Microsoft SQL Server Support Blog : SQL News

SQL Server Support FAQ

sqlblog — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 07:15:00 GMT

How often should I expect to hear from my Support Engineer?

This will vary based on the issue and its impact to your business. If you have specific preferences for frequency of contact, time of day, or method (prefer phone vs. e-mail), please discuss this with your support engineer.

My Support Engineer is not available and I need help now.

If you need immediate assistance and your engineer is unavailable, please contact the engineer’s manager. Manager contact information is in the engineer’s signature block and in the initial e-mail.

If you are unable to reach the manager, you can call the Microsoft Support line (800-936-5800), provide your case number, and request to speak with the next available support engineer. You will be routed to the phone queue for that specialty and connected to an engineer. The Support Engineer receiving the call may need time to review the case history and steps taken to date, depending on the duration and complexity of the issue.

My support issue is not progressing well.

Each Support Engineer should provide a management contact in his/her signature block and in the initial e-mail. If you have:

· Schedule conflicts with your assigned engineer’s availability.

· Communications issues.

· Need a faster resolution.

· Or are otherwise dissatisfied with the support provided, please engage the engineer’s manager.

We strive to deliver outstanding customer service, and we appreciate you letting us know if we are not meeting your expectations.

I need a different engineer.

As mentioned in the preceding section, “My support issue is not progressing well”, you may contact the engineer’s manager and request a different engineer.

My Support Engineer has suggested that we archive the case. What does this mean?

If there is going to be an extended delay before you can implement a change or collect requested data, we may ask to archive your case. This means that the case will be closed on our end. You can reopen the case if you encounter the same error on the same instance/server again, or if you have the data needed to continue troubleshooting.

In order to reopen the case, contact the support engineer or his/her manager directly. You may be asked to provide feedback on support. Please assess the support based on the service received to date, with the understanding that Microsoft does not consider an archived case resolved.

We thought that our issue was solved, but the problem has recurred. Can I re-open my support case?

As long as the problem and the server are the same as in the case, you can re-open the case. To do this, first try to reach the previous engineer or his/her manager. If unable to reach them, contact the Microsoft Support line (800-936-5800), provide your case number, and request that Microsoft re-open the case.

Note that in some cases, the same symptoms can be caused by multiple issues. For example, if a server experienced slow performance and the disk I/O subsystem was fixed and performance restored, and later performance degraded again, this could be due to out of date statistics or other issues. In these ambiguous cases, you may be asked to open a new case.

What do the Microsoft Case Severities mean?

A – Critical – 1 hour initial response goal

· High-impact problem in which production, operations, or development is proceeding but is severely impacted, or where production and/or profitability will be severely impacted within days.

B – Urgent – 4 hour initial response goal

· High-impact problem where production is proceeding, but in a significantly impaired fashion.

· Time sensitive issue important to long-term productivity that is not causing an immediate work stoppage.

C – Important - 24 hour initial response goal

· Important issue which does not have significant current productivity impact for the customer.

D – Monitor

· This severity is used for support issues that are waiting, usually to confirm a provided solution or when waiting for an intermittent problem to recur, in order to collect needed data.

The Support Engineer for my support issue said that I need to open an additional support incident. Why should I have to open another incident?

Microsoft defines an incident or case as:

· A single support issue and the commercially reasonable efforts to resolve it

· A problem that cannot be broken down into subordinate problems

NOTE: The Customer and the Support Engineer must agree on the case resolution. Also be aware that Microsoft does not charge for code defects, documentation errors, and product “wishes”.

As documented on Microsoft’s public website at http://support.microsoft.com/?LN=en-us&sd=tech&scid=gp%3Ben-us%3Bofferprophone&x=7&y=16#faq607

EXAMPLE: A support issue is opened for slow performance of an application with a SQL Server back-end. Troubleshooting identifies a specific stored procedure as the problem, and updates to statistics and an increase in covering indexes resolves the issue.

However, the same server is also experiencing slow performance for merge replication. This is considered a different issue, which is unrelated to the original issue for which the support case was opened.

I’m interested in a higher level of service and a closer relationship with Microsoft.

Microsoft offers a managed support relationship known as Premier Support, designed to meet the needs of an enterprise customer. For an overview of the service elements, please see http://www.microsoft.com/services/microsoftservices/srv_prem.mspx or call 1-800-936-3500 to request contact by a Premier Support representative.

Advisory vs. Break-Fix

Microsoft provides support services for customers with problems encountered implementing or using Microsoft products. These are commonly known as “break-fix issues”. Occasionally customers need short-term (less than 40 hours) consultative assistance, as opposed to the standard break-fix service.

This short-term consultative assistance is known as Advisory service. This is available to Microsoft’s Premier customers as an element in their support contracts. It is also available to other customers on an hourly charge basis.

For more information on Advisory Services, please see the Advisory Services section at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;OfferProPhone or go to the Advisory Services page, http://support.microsoft.com/gp/advisoryservice .

Hope this helps!

Posted By: Microsoft SQL Server Support Team

SQL Server 2000/2005 and DST changes

sqlblog — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 18:39:00 GMT

Background

In August of 2005 the United States Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, which changes the dates of both the start and end of daylight saving time (DST).

When this law goes into effect in 2007, DST will start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November) than what had traditionally occurred.

MS products impacted by this change

You can view a list of all Microsoft products that are impacted by this change here.

Impact on SQL Server

At the time of writing this article, only Notification Services is impacted by this change.

Microsoft has published a KB to help you ease the transition. It highlights the steps needed to be performed in Notification Services to accommodate this change.

Other than NS, please make sure your OS is patched as per the instructions here.

IMPORTANT

Please check this page at least weekly to ensure you have the latest information available.

Posted by : Sanchan Saxena

Microsoft Connect - Submit bugs for SQL Server 2005 Online

sqlblog — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 17:26:00 GMT

Yes, you heard it right.

If you have run into an issue with SQL Server and feel that it is a bug (something that does not work the way you think it is supposed to), you can file your feedback through the Microsoft Product Feedback Center website.

Feedback filed through this website gets reviewed by the Microsoft product team. They evaluate the importance of the issues and recommend workarounds to help you fix the issue. Your suggestion could very well help improve product design or behavior.

To file a bug, start here:

http://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer

First register your profile

Before you get started, you need to do the following:

Sign in
You can use your Live account to sign in.
Register your profile with Connect
If you are using Connect for the first time, you need to register yourself before you can submit an issue.

After sign-in, click on Manage Your Connect Profile link on the bottom left hand corner of the page. Fill in the details about yourself to register a profile. Remember that this registration is a one time process.

Post your issue

Once you are signed in and registered with Connect, click on the link Feedback to get started.

Search if your issue is already reported
Before you file your own issue, you can search to find out if other customers have also reported the same. If you do find your issue already reported, you can give it more weight by voting on it.
If not, then go ahead and file one yourself
If you cannot find an issue that is similar to yours, go ahead and file one for yourself. You will be required to fill up details like steps to repro, expected results, any attachments etc.

What next?

Connect offers a number of other options:

Vote for an issue
You can increase the chance that it will get fixed by clicking on the title and voting on it.
Validate the issue
Let the product teams know if you too can reproduce the issue. If many people are reporting the same issue, the importance of the issue will be increased.
Discuss it
You can post a comment and discuss with fellow customers who are experiencing the same issue.
Report a workaround
If you have found a workaround, you can post it and help other customers resolve their issue as well.
Notification
You can register to receive a notification email if the issue is updated.

Help improve SQL Server

As mentioned earlier, the feedback filed at MS Product Feedback Center is viewed directly by the respective product teams at Microsoft. They actively monitor the website and provide their comments about your issues.

Please note that this is NOT a channel to receive support from Microsoft. If you need technical assistance, please use any of the channels mentioned here.

Thank you for helping us improve our products and your experience with them.

POSTED BY : Sanchan Saxena

Update on SQL 2000 Service Pack 4

sqlblog — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 22:20:00 GMT

If you are running SQL Server 2000 SP4 (build 8.00.2039), you might be interested in this blog. Since the launch of SP4 (build 8.00.2039), several hotfixes have been released publicly. At the time of writing this blog, the latest hotfix build available...(read more)

Update on SQL 2000 Service Pack 3 and 3a

sqlblog — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 22:01:00 GMT

If your SQL Server 2000 is running on Service Pack 3 (build 8.00.760) or Service Pack 3a, you might be interested in this blog entry. Since the launch of SQL 2000 SP3 and SP3a, Microsoft has released a number of hotfixes with resolutions to several known...(read more)

Get technical support from Microsoft

sqlblog — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 13:10:00 GMT

Please note that we do not provide technical support through our blog. However, here is a list of several support options that you can explore: Self Help Microsoft has compiled excellent resources - how-tos, troubleshooting articles, service pack downloads,...(read more)

SUGGESTION BOX I – Let us know what you want us to blog about

sqlblog — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 12:28:00 GMT

We are on a constant lookout for new ideas and suggestions on topics to blog about. If you would like us to blog about a topic of your choice, please post a comment here. All comments are reviewed by our team and prioritized accordingly. NOTE - The suggestion...(read more)