The Pennsylvania State University - Administrative Information Services, a unit of Information Technology Services

Technical Support

The Database Administration - Enterprise Systems (DBA-ES) group provides technical support for a large, diverse array of products and services.  The majority of these products are Software AG (SAG) based and include a number of products that many developers and users may recognize: Adabas, Natural, Natural Single Point of  Development (SPoD), Natural Engineer, Predict, Com-plete, EntireX Communicator, and Entire Network.

With the increasing complexity and interaction of these products with their non-Software AG counterparts, determining the precise cause of a problem is not always easy.  A problem originating in a non-SAG product may present itself as a SAG problem.  Of course, the opposite occurs as well.

DBA-ES often can resolve a problem by asking the right questions, drawing on past experience of DBA-ES staff members, researching product documentation, and doing some testing.  Usually, DBA-ES can solve many problems in a short period of time.

On occasion, a difficult problem dictates that DBA-ES contact Software AG (or Treehouse or Computer Associates) to open a log and gain access to a first level technical support person.  Most questions and problems are resolved at this level.  When a more difficult problem arises, either SAG or DBA-ES may elevate our log to a higher priority.  When this occurs, our log is reassigned to a product specialist who is usually an expert in his or her knowledge of a product.  Nearly all of our more difficult problems are resolved at this level.

Only on rare occasions will a problem be sufficiently complex that more than a few days are required to resolve it.  When this occurs, DBA-ES works closely with Software AG and our other vendors, supplying them with all required technical information and testing proposed solutions.  These kinds of problems are a challenge to both DBA-ES and our vendors.  Ultimately, with only one or two exceptions per year, DBA-ES receives a solution to each problem.

DBA-ES technical support is available 24/7, 365 days per year, provided by the Manager of DBA-ES and the DBA-ES staff.  Please see our Phone Support page for contact information.

Content Questions: Bill Cook | Support Questions: OAS-DBA@LISTS.PSU.EDU