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Choosing a service package

 The first thing you need to decide when you decide to join EZSM is which service package is right for you. EZSM offers four main types of service package:
  • Full Service
    • A full service package. Our security package and monitoring also including administration time for troubleshooting issues you may come across involving management of your server.
  • Security Packages
    • A range of security packages including full security protection available with or without service monitoring depending on your needs. Please note these do not include any administration time for troubleshooting non-security related issues on your server.
  • Initial Server Setup
    • A initial setup package for the server administrator who is happy doing ongoing maintenance but would like a team of professionals to secure the server initially.
  • Per-Incident Hourly Support
    • Hourly one-time support for customers who need assistance on a one-off basis rather than full management cover.

Signing up

 When you have chosen which package with EZSM is right for you then you will need to fill in our signup form with some details about your server.
  • Main Server IP
    • This is the main server IP of your server, this should be in the standard IPV4 format 'xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx'. If you do not know which your main server IP is please contact your datacenter for this information as we cannot log into your server without it!
  • Admin Pass
    • This is the password for the user 'admin' on your server, by default many datacenters disable direct root login via SSH for security reasons and therefore we need to login as the user 'admin' before using becoming the root user.
  • Root Pass
    • This is the root password for your server, the root user is the master user on your machine used to perform maintenance and upgrades as well as troubleshoot any problems on your machine.
  • Admin CP Pass
    • This is your administrator password for your chosen control panel (If you have one) in order to access it. This is your cPanel, DirectAdmin, Ensim, Plesk or Webmin password.
  • Datacenter Provider
    • Your datacenter provider is the company who you have purchased/leased your server from, this could be EV1 or SoftLayer for instance.
  • D/C Members Username
    • This is your datacenter login username that we use to contact your datacenter should a problem arise with your hardware or if we need to reboot your server. This could be ES-12345 for instance for EV1, this is usually contained in your welcome email from your datacenter.
  • D/C Members Password
    • This is your datacenter login password that we use in conjunction with the above username to contact your datacenter should a problem arise with your hardware or if we need to reboot your server. This is usually contained in your welcome email from your datacenter.
  • Control Panel Type
    • Your server may have come with control panel software. We support cPanel, Directadmin, Ensim, Plesk and Webmin. If you do not have any control panel software please enter 'Plain' in this box.
  • MySQL Root Pass
    • If your machine has MySQL installed or you would like MySQL installed please enter a password for the 'root' user for MySQL. (In Plesk's case this is the 'admin' user which uses the same password as you use to login to Plesk.)
  • SSH on port 22
    • The SSH daemon runs on port 22 by default, if you (Or someone else) have changed this please click 'no' here and let us know in your initial ticket with us.
  • SMTP on port 25
    • If you are running a SMTP (Outgoing mailserver) server on port 25 on your server please select 'yes' for this option.
  • DNS on port 53
    • If you are running a DNS (Domain name suffix server) server on port 53 on your server please select 'yes' for this option.
  • HTTP on port 80
    • If you are running a HTTP (Web server) server on port 80 on your server please select 'yes' for this option.
  • IMAP on port 143
    • If you are running a IMAP (Incoming mailserver) server on port 143 on your server please select 'yes' for this option.
  • POP3 on port 110
    • If you are running a POP3 (Incoming mailserver) server on port 110 on your server please select 'yes' for this option.
  • Urchin on port 8080
    • If you are running a Urchin (Web analytics) server on port 8080 on your server please select 'yes' for this option.
  • Additional Ports to open
    • If you have any additional ports you would like opening in the firewall on your server please let us know the port numbers in this box and whether they are TCP or UDP. For instance you may need a extra port open for a Shoutcast server on your machine.
  • How did you hear about us
    • Please let us know how you found EZSM.
  • Server Hostname
    • In this box you will need to put a server hostname for your server on a domain that you own which you can add a A record to. For example 'server1.yourhostingcompany.com' would be suitable. 'www.yourhostingcompany.com' or 'yourhostingcompany.com' are not suitable (Unless you are running a Plain server and would like your configuration specifically set up this way) as they are likely to be used for your website and you cannot have this the same as your hostname. 'plesk.ev1servers.net' for instance would also be unsuitable as you would not own that domain.
  • DRAC Card Username
    • If you have a DRAC (Dell remote access card) or a serial console attached to your server please put the appropriate username for it in this box.
  • DRAC Card Password
    • If you have a DRAC (Dell remote access card) or a serial console attached to your server please put the password corresponding to the above username for it in this box.

Tickets

 EZSM support is conducted mainly via our helpdesk so your first port of call when you have a problem should be the helpdesk to check if we have already logged a ticket with you regarding the problem (When we do this our helpdesk will email you to notify you of this) and how we are trying to resolve it. It may be that the ticket has already been worked on for some hours and is under control, alternatively it could need your input in order to proceed. You can click the ticket number in order to access this ticket and can add any responses you need to at the bottom.

Alternatively if there isn't a ticket already open under your account you will need to open one. You can do this by clicking 'New Ticket' in the menu under the EZSM logo. When you open a new ticket you will need to fill in some important information at the top of the ticket:
  • Main Server IP
    • This is the main server IP of your server, this should be in the standard IPV4 format 'xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx'. If you do not know which your main server IP is please contact your datacenter for this information as we cannot log into your server without it!
  • Admin Pass
    • This is the password for the user 'admin' on your server, by default many datacenters disable direct root login via SSH for security reasons and therefore we need to login as the user 'admin' before using becoming the root user.
  • Root Pass
    • This is the root password for your server, the root user is the master user on your machine used to perform maintenance and upgrades as well as troubleshoot any problems on your machine.
  • Admin CP Pass
    • This is your administrator password for your chosen control panel (If you have one) in order to access it. This is your cPanel, DirectAdmin, Ensim, Plesk or Webmin password.
Please note if you do not fill out the above information accurately then we may not be able to work on your ticket until you have provided us with accurate information.

Just below this is a box where you can indicate the priority of your call. Please consider carefully whether your call is urgent or not. Obviously if your server is offline or there is a imminent danger to your machine use priority one however if there is a problem with a email account not functioning then logging this as priority one would pull admins away from real emergencies so please be considerate to other clients when setting this.

Please make sure you choose the appropriate department when opening your ticket, if you open a support ticket to sales/billing it is likely to be delayed while the ticket is redirected around the helpdesk.

Please choose a sensible subject/comments regarding your ticket. If the subject of your ticket is that your POP incoming email server is offline please put that in your ticket subject, for example "POP server unreachable". When you put in the comments regarding this please provide us with a accurate way to replicate the problem. If the problem is you cannot log into the POP email server then you will need to provide us with a test username/password that is having the problem so we can troubleshoot it. If you do not provide us with the username/password then we have nothing to replicate the issue with. Therefore the first response to your ticket will be likely to be asking for this information which has delayed the resolution of your ticket.

Please include any error messages and relevant information in your ticket to make sure we have all the appropriate information to troubleshoot your problem, tickets with more information/server usually are resolved quicker as we can spot any problems in the messages returned via the server.

Service Monitoring

 If included in your package we monitor your server both externally and internally 24/7 and will take action on your machine as soon we as our monitoring observes a problem. Therefore if you intend to stop services on your machine for a period then please open a ticket to let us know so we don't restart them for you.

Can X try something?

 While we are trying to troubleshoot a problem for you it is best that you don't change any settings without letting us know prior to making changes. It is possible that your changes may conflict with our testing/changes to the settings and could make a situation worse. For the same reason please let us know if you are asking your datacenter or another company/person to look into a issue so we can cease working on your issue or advise the third party of the situation.

We cannot stress enough the importance of not having two admins working on your server, conflicts between the changes made to your settings could have serious consequences to your server and the data held on it.

Can I view resolved tickets?

 If you would like to review a resolved ticket you can access it by going to our Helpdesk and then clicking 'Tickets' in the menu below the logo and then clicking 'Resolved' just above the list of tickets.

Do you support 64bit operating systems

 Unfortunately at this time we are unable to support 64bit operating systems, please ensure your datacenter installs a supported 32bit operating system on your server.

Do you support VPS's?

 Unfortunately at this time we are unable to support VPS systems.

Do you provide phone support?

 We provide phone access to log, get updates and add responses to tickets in our Full Service Plus package.

Which languages do you provide support in?

 We provide support in English only at this time.

How do I keep you up to date with my passwords?

 If you change your passwords or would like to change your passwords you can log a ticket to us regarding this via our helpdesk under the department 'ProfileUpdates'.

Do I need a RHEL subscription?

 If you choose to run Red Hat Enterprise to keep your system secure and up to date you will need to purchase a Red Hat Enterprise subscription. This will need to be renewed every year. If you do not want to purchase a RHEL subscription you can choose to use CentOS or Fedora on your server.

Do I need to inform you about scheduled downtime?

 If you have purchased a package from us that includes service monitoring please let us know if there is any scheduled downtime. If your server is down and you have not scheduled downtime with us we will follow the normal escalation procedures and attempt to bring your server back up.

Should I use datacenter auto reboots?

 You should never cold reboot your server just to fix a service that may not be responding if you can just login and restart the service. Doing this could lead to filesystem corruption and damage to your data. There is also the issue that if we are running maintenance on your server and your datacenter automatically reboots it in the middle of a upgrade your server may be irreparably damaged. Please deactivate automatic reboots if you purchase a service package from us.

How long is hourly support valid?

 Hourly support is on a per-incident basis, this means this one-time support is valid for one incident/ticket.

What phone number can I call regarding my tickets?

The phone number to call for phone access to your tickets is +1-630-995-9069 (Full Service Plus servers only.)

How can I activate my service?

After you have purchased a service package and recieved your username and password you will need to put a initial ticket to our helpdesk to instruct them how they can best help you. Please include all relevant details of what you would like setting up/etc. Please note if you do not activate your service package it will not be set up! Please note you will need to put in a ticket for each new service that you order.

How do I login via SSH as root?

To login via SSH you should first login as the 'admin' user and then type 'su -' to get to the superuser account.
 
 
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