Re: Do you ask the question: How do I work with Oracle Support....?

> It's been some time since I have opened an SR. I avoid it if at all
> possible.

Knowing the Support policies seems to be key. I had no idea that Grid Control 10.2.0.3 is out of the patchable service window since it's more than a year since 10.2.0.5 came out (try to find that tidbit of documentation!). Oracle Support reminded me of that when Development told me "There are numerous bugs in this area and many are fixed in 10.2.0.5.4." and reiterated with "Development is asking for you toupgrade [sic] to the latest versions with the latest CPU patches to see if the issue is resolved in your environment."

The vagueness and "try it and see" attitude of the answer without regard for the customer shows an unacceptable level of knowledge of both my problem and the product, not so much by Support, but by Development. I also factored in that this was given as a solution five months after opening the SR. To add irony to injury, the whole reason for me opening the SR was to resolve the issue prior to upgrading. And since it took them five months to tell me this, my window for upgrading Grid Control closed, so here I sit.

For a quick study, I downloaded my SR history for the past 2.5 years back to Oct 2008. Of the 16 SRs I've created, 5 of them were opened for more than two months. One was just shy of a year (for a patch of PQ), with the other four being 5-9 months each. Some of those were resolved, some were not.

Yes, I have had good experiences with Oracle Support. As I look back on them, two that stick out dealt with RMAN, strangely enough. :) And while my example above was probably my most frustrating, it's not terribly different from others I've opened.

My $.03 (fuel surcharge) worth of rambling/ranting, Rich

p.s. We're taking steps to understand and hopefully improve our relationship with Oracle Support.

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