<?xml version="1.0"?>
<faqs>
    <super id="faq">FAQ</super>
    <super id="faq_support">Submitting a Support Request</super>
    <name>Submitting a Support Request</name>

    <introduction>
        <p>
            There are times when we all get stuck and need a little help.
            Sending a support request is one of the many ways that you can
            get that help.  Why would you want to submit a help request
            directly to the OpenEJB team as opposed to using the 
            <a href="lists.html">mail list groups</a> and how is this different
            than submitting a <a href="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=44351&amp;atid=439274">bug</a>?
        </p>
        <p>
            While using the mail list groups is a great way to bounce ideas
            around and get some help, many members of the OpeneJB team regularly
            monitor the groups, submitting a support request will guarantee
            that you will get some help from someone on the team and, since 
            the request is tracked, it's a way to make sure that your question is not
            <i>forgotten</i>.
        </p>
        <p>
            But how is this different than a bug?  If you are sure that your
            problem is the result of a bug in the OpenEJB system, then by all
            means, submit a <a href="faq_bug.html">bug report</a>.  If you're not
            sure, then submit a Support Request.  We'll escalate this into a
            bug report, if it turns our to be a problem with OpenEJB.
        </p>
    </introduction>
    <faq>
        <question>How do I submit a Support Request?</question>
        <answer id="submit">
            <p>
                It's very easy!  Go to the
                <a href="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=add&amp;group_id=44351&amp;atid=439275">SourceForge.net: Submit New Issue/Request</a>
                page.  You'll see that you are prompted to fill in several fields.
                The more fields that you fill in, the faster and more accurate the
                answers will be from the support group.  Let's review these fields.
            </p>
            <p>
                The first field is <i>Category</i>.  Use this field to tell the
                support team which part of the OpenEJB system that you're having
                questions about.  If nothing seems to match, then just leave it
                blank.
            </p>
            <p>
                The next field is <i>Group</i>.  This field is used to specify the
                version that you're using.  If nothing seems to match, then just leave it
                blank.
            </p>
            <p>
                The next field is <i>Summary</i>.  It's very important that a
                compact descriptive phrase gets placed in here to avoid any delay
                in the processing of the request.
            </p>
            <p>
                The final field is <i>Detailed Description</i>.  In addition to
                a detailed description, it would be helpful if you provided the 
                following additional information:
                <ul>
                    <li><a href="#details">OS version</a></li>
                    <li><a href="#details">Java VM version</a></li>
                    <li><a href="#details">Java CLASSPATH</a></li>
                </ul>
                and if available
                <ul>
                    <li><a href="faq_support_logfiles.html">OpenEJB log files</a></li>
                </ul>
                Information on how to collect this information is given below and
                in the FAQ <a href="faq_support_logfiles.html">Finding OpenEJB Log Files</a>.
            </p>
         </answer>
    </faq>
    <faq>
        <question>How do I collect detailed information for my Support Request?</question>
        <answer id="details">
            <p>
                The figure below is a snippet of output from an OpenEJB test.
                It contains various information that is useful to include in
                a Support Reqest.  The first line is the OS; here it is
                <b>Windows_NT</b>.  If you know the version of your OS
                you should include it in your Support Request. 
            </p>
<file name="Part of the output from OpenEJB's tests">
    
--------------SUPPORT INFO-------------
<b>Windows_NT</b>
Using JAVA_HOME:     <b>f:\jdk1.3.1</b>
Using OPENEJB_HOME:  <b>G:\dev\openejb_faq</b>
OPTIONS:             <b>-Dopenejb.test=foo</b>
--------------SUPPORT INFO-------------
OpenEJB <b>0.8.3</b>    build: <b>20020922-1103</b>
http://openejb.sf.net 
</file>
            <p>
                The next line contains the value of the environmental variable
                <code>JAVA_HOME</code>.  Here it is <code>f:\jdk1.3.1</code>,
                which would indicate that the version of Java being used by 
                OpenEJB is <b>JDK v1.3.1</b>.
            </p>
            <p>
                The next environmental variable <code>OPENEJB_HOME</code>
                points to where OpenEJB's home is.  
                Here it is <b>G:\dev\openejb_faq</b>.
            </p>
            <note>
                The next environmental variable <code>OPENEJB_HOME</code>,
                if it has not already been set, will be set by the script
                <code>openejb.bat</code> or <code>openejb.sh</code>.  Problems
                will occur if you run these scripts from any directory other than
                where they reside.  This is one of the most common problems that
                new users run into.
            </note>
            <p>
                The next line contains the options that are passed on to the
                Java VM.  Here it is <b>-Dopenejb.test=foo</b>.
            </p>
            <p>
                The final line that we're interested in, not necessarily the last
                that is output by the tests, contains the OpenEJB
                verison number and its build time stamp.  Here it is <b>0.8.3</b>
                and <b>20020922-1103</b> respectively.
            </p>
        </answer>
    </faq>
    <faq>
        <question>How do track a Support Request that I submitted?</question>
        <answer id="track">
            <p>
                You can arrange to be emailed whenever the status of your
                Support Request changes or when a suppport person or developer
                adds notes and comments to your request.
            </p>
            <p>
                If you don't know the URL to your request, you can go to the
                <a href="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=44351&amp;atid=439275">
                    OpenEJB: Browse Support Requests
                </a> page.  Once you've selected the issue that you wish to monitor
                you will see an email field, if you're not logged into SourceForge;
                enter your email address.  If you are logged into SourceForge, you 
                will not see this field; you will not have to enter your email account
                since the notification will be sent to your SourceForge account.  Click
                the Monitor button to begin monitoring that Support Request.
            </p>
        </answer>
    </faq>
</faqs>
