We are sometimes asked questions that not at first are considered technical questions. But never the less these questions are very important for us to answer and hopefully this general FAQ can help you understand the way we work and how we handle technical issues reported to us. Here are the 10 most frequently asked questions:

Q    Is Netop standardized software?
A    Yes, all Netop products are standardized software and this means that product development and error handling follow a predefined and coordinated roadmap from Product Management. If a severe error is identified Product Management has the opportunity to assign a hot fix to resolve the issue, otherwise the roadmap is followed strictly. Contact your local partner or reseller for additional information on the Netop Product Roadmap.


Q    Why do I have to register my Netop software?
A    Everyone who has purchased a Netop product is eligible for technical support. Unfortunately some people use illegal copies of our software and by asking for the license key we can quickly determine if someone is eligible for support or not.


Q    What happens after I have reported a technical issue to Netop support?
A    All cases reported to us via our support form are registered directly into our world wide support system. If you have purchased our software from a local partner or reseller your support case is forwarded to them (1^st level support). In most cases they are able to solve the case from the information and documentation you entered in the case. If they need assistance to troubleshoot they escalate the case to Netop support (2^nd level support). In some situations we may request more information in form of additional log files, screen dumps etc. When all information is available we will try to replicate the problem to determine if it is related to insufficient settings in the software, unintentional use or in fact an error. In case 2^nd level support can establish certainty of an issue as being caused by an error limited to a Netop product or its functionality the support case will be assigned to Product Management.


Q    How soon after a case is reported via the support form can I expect to hear from you?
A    All cases reported to us via our support form are registered directly into our world wide support system. Depending on what severity the case has the time of response is defined in the matrix below. You should receive an e-mail with your case id within 24 hours.

Severity level	Response target 1st level support	Resolution target 1st level support	Resolution target 2nd level support	Release plan Product Management
Critical	2 hours	5 business days	20 business days	Hot fix
High	4 hours	10 business days	30 business days	Hot fix/next release
Medium	1 business day	15 business days	60 business days	Future release
Low	1 business day	20 business days	90 business days	Future release

Q    What do you mean by response target?
A    A response is provided when you have received confirmation that the case is received. A case id is considered as a valid response. Any Critical case reported must be followed up by a phone call to 1st level support.


Q    What do you mean by resolution target?
A    A resolution is provided when a valid explanation or work around to an issue is presented. A valid explanation is also clarification of a specific issue considered an error when it in fact can be related to an unintentional use of the software. After this the support case is considered closed.


Q    When can I expect a resolution to my problem?
A    Depending on what severity the case has the time of resolution is defined in the matrix above. In most cases we are able to return with an answer faster but the targets indicate how much time each level have to investigate and come up with a solution before the issue must be escalated.


Q    Where can I see when you are going to fix the error I reported?
A    All Netop products are standardized software and both product development and error handling follow a predefined and coordinated roadmap. Our Product Managers monitor all errors escalated from technical support on an ongoing basis and decide when a specific error should be corrected. At the moment our Product Managers are working on an outline of upcoming corrections where you are able to follow status on individual cases registered as errors.


Q    Can you help me install other 3^rd party software or configure my network?
A    We can offer you general information or a guideline on what is best practise when it comes to co-existence with Netop software in your network but we cannot tell you exactly how to install 3rd party software or configure your network. In most cases it would be unprofessional if we did. We have no detailed information on how your network is configured and there are so many unknown details and settings that we have no knowledge of. In worst case even a minor change can cause for your network to crash and data to be lost. We recommend you contact your local partner or reseller if you do not have the resources internally in your organisation.


Q    How can I determine what severity level my case belongs to?
A    When a technical issue is reported we will determine what severity level it belongs to according to the criteria’s below:

	Critical:	A Netop product impacts a production or live environment. Causes a severe impact on business operations of end user (e.g. sessions cannot be completed or critical business processes are disrupted). Continuous or near continuous interruption of service. No public workaround is available.
	High:	A Netop product impacts a production, live or lab environment. In production/live environment: causes a serious impact on business operation of end user (e.g. altered sessions lead to degraded service quality or critical business processes are interfered). In lab environment: causes a serious impact on development activity (e.g. integration work to be blocked or delays completion of final system testing). Intermittent disruption of service. No public workaround is available. A Critical severity case with an available workaround.
	Medium:	A Netop product impacts a production, live or lab environment. In lab environment, causes a minor impact on development. In production/live environment causes a minor impact on business operations of end user (e.g. minimal degradation of sessions or business processes). A High severity case with an available workaround.
	Low:	A Netop product impacts a production, live or lab environment. In production/live environment causes little or no impact on business operations of end user. In lab environment, causes little or no impact on development activity. A Medium severity case with an available workaround.