Oracle Support

Oracle support will entitle you to phone, e-mail, and web-based support, as well as patches and no-cost upgrade to future releases of the same product.

Oracle uses a CSI Number (Customer Support Identification Number) to verify if a customer is eligible to receive Oracle support. The CSI number is also used to identify a customer's account and track service requests.

Purchasing support

When you buy an Oracle product, support for one year is normally included with the purchase price. After that, the support contract must be renewed annual. The renewal fee is normally 22% of the original purchase price.

Logging Service Requests

Customers with valid CSI numbers can log SRs (Service Requests) on the Metalink Website. MetaLink is Oracle's electronic/ on-line Support Service. A SR logged via Metalink is also referred to as an iSR (Internet Service Request). It was previously called a TAR (Technical Assistance Request).

Open a web browser and navigate to http://metalink.oracle.com/. If you do not have an account, you can register yourself. However, have your company's CSI number ready. For more info, see Metalink.

Ordering New Software Updates

If you have a maintenance and support contract in place with Oracle, you can log Software Update Requests directly on Metalink. When approved, Oracle will ship the software to your address.

Web Conference with Support

When creating a SR on Metalink, you may be asked if you would allow Oracle to start a Web Conference (using OCS - Oracle Collaboration Suite) to your desktop to gather more info about the problem.

If you've answered yes, Oracle may ask you to navigate to http://conference.oracle.com and supply a conference ID and key. During setup, you will be asked if you would like to give Oracle full control over your workstation, or if you just want them to see your desktop.

For more information about OCS, see Metalink Note: 278545.1.