Contents

About this Guide

This guide provides an overview of how to perform the most common tasks in Support Case Manager (SCM). While many elements of the application interface have been redesigned for greater ease of use, SCM continues to provide the same end-to-end case management functionality. The flows that are used in order to create, update, and query cases are similar to the flows used in previous versions.

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New and Updated Features in Support Case Manager

Support Case Manager includes these new and/or updated features:

• Real-time Onboarding: When you create a support case, if the serial number that you specify has a service contract that is not already associated with your Cisco profile, you can choose to update your profile immediately and continue to create the support case.
• Support Case Preferences: You can now edit global case preferences from the SCM main page. This feature was previously part of the case creation process and was located on the Start tab.
• View Cases in Separate Browser Tabs: You can right-click the case number or title of a case in the list and choose to open the case information in a new tab.

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Get Started

In order to use Support Case Manager, you need the user ID and password of your Cisco profile, a valid service contract number, the serial number of the product that requires support, and a supported Internet browser. Supported browsers include Mozilla Firefox^® Versions 10 and later, Google Chrome^™ Versions 20 and later, Safari^® Versions 5 and later, and the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer^®.

Note: Your experience with SCM via Internet Explorer might differ from your experience via other browsers in some ways, such as the selection of radio button options.

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Provide Feedback

Cisco welcomes your comments in order to help improve the SCM experience.

In order to leave feedback about your experience, click Feedback in the top-right area of the home page. The Comment Card window opens. Complete the fields in the window and click Send.

Note: Do not use the Feedback tool in order to obtain assistance. For assistance with an open case, please contact the Technical Assistance Center by phone. For assistance with the SCM tool, use the Chat Now option in order to communicate with a support representative in real time.  

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Understand Cisco Accounts and Service Contracts

In order to open a support case for an eligible product, the service contract for that product must be associated with your Cisco account profile.

When you enter a product serial number, the SCM tool looks up the support contract for that serial number to see whether it is associated with your Cisco account profile. If the contract is not already associated with your profile, the SCM tool gives you the option to create the association immediately. The process might take a minute to complete.

If the association is not successful, a message window states the reason that the request could not be completed and provides steps that you can perform in order to resolve the issue.

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Modify Support Case Preferences

Click the Edit support case preferences link in order to modify information about your preferred contact methods and times.

The Edit Support Case Preferences dialog opens.

The information that you enter here applies by default to all future cases that are opened with your account.

When you open a new case, you can enter contact information to be used for that case only. The case-specific information overrides your general contact information. In order to enter case-specific contact information, when you create a new case, click the Change for this case only link on the Start page.

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Search, Edit, and View a Support Case

You can use filters or searches in order to find individual cases and cases that meet specific criteria in the case list on the home page. After you filter the list in order to show a particular set of cases, you can export the list as a spreadsheet.

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Filter the Case List

The SCM home page provides two top-level filtered views of the case list:

• My Cases: This view shows the cases that were opened by the current user.
• All Cases: This view shows the cases that were opened for the contract number(s) associated with the current user profile.

Note: The case search results are limited to 500 contracts per user. If more than 500 contracts are associated with your Cisco account, the All Cases view displays a message that instructs you to enter specific contract numbers (up to 30) in order to narrow the search filter.

When you log in, the home page displays the My Cases view by default. Click the All Cases tab in order to change to that filtered view.

Note: When you switch to a different tab, all of the filter options reset to their default values.

At the top of each tabbed page, there are basic filter options:

• Select the check box beside each case status that you want to include in the list: Open Cases, Draft Cases, and/or Closed Cases.
• Click inside of the Updated In box and choose a date-based filter from the drop-down menu if you want to show only the cases that were updated within the last 30, 60, or 90 days.

After you select the filters, click Apply Filters in order to update the case list.

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Advanced Filters

Click Show Advanced Filters in order to expand the page and show the additional filter options.

The advanced filter options are:

• Customer Pending Cases: This option shows the cases that are pending customer action.
• Cisco Pending: This option shows the cases that are pending action by Cisco.
• New: This option shows the cases whose status is New.

Note: The first three filter options cannot be selected at the same time as the Closed Cases check box. (A closed case cannot be Customer Pending, Cisco Pending, or New.)

If you select any of these three options, the Closed Cases check box is cleared automatically. Likewise, if you select Closed Cases, these three boxes are cleared.

• Linked Bugs: This option shows cases whose resolution requires a bug fix.
• RMAs: This option shows cases where a product return is requested.
• Severity 1/2/3/4: This option shows cases with the selected severity level.
• Contract Number: This option shows cases that match a service contract number that you specify.
• Cisco ID: This option shows cases opened by a Cisco account ID that you specify.
• Last Name: This option shows cases that match the last name of a contact that you specify.
• From/To Date: This option shows cases that were opened between the start and end dates selected. If you select only one date, a default value is used for the other (these defaults are Earliest date for which data exists for From, and Today for To).

Note: A custom date range supersedes the predefined date ranges in the Updated In box. If you specify a custom date range with the From Date and To Date options, the Updated In box is unavailable (grayed out) and the predefined date range in the box is not applied.

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Combine Filters to Create Reports

You can choose multiple basic and advanced filters in order to create a report. For example, choose Open Cases, Customer Pending Cases, and Severity 1, and then click Apply Filters in order to view the cases that meet all three filter criteria. If you desire, you can save the report to an XLS file.

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Create a New Support Case or Draft Case

Note: During the case creation process, the Back button of your browser is disabled in order to prevent unintentional loss of information. If you want to return to a previous step in the process, click the appropriate tab. Page titles that are displayed in blue indicate a page previously completed. You can also use the Edit links on the Review and Submit page in order to modify the information that you previously entered.

Note: For Japanese customers, Support Case Manager provides the option to open cases with the Japan TAC. For all other customers, cases are handled only by the Global TAC.

Before you open a new case, ensure that you have this information ready:

• Your Cisco service contract number
• The product serial number

Note: If you do not have a service contract, but you believe the issue is covered under the product warranty, then contact CIN for assistance.

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Open a Case with the Global TAC

The Global Technical Assistance Center (TAC) provides support in English twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Note: If you select English, French, or Russian as the interface language, then your case will be supported by the Global TAC only.

Complete these steps in order to open a case with the Global TAC:

1. On the home page, click Open New Case. The New Support Case page opens and displays the Start tab.

 

2. If Japanese is the selected interface language, a message at the top of the tab describes the two support options that are available (Global TAC and Japan TAC). Click the option box at the top of the tab and choose Global TAC for 24x7 support. (When you open a case with the Global TAC, you must enter the case information in English.)

In order to continue the process, refer to the section Complete and Submit a New Case.

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Open a Case with the Japan TAC

The Japan TAC provides support for most products in Japanese during business hours in Japan. Complete these steps in order to open a case with the Japan TAC:

1. Select Japanese as the interface language. Click inside of the language box in the top-right corner of the home page. Choose Japan from the drop-down menu.
2. On the home page, click Open New Case. The New Support Case page opens and displays the Start tab. A message at the top of the tab describes the two support options that are available (Global TAC and Japan TAC).

 


3. Click inside of the option box at the top of the tab and choose Japan TAC.

In order to continue the process, refer to the section Complete and Submit a New Case.

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Complete and Submit a New Case

After you choose the TAC that you want to process your case, you are ready to complete the process:

1. In the Support Case Type box, choose one of these options: Diagnose and Fix my Problem, Request an RMA, or Answer my Question.
2. In the Severity of Problem box, choose a severity level. Different options might be available, dependent on the access level of your user account and the Support Case Type that you selected.
3. In the Extended Loss of Service box, indicate whether you experienced a loss of service that lasted more than 15 seconds. (This box does not appear if you selected Answer my Question as the Support Case Type.)
4. If the Contact Me box is available, indicate whether you want to be contacted as soon as an engineer is available or within a specific time window. Use the Date, Time, and Time Zone boxes in order to specify a time window within which to contact you.
5. Review the Contact Information area. If you want to change the contact information, click Change for this case only. The Change for this case only dialog window opens. Contact information that you enter here overrides the default information and applies only to this case.

 

6. If you do not want to receive email confirmation, choose No beside the E-Mail Confirmation field.
7. When you are ready to continue, click Next. The Service Contract page displays.

Note: At any time in the support case creation process, you can click Save Draft and Exit at the bottom of the page in order to complete the process at a later time. All of the information that you entered is saved, and the main page is displayed with the Draft Cases filter option enabled in order to display the draft case list. If you do not submit the draft case, it will be deleted automatically after seven days.

 

8. Click the radio button beside either Product Serial Number or Service Contract, dependent on the information that you want to use in order to identify your service contract.

Note: If there are no service contracts associated with your user profile, the Service Contract box displays the text No associated contracts on profile.
If this occurs, and you have a service contract, then register the contract on the Cisco Registration page.
If you do not have a service contract, but you believe the issue is covered under the product warranty, then contact CIN for assistance.

• Product Serial Number: If you select this option, enter the serial number in the box and click Search. If the product serial number is found, you automatically move to the next tab.
  

Note: If your Cisco account profile is not associated with the service contract for the serial number you entered, the SCM tool prompts you to create the association now. Click Yes in order to create the association and proceed. If you are not ready to create the association, click Not Now.


• Service Contract: If you select this option, search for the product by the contract number and other criteria. Complete these steps:
1. Enter the contract number in the Service Contract box. When you click inside the box, a drop-down menu appears that displays all of the contract numbers that are already associated with your account. If the relevant contract number appears in the menu, choose it.

If the contract number does not appear in the list, enter the number into the box.




2. Optionally, in the Product Name box, enter the type or series of product for this case.
3. Optionally, in the Product Description box, enter a partial description of the product for this case, such as power supply.
4. Optionally, in the boxes that remain, enter the physical location of the product. These fields are independently searchable, and you do not have to enter a complete location that includes the city, state/province, and country.
5. Click Search.
6. In the list of search results, click the option button beside the product for this case.



7. Click Next.
8. If you are prompted to enter a product serial number, enter the number and click OK.



The Describe Problem page displays.


9. In the Case Title and Case Description boxes, enter a name and description for the case. (The Case Title field accepts a maximum of 80 characters.)

 

10. In the Technology field, click Browse in order to open the Select Technology window. In order to locate the technology for this case, use the search tool, or browse and expand the list of technology categories. Click the technology in order to highlight it, and then click Select.

 

11. Click inside of the Problem Area box. Point to the general category and then select a specific problem area from the sub-list.

 

12. Optionally, click Troubleshooting in order to expand the Troubleshooting area. Enter information about the problem:
    
    
• Click the calendar button beside the Problem Occurred On box and choose a date. In the Time box, enter a time. Enter hours from 00-23 and minutes from 00-59.
• Enter information about the troubleshooting steps that have been completed and the environment changes in the boxes provided.

 

13. Optionally, click Additional Case Details in order to expand the Additional Case Details area. Enter the available information.

 

14. Optionally, click Attachments in order to expand the Attachments area and upload files such as error logs that might help diagnose your problem more quickly. Click Upload Files. The Attach Files window opens. Click Choose File and browse to the file, choose it, and click Open. Choose the type of file from the drop-down menu in the Type box. Enter a description of the file in the Description box and click Attach.

 

15. Click Submit if you want to submit the case now and return to the case list. If you want to review the information that you entered, click Review. The Review and Submit page displays.

 

16. Review the summary information for your case. If you must change any of the information, click Edit in order to return to that tab.
17. When you are ready to create the new case, click Submit.

When the case is submitted, a confirmation message appears and displays the case number:

 

18. Click OK in order to return to the main page. The new case appears at the top of the case list.

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View, Edit, and Update Submitted Cases

After a case is submitted, you can update it in order to add or change the information.

In order to open and edit a case, click the Case Number or Title of the case in the list. The case details page opens.

At the top of the case details page, there are three tabs: the Summary tab, Notes tab, and Attachments tab. Beside the tabs, there is a set of toolbar buttons: Attach Files, Add Note, and Actions.

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Delete Draft Cases

You can delete a draft case that has not yet been submitted.

In order to delete a draft case, select the check box beside that case in the list and then click Delete Selected.

Note: A case with Draft status is deleted automatically after seven days.

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