1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> 2<!DOCTYPE preface PUBLIC "-//Samba-Team//DTD DocBook V4.2-Based Variant V1.0//EN" "http://www.samba.org/samba/DTD/samba-doc"> 3 4<chapter lang="en-US"> 5<title>Samba Support</title> 6 7<para> 8<indexterm><primary>support</primary></indexterm> 9One of the most difficult to answer questions in the information technology industry is, <quote>What is 10support?</quote>. That question irritates some folks, as much as common answers may annoy others. 11</para> 12 13<para> 14<indexterm><primary>customers</primary></indexterm> 15The most aggravating situation pertaining to support is typified when, as a Linux user, a call is made to 16an Internet service provider who, instead of listening to the problem to find a solution, blandly replies: 17<quote>Oh, Linux? We do not support Linux!</quote>. It has happened to me, and similar situations happen 18through-out the IT industry. Answers like that are designed to inform us that there are some customers 19that a business just does not want to deal with, and well may we feel the anguish of the rejection that 20is dished out. 21</para> 22 23<para> 24One way to consider support is to view it as consisting of the right answer, in the right place, 25at the right time, no matter the situation. Support is all that it takes to take away pain, disruption, 26inconvenience, loss of productivity, disorientation, uncertainty, and real or perceived risk. 27</para> 28 29<para> 30<indexterm><primary>provided services</primary></indexterm> 31<indexterm><primary>services provided</primary></indexterm> 32<indexterm><primary>customer expected</primary></indexterm> 33One of the forces that has become a driving force for the adoption of open source software is the fact that 34many IT businesses have provided services that have perhaps failed to deliver what the customer expected, or 35that have been found wanting for other reasons. 36</para> 37 38<para> 39<indexterm><primary>consumer expects</primary></indexterm> 40<indexterm><primary>problem resolution</primary></indexterm> 41In recognition of the need for needs satisfaction as the primary experience an information technology user or 42consumer expects, the information provided in this chapter may help someone to avoid an unpleasant experience 43in respect of problem resolution. 44</para> 45 46<para> 47<indexterm><primary>free support</primary></indexterm> 48<indexterm><primary>paid-for support</primary></indexterm> 49<indexterm><primary>commercial support</primary></indexterm> 50In the open source software arena there are two support options: free support and paid-for (commercial) 51support. 52</para> 53 54 <sect1> 55 <title>Free Support</title> 56 57 <para> 58<indexterm><primary>user groups</primary></indexterm> 59<indexterm><primary>mailing lists</primary></indexterm> 60<indexterm><primary>interactive help</primary></indexterm> 61<indexterm><primary>help</primary></indexterm> 62<indexterm><primary>mutual assistance</primary></indexterm> 63<indexterm><primary>assistance</primary></indexterm> 64 Free support may be obtained from friends, colleagues, user groups, mailing lists, and interactive help 65 facilities. An example of an interactive dacility is the Internet relay chat (IRC) channels that host user 66 supported mutual assistance. 67 </para> 68 69 <para> 70<indexterm><primary>mailing list</primary></indexterm> 71<indexterm><primary>deployment</primary></indexterm> 72<indexterm><primary>subscription</primary></indexterm> 73<indexterm><primary>IRC</primary></indexterm> 74<indexterm><primary>project</primary></indexterm> 75 The Samba project maintains a mailing list that is commonly used to discuss solutions to Samba deployments. 76 Information regarding subscription to the Samba mailing list can be found on the Samba <ulink 77 url="https://lists.samba.org/mailman/">web</ulink> site. The public mailing list that can be used to obtain 78 free, user contributed, support is called the <literal>samba</literal> list. The email address for this list 79 is at <literal>mail:samba@samba.org</literal>. Information regarding the Samba IRC channels may be found on 80 the Samba <ulink url="http://www.samba.org/samba.irc.html">IRC</ulink> web page. 81 </para> 82 83 <para> 84<indexterm><primary>free support</primary></indexterm> 85<indexterm><primary>qualified problem</primary></indexterm> 86<indexterm><primary>requesting payment</primary></indexterm> 87<indexterm><primary>professional support</primary></indexterm> 88 As a general rule, it is considered poor net behavior to contact a Samba Team member directly 89 for free support. Most active members of the Samba Team work exceptionally long hours to assist 90 users who have demonstrated a qualified problem. Some team members may respond to direct email 91 or telephone contact, with requests for assistance, by requesting payment. A few of the Samba 92 Team members actually provide professional paid-for Samba support and it is therefore wise 93 to show appropriate discretion and reservation in all direct contact. 94 </para> 95 96 <para> 97<indexterm><primary>bug report</primary></indexterm> 98<indexterm><primary>problem report</primary></indexterm> 99<indexterm><primary>code maintainer</primary></indexterm> 100 When you stumble across a Samba bug, often the quickest way to get it resolved is by posting 101 a bug <ulink url="https://bugzilla.samba.org/">report</ulink>. All such reports are mailed to 102 the responsible code maintainer for action. The better the report, and the more serious it is, 103 the sooner it will be dealt with. On the other hand, if the responsible person can not duplicate 104 the reported bug it is likely to be rejected. It is up to you to provide sufficient information 105 that will permit the problem to be reproduced. 106 </para> 107 108 <para> 109<indexterm><primary>purchase support</primary></indexterm> 110 We all recognize that sometimes free support does not provide the answer that is sought within 111 the time-frame required. At other times the problem is elusive and you may lack the experience 112 necessary to isolate the problem and thus to resolve it. This is a situation where is may be 113 prudent to purchase paid-for support. 114 </para> 115 116 </sect1> 117 118 <sect1> 119 <title>Commercial Support</title> 120 121 <para> 122 There are six basic support oriented services that are most commonly sought by Samba sites: 123 </para> 124 125 <itemizedlist> 126 <listitem><para>Assistance with network design</para></listitem> 127 <listitem><para>Staff Training</para></listitem> 128 <listitem><para>Assistance with Samba network deployment and installation</para></listitem> 129 <listitem><para>Priority telephone or email Samba configuration assistance</para></listitem> 130 <listitem><para>Trouble-shooting and diagnostic assistance</para></listitem> 131 <listitem><para>Provision of quality assured ready-to-install Samba binary packages</para></listitem> 132 </itemizedlist> 133 134 <para> 135<indexterm><primary>commercial support</primary></indexterm> 136<indexterm><primary>country of origin</primary></indexterm> 137 Information regarding companies that provide professional Samba support can be obtained by performing a Google 138 search, as well as by reference to the Samba <ulink 139 url="http://www.samba.org/samba/support.html">Support</ulink> web page. Companies who notify the Samba Team 140 that they provide commercial support are given a free listing that is sorted by the country of origin. 141 Multiple listings are permitted, however no guarantee is offered. It is left to you to qualify a support 142 provider and to satisfy yourself that both the company and its staff are able to deliver what is required of 143 them. 144 </para> 145 146 <para> 147<indexterm><primary>commercial support</primary></indexterm> 148 The policy within the Samba Team is to treat all commercial support providers equally and to show no 149 preference. As a result, Samba Team members who provide commercial support are lumped in with everyone else. 150 You are encouraged to obtain the services needed from a company in your local area. The open source movement 151 is pro-community; so do what you can to help a local business to prosper. 152 </para> 153 154 <para> 155<indexterm><primary>unsupported software</primary></indexterm> 156 Open source software support can be found in any quality, at any price and in any place you can 157 to obtain it. Over 180 companies around the world provide Samba support, there is no excuse for 158 suffering in the mistaken belief that Samba is unsupported software &smbmdash; it is supported. 159 </para> 160 161 </sect1> 162 163</chapter> 164