Users Guide
Table Of Contents
- SupportAssist Version 2.2 for Dell OpenManage Essentials User's Guide
- Overview
- Installing, upgrading, and uninstalling SupportAssist
- Using Dell SupportAssist
- Starting SupportAssist
- Getting started with SupportAssist
- Configuring the default device type credentials
- Configuring the local SMTP e-mail server settings
- Verification of device status
- Connectivity test
- Editing device credentials
- Resetting the device-specific credentials to the default device type credentials
- Overwriting the device-specific credentials with the default device type credentials
- Filtering the system log collection
- Sending the system logs manually
- Enabling or disabling the automatic collection of system logs
- Enabling or disabling the scheduling of system log collection
- Scheduling the periodic collection of system logs
- Default system log collection schedule
- Disabling the scheduling of system log collection for a specific device type
- Viewing the case list
- Viewing the device inventory
- Filtering the displayed data
- Removing filters from the displayed data
- Sorting the displayed data
- Device grouping
- Device credentials used by SupportAssist
- Configuring the system credentials
- Auto update
- Configuring proxy server settings
- Confirming connectivity through the proxy server
- Opting in or opting out from ProSupport Plus server recommendation report emails
- Configuring e-mail notification settings
- Setting SupportAssist to maintenance mode
- Support for Dell OEM servers
- Viewing and updating the contact information
- Accessing and viewing the logs
- Accessing and viewing the system log collection
- Viewing SupportAssist product information
- Viewing support information
- Accessing the context-sensitive help
- Troubleshooting
- Installing SupportAssist
- Registration problem
- Ensuring successful communication between the SupportAssist application and the SupportAssist server
- Verifying the installation of the collection components
- Launching SupportAssist
- Services
- Collection error
- Collection upload error
- Security
- Troubleshooting SSL connection failure
- Service contract
- Service Tag warnings
- Dell SupportAssist user interface
- Related documents and resources
- Error code appendix
Key features
The key features of SupportAssist include:
● Monitoring — Monitors your hardware and accelerates identification of issues with e-mail alerts from Dell at the time of
hardware failure.
● Automatic support case creation — When a critical alert is received from your hardware by OpenManage Essentials, the
alert information is sent to Dell and a Service Request is automatically created. A Dell Technical Support agent contacts you
about the alert and helps you resolve the issue.
NOTE: Support cases opened before SupportAssist installation and support cases opened by contacting Dell Technical
Support, do not appear in SupportAssist.
● Automated log and configuration collection — Information required for troubleshooting the issue is automatically collected
and sent to Dell.
● Proactive parts dispatch — Based on examination of the troubleshooting data, if the Dell Technical Support agent
determines that a part needs to be replaced in your environment, a replacement part is dispatched to you with your consent.
NOTE: SupportAssist also enables reporting for devices with a Dell ProSupport Plus service contract. ProSupport Plus
reporting provides insight into the as-maintained environment configuration with proactive firmware recommendations and
other reports.
SupportAssist capabilities available with Dell service
contracts
The primary benefits of SupportAssist are available only for devices that have an active Dell ProSupport or Dell ProSupport
Plus service contract. SupportAssist also detects potential hardware issues in devices that have a Dell Basic Hardware service
contract. However, a support case is not created automatically for devices with a Basic Hardware service contract.
The following table provides a comparison of the SupportAssist capabilities supported with the Basic Hardware, ProSupport, and
ProSupport Plus service contracts.
Table 1. SupportAssist capabilities
SupportAssist
capability
Description Dell service contract type
Basic
Hardware
ProSupport ProSupport
Plus
Proactive detection of
hardware failures
SupportAssist receives alerts for hardware
events that occur in monitored devices and
proactively determines if the alerts indicate a
hardware failure.
Predictive detection of
hardware failures*
Intelligent analysis of data collected from a
monitored device is used to predict hardware
failures that may occur in future.
Automated data
collection
Data required for troubleshooting a hardware
failure is automatically collected from the
monitored device and sent securely to Dell.
Automated support
case creation
When a hardware failure is detected either
proactively or predictively, a Service Request
is automatically created with Dell Technical
Support.
Automated email
notification
An email notification about the support
case or issue is automatically sent to
your company’s primary and secondary
SupportAssist contacts.
Proactive response
from Dell Technical
Support
A Dell Technical Support agent contacts you
proactively about the support case and helps
you resolve the issue.
Overview 7