as priority level 2 to assure
a timely response. If the problem is initially assigned a lower
level, and the response hasn't been adequate, you
should escalate the problem-resolution priority.

Priority level 1

If business is halted because of the problem, you should report the
problem as priority level 1. However, note that if you report a
problem at level 1, you must be available for a callback (even after
hours). Otherwise, Oracle will assume that the problem
isn't as severe as initially reported, and they may
lower the priority level for resolution.

You can report problems via phone, via email, or at the
MetaLink web site. MetaLink support,
which is included with basic product support, has become increasingly
popular in recent years. With MetaLink you can quickly get answers to
problems similar to your own. You may save time this way or even
avoid the need for a physical response. MetaLink provides proactive
notifications, customized home pages, technical libraries and forums,
product life-cycle information, a bug database, and the ability to
log SRs (TARs).

When you contact Oracle Support, you need your
Customer Support Identification (CSI)
number. Oracle Sales Consultants can also provide advice regarding
how to report problems. In addition, Worldwide Customer Support
Services offers training regarding effective use of their services.

Oracle Support issues MetaLink Notes whenever software bugs or
vulnerabilities are discovered, and issues appropriate patches.
Oracle Enterprise Manager
10g's Grid Control tool can automatically connect
to MetaLink to provide you with up-to-date
patch availability
information specific to your installation. You can automatically
gather patch-level information about your Oracle Application Servers
using the enterprise configuration-management capabilities in Grid
Control (viewable by selecting the Deployments tab, shown in Figure 3-5). Here you'll also find a
link to lists of critical patch advisory
alerts and the
patches that should be applied in response to those alerts. You can
then select the patches, stage them, and install them through Oracle
Enterprise Manager's job system.

Figure 3-5. Grid Control configuration and patch management