Unitrends Technical Support Handbook

Updated as of December 20, 2023

Overview

This handbook details Technical Support, such as a description of the support services and best practices for contacting Technical Support, to help ensure quick response and issue resolution. The Kaseya Master Agreement, the Unitrends Support Agreement and other applicable documents govern Unitrends Technical Support and are available here: https://www.unitrends.com/legal-notices

Unitrends is committed to providing excellent Technical Support that delights our customers. We know that problems and outages do not always arise during business hours or weekdays. Technical Support includes 24/7/365 access to our award-winning, U.S.-based Technical Support team. Please note that, at this time, all Technical Support communications and correspondence are conducted in English.

Support Eligibility

All Unitrends products may be purchased as a subscription that includes Technical Support for as long as the subscription is active. Alternatively, some Unitrends products may be purchased as a perpetual license. When buying a perpetual license, the customer must also purchase Technical Support for a specified number of years (available terms vary depending on the product). When the Technical Support term ends, the customer may choose to purchase a Technical Support renewal for the perpetually licensed product. Technical Support may not be renewed once a product reaches end of life.

The Unitrends website (https://www.unitrends.com) and Kaseya Help Desk provide customers and Users with a plethora of information, tools and resources. This information can help you quickly troubleshoot issues that may arise. However, for production emergencies, please contact Technical Support right away by phone or chat — our team is available 24/7/365.

Resources How to Contact:
Phone To submit a case via the telephone, customers can call Technical Support at one of our regional support numbers. Find phone numbers here: https://www.unitrends.com/contact
Help Desk Customers have 24/7/365 Technical Support through access to the Kaseya Help Desk. From the Help Desk there is one-click access to all of Unitrends support self-service resources and tools. To access, simply navigate to https://www.unitrends.com and select CUSTOMER SUPPORT in the top toolbar, or visit https://helpdesk.kaseya.com/hc/en-gb/categories/4405594422289
The Help Desk includes access to:

  • Knowledge Base
  • Video Tutorials
  • Documentation
Live Support Chat and Open Ticket From the Help Desk, customers can:

  • Access Live Support Chat
  • Open a Support Ticket
  • View the Status of Their Open Support Cases
Email Customers can create a case via email by sending their case request to [email protected].

Hardware Warranty

During the Technical Support term, all Unitrends hardware includes a limited hardware warranty and firmware upgrades. Most hardware issues can be diagnosed remotely by Technical Support. This diagnostic effort may require the customer to be present on-site or provide Technical Support with remote access to the appliance’s operating system or a console screen. Inability to collect hardware diagnostic information remotely may delay or prevent Technical Support from servicing the hardware.

Technical Support will promptly ship replacement hardware parts or a chassis in the event of a hardware failure that is the result of a material defect in Unitrends hardware.

Severity Definitions and Initial Response Time SLA

Severity levels provide an indication of the urgency of an issue and help us provide a timely and effective response. A case that is created with an incorrect severity level negatively impacts the overall case management process and potentially our ability to provide an accurate response to the customer’s issue. When a customer reports a case to Unitrends, we provide our interpretation of the severity level. We ask that the customer review the severity level and provide input on the level that best matches the problem or issue.

Response goals are intended to provide a target for initial response to an issue or problem. Please note Technical Support will work a System Down issue around the clock, provided that there is a technical resource at the customer’s location available to work with us throughout such period and until:

  • A resolution or workaround is in place and the negative impact has been mitigated.
  • The case severity is mutually downgraded.
Severity Level Definition Initial Response Time
System Down One or more of the following:

  • The customer’s production server or other mission-critical system(s) are down.
  • A substantial portion of the customer’s mission-critical data is at a significant risk of loss or corruption.
  • The customer has had a substantial loss of service.
  • The customer’s business operations have been severely disrupted.
  • The Unitrends product causes the customer’s network or system to fail catastrophically or compromises overall system integrity or data integrity when installed or when in operation (i.e., causing a system crash, loss or corruption of data, or loss of system security) and significantly impacts the customer’s ongoing operations in a production environment. Requires an immediate workaround or solution.
 One (1) Business Hours
Major Impact
  • A problem or issue is adversely impacting production operations but the production system is not down. The product operates but is seriously restricted.
 Three (3) Business Hours
Minor Impact
  • A problem has occurred with a limited adverse effect on the customer’s business operations. A non-production issue where a majority of the functions are still usable. A problem related to a system test.
 Six (6) Business Hours
Information Only
  • Minor issue or question that does not affect the product function and can be readily circumvented. A minor condition or documentation error that has no significant effect on the customer’s operations. A suggestion for new features or an enhancement regarding the Licensed Software.
 Ten (10)
Business
Hours

Opening a Technical Support Case

For optimal service, we recommend that the customer designates a few representatives from its organization that are eligible for opening cases with Technical Support and receiving technical updates and maintenance information. The selected representatives should have the appropriate technical skills and system-level access to work with Technical Support in resolving open issues.

When contacting Technical Support, customers should be prepared to provide the following information:

  • Existing case number, if applicable
  • Name, company name and telephone number with extension
  • The Unitrends appliance Asset Tag Number, if applicable
  • Product name and release level the customer is currently using
  • Operating environment, including network information
  • Issue description: include symptoms, start/end date and time
  • Impact assessment: current condition, functional impact, urgency and severity level
  • Steps taken to troubleshoot the issue thus far

Please note: Cases submitted via email or the Help Desk will only be monitored Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern, excluding major U.S. holidays. If assistance is required outside of the hours mentioned above, customers should contact Technical Support via the telephone to submit their case.

Once the case has been created, a case number will be provided.

Guide to Collecting Case Information Data

The following information is intended to guide the customer in collecting the information that should be ascertained prior to opening a Technical Support case. Having this information ready beforehand will expedite the case resolution process.

Asset Tag

  • For physical appliances, the appliance asset tag is located either on the back or the front of the appliance server.
  • The asset tag can also be retrieved by going to “About” and clicking on “System Information” in the user interface.

Unitrends Software Release Level

  • The current software version running on the appliance can be retrieved by going to “About” and clicking on “System Information” in the user interface.

Issue Description and Error Message

  • When a backup fails or is taken in an incomplete manner, a description of the failure is provided in the backup summary. Customers are asked to provide the complete text of the backup summary for failed backups.
  • Text log files in the Unitrends appliance and/or client system that are relevant for troubleshooting may need to be provided to Technical Support upon request. Additionally, Technical Support may request exports of Windows Event Logs in EVTX format. Technical Support staff will assist the customer in identifying which log files to provide.
  • When troubleshooting errors or failures, Technical Support may ask to have these log files sent to Technical Support via email or fax.

Case Follow-up and Issue Resolution

During the resolution of a case, Technical Support will maintain contact via telephone and/or email or both as needed.

Unitrends’ investment in Technical Support sets us apart. We hire and train our Technical Support engineers to help ensure that they are the best in class at providing the level of service that we believe will not only satisfy you but will also give you peace of mind. While a Technical Support case is open, the assigned Technical Support engineer will provide updates and keep the customer informed of the resolution status of the case. If at any point you believe that you are not getting the level of service that you need, we encourage you to escalate your case via the Help Desk. Escalations are promptly addressed and allow us to understand any concerns and adjust our processes when appropriate as we strive to avoid the same mistake in the future.

Technical Support will seek the customer’s permission and agreement that the issue has been resolved prior to closing a case. The following criteria are used by Technical Support to determine when it is time to close a case:

  • All questions have been answered.
  • A software fix or upgrade has been installed and has resolved the issue.
  • A permanent business or system workaround has been provided to resolve the issue.
  • The reported issue is either a result of a customer-specific customization and/or issues that are caused by the customer’s environment that cannot be resolved by Technical Support.

Once any of the above has been achieved, Technical Support will attempt to contact the customer to close the case. Technical Support will make multiple attempts over five business days to ensure that there aren’t any other circumstances that they may not be aware of that would prevent them from closing the case. If, after these attempts, Technical Support does not receive a response from the customer that warrants the case remaining open, the case may be closed. If a similar issue persists after the case has been closed, we ask that the customer open a new case and reference the old case for context.

Remote System Access Support

The Technical Support staff is skilled at utilizing the remote access capabilities of applicable Unitrends products. Remote access, often referred to by Technical Support as a “Support Tunnel,” is often required to ensure successful and timely resolution to reported issues. Technical Support may also require remote access to the appliance for proactive and diagnostic capabilities.

Gauging Customer Satisfaction

When Technical Support has closed the case, the customer will receive a short survey requesting feedback. We encourage customers to use this survey to offer candid feedback to help us continually improve our service.

Physical Appliance Repair

If Technical Support determines that the Unitrends device is defective, then they will promptly initiate a hardware part replacement or repair. See the Hardware Warranty section for more information. It is extremely rare for a repair to require Unitrends to go on-site, but if required, the customer and Technical Support will coordinate the service.

For part(s) replaced by Technical Support under warranty, the original part(s) must be returned to Unitrends within thirty (30) days. Technical Support will provide a Return Authorization (RA) in the box with the replacement part(s) that are shipped. Any original part(s) not returned to Unitrends within 30 days will be invoiced to the receiving account at the cost of the replacement part(s).

Note that free replacement or repair is only provided: (a) for Supported Hardware (b) during the applicable warranty period, and (c) for a manufacturer’s defect or defects based on normal wear in the ordinary course of business. The following is not covered by the hardware warranty:

  • Reconditioning Supported Hardware or major overhauls to Supported Hardware.
  • Damage as a result of improper use, maintenance, accident or environmental factors.
  • Archive or RAID disks not purchased through Unitrends.
  • Accessories like cables or rails included in appliance packaging that are not installed inside the chassis.

Unitrends uses new and reconditioned parts made by various manufacturers in performing warranty repairs and providing replacement products.

Issues Outside the Scope of Technical Support

Certain issues fall outside of the scope of Technical Support and do not qualify for initiation of a Technical Support case. These situations can include, without limitation, problems caused by non-Unitrends hardware or software, issues with non-supported versions of Unitrends products, installation problems where Unitrends did not perform the installation, the installation and configuration of additional servers, and issues caused by improper use, improper maintenance, accident or environmental factors.

Some issues outside the scope of Technical Support can be handled by the Unitrends Professional Services organization for an additional fee. Please contact your Unitrends Sales Representative or Partner to obtain a quotation, if desired. Technical Support will assist the customer in problem analysis to determine whether the issue is within scope or outside the scope of Technical Support. If Unitrends determines that the problem in question is outside the scope of Technical Support, we must ask that the customer assume ownership of those identified problem areas and resolve those issues which are impacting the Unitrends solution.

Product Supportability

Unitrends policy is that the current (most recent) version of the Unitrends Solution, with all updates and fixes installed, is eligible for full Technical Support. Technical Support for older versions may be limited. Technical Support may be available to those customers that are using old or deprecated versions and wish to upgrade to the current version.

During the Technical Support term, customers are entitled to all software maintenance upgrades, firmware upgrades and those new feature releases that are provided generally to the customer base without additional charge. It is possible that you may need to upgrade your Unitrends product to take advantage of newly released features. Unitrends appliances will send alerts and email notifications to the Administrator of your Unitrends account (designated by you and within your organization) when updates or new releases are available. Customers can also access updates by going to the user interface and clicking on Configuration/Updates.

Unitrends reserves the right to release Software Updates that may require upgrades or replacement of Supported Hardware.

Limited Assistance for Common Issues

Technical Support may provide limited assistance for the following common issues as described below. Please be reminded that, as described in the Kaseya Master Agreement, Unitrends and its Technical Support team have no responsibility or liability for the technology or equipment of third parties.

  • Third-party Application/Environment Assistance
    • Customers may receive limited assistance in diagnosing third-party application and environmental issues which affect the backup solution.
    • Limited NAS, SAN and tape support.
    • Limited support for physical servers hosting virtual appliance.
  • Customer WAN Assistance
    • Customers may receive limited assistance with diagnosing WAN issues for replication or cross-replication troubleshooting. This may include communicating the ports that need to be open and running tests from Unitrends appliance to confirm the ports are open. Unitrends will not access or review the configuration of a firewall directly and will request a firewall admin or third-party vendor be engaged to confirm port/protocol filtering is appropriate.
  • Dissimilar Bare Metal Driver Support
    • Customers may receive limited assistance in gathering the correct drivers for their hardware when performing dissimilar Bare Metal restores. This functionality is for Windows 2003 platforms and higher and would involve going to manufacturer’s site of hardware to be used in restore to collect drivers.

Getting Started

Visit our Help Desk today: https://helpdesk.kaseya.com/hc/en-gb/categories/4405594422289