Configuring support assistance

You can configure either local or remote support assistance with the management GUI or the command-line interface.

Support assistance enables support personnel to access the system to complete troubleshooting and maintenance tasks. You can configure either local support assistance, where support personnel visit your site to fix problems with the system, or remote support assistance. Both local and remote support assistance uses secure connections to protect data exchange between the support center and system. More access controls can be added by the system administrator. The system supports both local and remote support assistance. Use local support assistance if you have restrictions that require on-site support only. Unlike other authentication methods, you can audit all actions that support personnel conduct on the system when local support assistance is configured.With remote support assistance, support personnel can visit on site and they can also access the system remotely through a secure connection from the support center. However, before you enable remote support assistance between the system and support, you first need to configure local support assistance.

Support personnel rely on the support package, such as snaps, dumps, and various trace files, to troubleshoot issues on the system. The management GUI and the command-line interface support sending this data to the support center securely. Additionally, support personnel can download new builds, patches, and fixes automatically to the system with your permission.

If you are configuring remote support assistance, then ensure that the following prerequisites are met:

Using the management GUI

To configure support assistance, complete these steps:
  1. In the management GUI, select Settings > Support > Support Assistance > Set Up Support Assistance.
  2. Select one of these options:
    I want support personnel to work on-site only
    Select this option to configure local support assistance. Use this option if your system has certain restrictions that require on-site maintenance. If you select this option, click Finish to set up local support assistance.
    I want support personnel to access my system both on-site and remotely
    Select this option to configure remote support assistance. Use this option to allow support personnel to access your system through a secure connection from the support center. Secure remote assistance requires a valid service IP address, call home, and an optional proxy server if a firewall is used to protect your internal network. If you select this option, click Next to specify IP addresses for the support center and optional proxy server.
  3. If you selected to configure both local and remote support assistance, verify the pre-configured support centers. Optionally, enter the name, IP address, and port for the proxy server on the Remote Support Centers page. A proxy server is used in systems where a firewall is used to protect your internal network or if you want to route traffic from multiple storage systems to the same place.
  4. On the Remote Support Access Settings page, select one of these options to control when support personnel can access your system to conduct maintenance and fix problems:
    At Any Time
    Support personnel can access the system at any time. For this option, remote support session does not need to be started manually and sessions remain open continuously.
    On Permission Only
    The system administrator must grant permission to support personnel before they can access the system. For this option, remote support sessions need to be started manually and you can specify a maximum time that a session can be idle before the session is automatically closed.
  5. Click Finish.
  6. After you configure remote support assistance with permission only, you can start sessions between the support center and the system. On the Support Assistance page, select Start New Session and specify the number of minutes the session can be idle before the support user is logged off the system.

Using the command-line interface

To configure local support assistance, enter the following command:
chsra -enable
To configure remote support assistance, enter the following command:
chsra -remotesupport enable