How to get information, help, and technical assistance

If you need help, service, technical assistance, or want more information about IBM® products, you can find a wide variety of sources available from IBM to assist you.

Information

IBM maintains pages on the web where you can get information about IBM products and fee services, product implementation and usage assistance, break and fix service support, and the latest technical information. For more information, refer to this table.

Table 1. IBM websites for help, services, and information
Website	Address
IBM home page	http://www.ibm.com
Directory of worldwide contacts	http://www.ibm.com/planetwide
Support for products	http://www.ibm.com/support

Note: Available services, telephone numbers, and web links are subject to change without notice.

Help and service

When you call from the US or Canada, choose the storage option.

Before you call

Make sure that you take steps to try to solve the problem yourself before you call. Some suggestions for resolving the problem before you call IBM Support include:

Check all cables to make sure that they are connected.
Use the troubleshooting information in your system documentation. The troubleshooting section of IBM Documentation for your product contains procedures to help you diagnose problems.
Write down the machine type and model (MTM) and the serial number of the machine with the problem. IBM uses this information to engage the appropriate support team.

Using the documentation

Information about your IBM storage system is available in the information that is available on this IBM Documentation and on the IBM support website.

That information includes online documents, readme files, and help files. See the troubleshooting information for diagnostic instructions. The troubleshooting procedure might require you to download updated software. IBM maintains pages on the web where you can get the latest technical information and download updates. To access this information, go to http://www.ibm.com/support and follow the instructions. Also, some documents are available through the IBM Publications Center.

Sign up for the Support Line Offering

If you have questions about how to use and configure the machine, sign up for the IBM Support Line offering to get a professional answer.

The maintenance that is supplied with the system provides support when there is a problem with a hardware component or a fault in the system machine code. At times, you might need expert advice about using a function that is provided by the system or about how to configure the system. Purchasing the IBM Support Line offering gives you access to this professional advice for your system, and in the future.

Contact your local IBM sales representative or your support group for availability and purchase information.