Owner's Manual

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Overview
Dell SupportAssist collects information about your computer hardware and software, and automatically creates support
cases when issues arise. This helps Dell to provide you an enhanced, personalized, and efficient support experience.
Dell uses this data to help solve common problems and design and market the products and services features you use
most.
SupportAssist integrates with Dell OpenManage Essentials to provide support capabilities for the following Dell
enterprise server and storage solutions, using the existing environment data:
• Dell PowerEdge servers running:
– Microsoft Windows 2008 Standard, Enterprise, or R2
– Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5
– SUSE Enterprise Linux 10 or 11
– VMware ESX or ESXi 3.5, 4.x, or 5.0
• Dell PowerVault MD storage arrays
• Dell PowerConnect Ethernet switches
NOTE: SupportAssist does not support CloudEdge or PowerEdge-C servers.
SupportAssist also provides rich device, support case, and service contract reporting.
You can access information about the OpenManage Essentials-managed Dell devices and related support cases from
the Device Inventory and Case List reports in the SupportAssist dashboard.
Equipping your OpenManage Essentials server with SupportAssist is voluntary, and results in improved support,
products, and services designed to meet your needs.
Key Features
The key features of Dell SupportAssist include:
• Remote monitoring — Monitors your hardware to inform you of critical alerts.
• Automated log and configuration collection — Information required for troubleshooting the issue is
automatically collected and sent to Dell.
• 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 prior to SupportAssist installation, do not appear in the SupportAssist
dashboard.
• 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.
Features Supported With Dell Service Contracts
The features supported on your environment may vary based on your Dell service contract.
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