Opening a support case with IBM Support

If you cannot find a solution to your problem in the product documentation, open a support case with IBM Support.

Before you open a support case

Before you contact IBM Support, complete the following steps:

Check the Instana version support policy

Foe more information about the Instana version support policy, see Version support policy.

Check the release notes

Review the release notes to check whether your issue is already reported and a workaround or solution exists in the docs.

Gather support information

If you cannot find a solution to your problem in the product documentation, you need to open a support case with IBM Support. For more effective support, you need to provide some information to the Instana support team.

If you are a SaaS user, gather the following information:

  • A direct link in the Instana UI where you observe an issue or want to make some changes.
  • A screenshot of the exact area of the issue in the Instana UI, if applicable.
  • Agent logs if the agent is turned off due to a huge impact on your system. For more information about how to collect agent logs, see Collecting agent logs.

If you are a self-hosted user, gather the following information:

  • Relevant agent or backend logs. For more information about how to collect agent or backend logs, see Collecting agent logs or Collecting backend logs.
  • A screenshot of the issue in the Instana UI.
  • Versions of software and technologies that are in use, which are relevant for the reported issue.
  • Any recent changes that impacted the system performances.

Collecting agent logs

If you have an issue on the agent side, you must follow some steps to collect the agent logs. For more information about how to collect agent logs for the following platforms, see:

To adjust log level and obtain agent debug logs, see:

Collecting backend logs

If you have an issue on the Instana backend side, you must follow some steps to collect the backend logs. For more information about how to collect backend logs for the following platforms, see:

To adjust log level and obtain backend debug logs, see:

Opening a support case

To open a support case, complete the following steps:

  1. Go to the IBM Support site and click Open a case.

  2. Log in with your IBMid and password, and consent to the IBM Privacy Statement.

  3. Enter the following case details:

    • Case title that summarizes your issue.

    • Product name, version, and manufacturer.

    • Type and severity of the issue.

      The case severity is based on the business impact of the problem. If you set the case severity as 1, you need to be available round-the-clock to work with IBM Support on this issue.

    • Description of your issue in your preferred language that includes the problem, steps to reproduce the problem, suggestions and expected outcome, and other relevant information specified in the Gather support information section.

  4. Upload relevant screenshots and (debug) logs. For more information, see Gather support information section.

  5. Optional: To save this case as a template for future reference, select the Case template checkbox.

  6. Click Submit a case.