PowerEdge: SupportAssist Enterprise Q&A

Table of Content

1. When should I use SupportAssist for Servers to gather system state information and logs?

2. Supplemental Information: What if the customer has questions about installing and using SupportAssist?

3. Registration of SupportAssist

4. License Agreements

5. Security concerns (Information sent back to Dell)

6. What are the different options to install SupportAssist?

7. Why should a customer keep SupportAssist installed after gathering system state information?

When should I use Dell SupportAssist for Servers to gather system state information and logs?

Each customer is unique and may have different troubleshooting needs, security protocols, and change management policies. Dell SupportAssist for Servers is a fast and effective tool to gather system state information (AKA collections) for many customers.

Understanding the answers to the three questions below can help you quickly identify if the customer is a good candidate to use Dell SupportAssist for Servers. If the customer meets these three profile questions, it is recommended to propose Dell SupportAssist for Servers first to gather system state information.
 

For full details regarding supported models and OS versions, see the documentation on www.dell.com/supportassist.

 

Supplemental Information: What if the customer has questions about installing and using Dell SupportAssist?

Customers may have questioned why they should use Dell SupportAssist to gather this information rather than using other tools, here are some things to consider:

• Dell SupportAssist only requires a one-time installation to get system state information and logs for multiple devices and multiple requests.
• The end to end process to download, install, register, gather, and send to Dell is fast
• The interface is to use

Registration of Dell SupportAssist

• Why is Dell asking for customer’s contact information?
  • In addition to gathering Point of Need system state information and logs, Dell SupportAssist can perform active monitoring and notify the customer in case any hardware failure is detected.
  • Customers can choose to be contacted either by email or phone.
  • Pro Support plus customers receive periodic reporting on Dell SupportAssist monitoring.

License Agreements

What is Dell SupportAssist asking me to agree with these license agreements?


Agreement 1:

• Dell saves customer contact information to provide technical support
• Dell will also collect system state information and log files that contain the following information:
  1. User information: Computer name, domain, IP address, and Dell service tag
  2. Hardware configuration: Installed devices, processors, memory, network devices, and usage.
  3. Software configuration: Operating system, installed applications, and application usage

Agreement 2:

• Dell governs the use of the software including any associated media and publications

Security concerns (Information sent back to Dell)

For security purposes - the customer can mask the network information in the logs sent back to Dell. The option is in the settings tab -> preferences within the Dell SupportAssist UI.

What are the different options to install Dell SupportAssist?

• If the customer is uncomfortable or cannot install Dell SupportAssist on the impacted or unhealthy device, Dell can install Dell SupportAssist on another device and run the collection by iDRAC.
• The automatic transfer of collections is 128-bit SSL encrypted and secure.

Why should a customer keep Dell SupportAssist installed after gathering system state information?

Customers have no obligation to keep Dell SupportAssist installed after a troubleshooting event. If they keep Dell SupportAssist running, it can help in the following ways.

• Dell SupportAssist can provide 24/7 Proactive and predictive monitoring. Dell SupportAssist can quickly notify Dell if a customer’s Dell ProSupport or Dell ProSupport Plus device experiences a critical failure.
• Dell ProSupport Plus customers can automatically receive a monthly email with recommended firmware and driver update reporting for Dell SupportAssist monitored devices.
• Customers can gather system state information at any time and review locally for any devices in the Dell SupportAssist list of monitored devices.