Where do I go for IIS Support?
This is a question that I'm surprised doesn't come up more often. I guess, like many of you, I take pride in figuring things out on my own. I hate asking for help and admitting I don't know the answer. And we've all had the unfortunate experience of calling a support line for help and getting someone who we just *know* is even more clueless than we are. :)
The IIS Forums are a great place to start - many members of the product team hang out there, and our top-notch MVPs. But when you just can't find an answer on your own, remember that your time is valuable, and probably worth a lot more than the few hundred bucks you'd spend letting Microsoft research the issue and figure it out. So the next time you get stuck on a problem, don't hesitate to pick up the phone and give the Microsoft IIS support team a call. Here are a few tips that may be helpful:
Who is the IIS support team?
The IIS support team rocks! We are lucky enough to have a support engineer sit directly in our offices as a liaison to help escalate issues - from both sides - and communicate our ongoing development to our support team. In addition, I have the opportunity to sit down with the support leadership team once every quarter to review support trends, hot issues, and customer satisfaction. Every time we meet I'm impressed with how smart and serious they are and how much they care that you are happy with the product. They definitely watch the stats carefully, and they are constantly championing for you to get things fixed in the product so that someday, if we do our jobs perfectly, you'll never have to call support. Too bad we're not perfect. :)
The IIS support team is filled with engineers who are dedicated to help you research the problem and do whatever it takes to find the resolution. Not convinced? Read this blog entry by Doug Hughes about his support experience. PSS engineer Rohan stuck with it until the case was solved. From the comments on the blog, it appears he isn't alone in enjoying great results from the IIS support team.
Where do I call for IIS support and how much does it cost?
If you work for a large business, chances are that you already have a support contract in place with Microsoft. If you aren't sure, ask your IT manager. If a support contract exists, there is an existing way for your company to work with our support team under the agreements of the contract.
If you don't have a support contract, you can just as easily reach our support team directly. Check out this Web page for more information on support options, including information on email support as well as phone support. Email support starts out at $99.00 per request (with 1 business day response time). You may also call support during business hours for $245 per request or $490 per request for business-critical after-hours support. It doesn't take much of your time lost trying to find a solution on your own for this to pay for itself!
How long will it take to solve my problem?
How long it takes to solve your problem depends on a lot of different factors including the nature of the problem itself. Hangs and intermittent performance problems can sometimes be the hardest to reproduce and solve. The type of applications and third party products installed also make a difference. It is more difficult to troubleshoot applications where third party products are involved, but our support team will work with you - and the vendor if their component is installed - to pinpoint the issue. Since the IIS support team makes it their business to provide support, they have a huge database of issues they can comb through to find resolutions rapidly - in some cases on the first call you make. Other times, especially with problems that are more complicated or hard to reproduce, it may be necessary for you to gather more diagnostics data (which they will help walk you through how to do) and iterate on the problem with them over several days. No matter the length of time it takes, one thing is for sure: you will get an answer.
What do I do if I'm not satisfied with the support I'm receiving?
Tell us! If you're not happy with the support you are receiving, or with the resolution once your support case is over, please let us know so that we can continue to improve. On your first contact with an IIS support engineer, you'll receive an email with their contact information, and the contact information for their manager. If at any time during the support process, or after, you aren't satisfied, be sure to use that contact information to give us feedback. The sooner you give us feedback, the better we will be able to respond to your needs and make sure you get a satisfactory answer.
hope this helps -
bill