IBM Support

Support for IBM Blockchain Platform 2.1.x and 2.5.x

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Abstract

Getting technical support for IBM® Blockchain Platform 2.1.x and 2.5.x

Content

Important: IBM Blockchain Platform will remove support for Hyperledger Fabric v1.4 on March 31
Support for using Hyperledger Fabric v1.4 in IBM Blockchain Platform has been deprecated since April 1, 2022.  The support of Hyperledger Fabric v1.4 will be removed on March 31, 2023.  Users of IBM Blockchain Platform software that are continuing to use Hyperledger Fabric v1.4 should upgrade to Hyperledger Fabric v2.2 as soon as possible.  Detailed instructions for upgrading to Hyperledger Fabric v2.2 are included within the "Upgrading nodes from Fabric v1.4 to v2.2" heading in this documentation section.
Important: IBM Blockchain Platform will reach end of support on April 30
Support for IBM Blockchain Platform software will end on April 30, 2023.  Due to functional overlap with other offerings, all customers running an IBM Blockchain Platform software installation must migrate their environments to IBM Support for Hyperledger Fabric by April 30, 2023.  More information about this topic can be found in this documentation section.
Support Policy for clients using IBM Blockchain Platform 2.1.x and 2.5.x
The IBM Blockchain Platform provides a flexible management platform that runs on Kubernetes and is based on the Hyperledger Fabric open source project.
This offering includes two deployment options: 
  • Full platform - Includes the operator, management console, peer, CA, orderer, and smart contract container images. 
  • IBM Blockchain images - For experienced Hyperledger Fabric customers, a purchase of IBM Blockchain Platform 2.1.3, 2.5.0, 2.5.1, 2.5.2 or 2.5.3 includes an entitlement to the peer, CA, orderer, and smart contract container images that are signed and supported by IBM. The operator and management console are not included with the images.
Hyperledger Fabric networks consist of many distributed members owning one or more nodes. There are multiple deployment options:
  1.  IBM Blockchain Platform for IBM Cloud with console. See Getting started with IBM Blockchain Platform on IBM Cloud.
  2. IBM Blockchain Platform 2.x (Full Platform)  
  3. IBM Blockchain Images 
  4. Open source Hyperledger Fabric images or a non-IBM product
Containers deployed from any of the above sources can be connected on a single channel and transact. You can join IBM Blockchain Platform peers to any network running Hyperledger Fabric components. Similarly, you can invite Fabric peers to join channels hosted on an ordering service deployed on the IBM Blockchain Platform. Note that you will need to use Hyperledger Fabric APIs or the CLI.
Connection issues between IBM deployed networks and non-IBM deployed networks will only be investigated if information provided indicates that the connection issue originates from IBM Blockchain Platform.
Support for Cases 1 & 2
  • Node deployment process is via console or IBM API. It is documented and supported.
  • Management & governance is via console or IBM API. It is documented and supported.
  • Containers deployed with case 1 or 2 can be imported into any IBM Blockchain Platform console for management.
Support for Case 3
Clients may choose to deploy peer, orderer, Certificate Authority, and chaincode container images. This is an advanced option for experienced Hyperledger Fabric customers.
The container deployment process is via CLI. This process is documented by IBM. Support will be provided to correct any documentation errors in the IBM Documentation describing how to deploy nodes via the CLI.  See product documentation for deployment instructions.  
  • Deployment issues due to the specific circumstances of the customer environment and not related to an error in the IBM Documentation will be the customer's responsibility to investigate.
  • Management & governance is via Fabric. Console and IBM APIs will not work.
  • Containers cannot be imported into any IBM Blockchain Platform console.
  • There is no support for infrastructure nor networking issues.
  • See product documentation for supported platforms.
  • Issues reported with the images themselves will be addressed. 
Support for Case 4
Because the images are open source, support is provided through community resources such as RocketChat, JIRA and stack overflow.
Opening a Support Case
To open a support case for the IBM Blockchain Platform , access the IBM Support Community at https://www.ibm.com/mysupport. On the Support Cases tile, click Open a case. Enter a Title for your case and then from the product drop-down list, search for "Blockchain Platform". Fill in the remaining fields with your problem description by using the suggested guidelines.
This process serves as your main entry point for reporting issues about the IBM Blockchain Platform. If you encounter an issue while running IBM Blockchain Platform on the OpenShift® Container Platform and are unsure which product is the source of your problem, you can open your case against the Blockchain Platform. The team will work to isolate the problem, solve the issue, or bring in expertise from other teams as needed. 
For more information regarding hours of support and other support details, please refer to this IBM Support Guide page.
Download and Installation instructions
After you order IBM Blockchain Platform from Passport Advantage, an entitlement key for the software is associated with your MyIBM account.
Follow the latest deployment instructions in the IBM Blockchain Platform Documentation (OpenShift Container Platform or Kubernetes).

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Document Information

Modified date:
06 February 2023

UID

ibm11072956

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