HPC Support

NEC HPC offers a variety of support levels, from tool free component exchange by the customer to 24x7 on-site support. Different support levels for different components can be applied; typically, the support level agreement is discussed during contract negotiations.

NEC is special in its support concept for HPC in that the customer will be directly connected to a HPC Specialist. From the organizational point for view, NEC does not distinguish between installation and maintenance related task. The Engineer that is responsible for the initial installation at the customer site are also in charge for service and maintenance during the production phase. This means a familiar trusted face to the customer. No general call center is used but a direct service number to the HPC department.

Capabilities

The standard level one support is handled over an Internet-based trouble-ticket system or direct contact with our service telephone number.

For more complex problems the Support Engineer will make a detailed analysis of the situation. Already at this stage a Senior Service Engineer will assist in the assessments of the problem. Application Specialists are also available if it is an application problem.

Our third level support is an escalation to a Senior Service Engineer and our NEC HPC Competence Center. The team has many years of experience with operating systems, cluster management software and parallel file systems solutions for HPC systems. Moreover this team is engaged in a number of research projects with focus on parallel file systems for grid/cloud computing and cluster management of large computer systems. Further escalation to the Product Managers, the Benchmark Department or the Research and Development Department depending on the problem area is made as well. Here also a close collaboration with our suppliers is started to solve any supplier problems.