Re: Effects of framentation

Brian Peasland <dba_at_remove_spam.peasland.com> wrote in message news:<40192501.5093D1E9_at_remove_spam.peasland.com>...
> > Whilst on Oracle Support, is it just me, or has the quality of advice and
> > information from Oracle Support on their forums slumped to diabolical
> > proportions ?
>
> My experiences with Oracle Support have been more along these lines....
>
> 1. Me: I am having a problem. Here are all my version numbers. Here are
> all of the trace files. Here is all of the relevant information that you
> could possibly ever use to diagnose my problem.
> 2. Me: Hello....Is anyone there????
> 3. OS: Before I can work on your problem, I need you to run the RDA
> script and send me the output.
> 4. Me: Please look at my start to this iTar. You will see the RDA output
> that I uploaded.
> 5. OS: It seems to be that you are having a problem. Please apply the
> latest patchset.
> 6. Me: If you would please take a look at my iTar, you will clearly see
> that I am on the latest patchset. I clearly stated my version when I
> filled out the iTar and it shows the latest patchset has been applied.
> 7. Me: Hello....Is anyone there????
> 8. OS: I am working on your problem. I have sent some information of to
> another analyst.
> 9. OS: (After multiple days). Have a look at Metalink documents A, B,
> and C.
> 10. Me: I did a search of Metalink before I filed the iTar. Metalink
> document A does not apply to me because that bug was fixed in version
> 7.3.4, I am running 9.2.0.4. Metalink document B does not apply to me
> because it has to do with iAS. Metalink document C might apply to me,
> but I am unsure as it is not viewable to anyone but a select few.
> 11. OS: Waiting on other analyst.
> 12. OS: We want you to try to do X.
> 13. Me: I don't see how doing task X relates in any way to my problem.
> (I'm pretty sure they think that I don't have a clue at this point,
> because I know that they don't). But I tried to do task X and it didn't
> change a thing.
> 14. OS: We want you to try to do Y. (This type of random,
> trial-and-error fixes proceeds for many days without any help to my
> original problem).
> 15. Me: Hello....Is anyone there????
> 16. Me: Well I couldn't wait any more. Instead of fixing the problem, I
> figured I could workaround the problem by doing Z. Or, I could just
> rebuild my database from scratch and reload the data. I don't have to
> deal with the problem any more.
> 17. OS: (almost immediately I get a response!) Sounds good. I'm closing
> this Tar.
>
>
> I can't tell you the number of times I've fixed my problem myself or
> worked around it. Filing an iTar is almost pointless these days. About
> the only benefit my company is realizing from its support contract is
> the ability to search Metalink for answers and download patches.

I have had that experience too, but I must add that in some cases, they've upped me to someone who does seem to know about the issues. Since these have all been 8i, I think it is just luck on my part that they still have some people around that happen to know about those things.

The 9 stuff, has _all_ been exactly like you describe (including the RDA :-O ), now that you mention it... Had thought it was just because it was mostly AS stuff that I was on the learning curve for too... I do put a lot of effort into figuring things out on metalink, usenet and elsewhere before even bothering with a tar, perhaps OS can get away with such a mediocre frontline because most people don't. And I'm sure all O management cares about is the metrics from those stupid post-support polls, which are inevitably skewed by the clueless.

re metalink forums, I still find useful info on there, but have noticed they tend to be old posts...

This whole support issue reminds me of that scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind where the guy is playing the keyboard back and forth with the alien ship "I don't even know what I'm saying!" then the computer takes over the keyboard and the aliens figure it out within seconds and stop playing...

jg

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