5 Known Problems and Workarounds
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1. Introduction
Electronic Services is a family of support tools that
provides you with immediate, online access to product,
support, and technical information and services.
These tools include:
o escall
This program is used to log calls with SGI and monitor
open calls. This is the utility which the user will
use the most.
o espro
This program is used to review and update customer
database information. A customer can look at their
address, serial numbers, etc. using this tool. A
request to change the information can also be made.
o esreg
This program is used to register and obtain a user ID
and password from SGI. This must be done once by each
user. The user ID and password are required to access
SGI and open new calls.
o esinst
This program is used to configure the site's server.
This is only run once and sets up entries in the
/etc/hosts file. If using a modem, it also sets up
modem, SLIP, and UUCP files.
o callsvr
This program is run in the background on the site's
server machine. It listens for requests from clients
and forwards the requests to the SGI server. It also
maintains a central database of call information for
the site.
IMPORTANT:
Please see the release notes for the elec_svcs_server
product for information on the required setup and
installation of the server portion of Electronic Services.
Electronic Services is a group of server and user interface
programs that allow you to electronically connect with
Silicon Graphics' Customer Support group.
Currently available services allow you to submit and monitor
problem reports directly with the Technical Assistence
Center, and to display and update certain information
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maintained in the Silicon Graphics' customer information
database. This direct link lets you use the full
capabilities of the workstation in submitting information,
for example:
o Cutting and pasting text
o UNIXr file inclusion
o System information
This document contains the following chapters:
1. Introduction
2. Installation Information
3. Changes and Additions
4. Bug Fixes
5. Known Problems and Workarounds
Note: Packaged with these release notes is a separate sheet
that contains the Software License Agreement. This
software is provided to you solely under the terms
and conditions of the Software License Agreement.
Please take a few moments to review the Agreement.
1.1 Release_Identification_Information
Following is the release identification information for
Electronic Services:
Software Option Product Electronic Services
Version 1.2.1
Product Code SC4-SUPADV
System Software Requirements 4D1-5.2
1.2 On-Line_Release_Notes
After you install the on-line documentation for a product
(the relnotes subsystem), you can view the release notes on
your screen. Select ``Release Notes'' from the Tools
submenu of the Toolchest. This displays the grelnotes(1)
graphical browser for the on-line release notes.
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Refer to the grelnotes(1) man page for information on
options to this command.
1.3 Product_Support
Silicon Graphics, Inc., provides a comprehensive product
support maintenance program for its products.
If you are in North America and would like support for your
Silicon Graphics-supported products, contact the Technical
Assistance Center at
1-800-800-4SGI.
If you are outside North America, contact the Silicon
Graphics subsidiary or authorized distributor in your
country.
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2. Installation_Information
This chapter lists information supplemental to the IRIS
Software Installation Guide. The information listed here is
product-specific; use it with the Installation Guide to
install this product.
2.1 Electronic_Services_Subsystems
The Electronic Services product family includes the
following subsystems:
elec_svcs.books.help Electronic Services On-Line Help
elec_svcs.man.crpt Electronic Services Crash Report
man pages
elec_svcs.man.escall Electronic Services Call Logging
man pages
elec_svcs.man.espro Electronic Services Customer
Profile man pages
elec_svcs.man.esreg Electronic Services Registration
man pages
elec_svcs.man.relnotes The online version of these release
notes
elec_svcs.sw.escall Electronic Services Call Logging
software
elec_svcs.sw.espro Electronic Services Customer
Profile software
2.2 Electronic_Services_Subsystem_Disk_Space_Requirements
This section lists the subsystems (and their sizes) of the
Electronic Services option.
If you are installing this option for the first time, the
subsystems marked ``default'' are the ones that are
installed if you use the ``go'' menu item. To install a
different set of subsystems, use the ``install,''
``remove,'' ``keep,'' and ``step'' commands in inst to
customize the list of subsystems to be installed, then
select the ``go'' menu item.
Note: The listed subsystem sizes are approximate. Refer to
the IRIS Software Installation Guide for information
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on finding exact sizes.
Subsystem Name Subsystem Size
(512-byte blocks)
elec_svcs.books.help 675
elec_svcs.man.crpt (default) 5
elec_svcs.man.escall (default) 5
elec_svcs.man.espro (default) 5
elec_svcs.man.esreg (default) 5
elec_svcs.man.relnotes (default) 20
elec_svcs.sw.escall (default) 1505
elec_svcs.sw.espro (default) 1605
2.3 Installation_Method
All of the subsystems for Electronic Services can be
installed using IRIX. You do not need to use the miniroot.
Refer to the IRIS Software Installation Guide for complete
installation instructions.
2.4 Prerequisites
Your workstation must be running at least IRIX release 4D1-
5.2 to use release 1.2.1 of this product.
For further information, refer to the crpt(1), escall(1),
espro(1), and esreg(1) man pages.
2.5 After_Installation
The software will create 2 icons on the IconCatalog
"Applications" page, one for escall and one for espro.
You will also need to find out from your system
administrator which server machine you are going to use, and
set the environment variable CALLSVR to that machine name.
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If you are using bourne shell or korn shell, you will need
to add the following line to your ~/.profile file:
export CALLSVR=server-machine-name
If you are using C-shell, you will need to add the following
line to your ~/.login file:
setenv CALLSVR server-machine-name
Then you will need to logout and login again for the changes
to take affect, if accessing the programs from desktop
icons.
If this environment variable is not set, the default will be
localhost (the same machine on which the clients are
running). Please see the manual page for the callsvr(1)
program for more detail on the setup of the server.
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3. Changes_and_Additions
o One new utility program available for use with Call
Logging is crpt(1), a kernel core file report
generator. This program's output may be submitted as
additional information with the Call Logging program,
as an attachment. See the crpt(1) man page for
details.
o The escall(1) Call Logging program now has the
capability to launch the user's editor of choice to
modify Problem Description information. The editor
used is determined by the setting of the WINEDITOR
environment variable, or, if this variable is not set,
/usr/sbin/jot is used.
o The escall(1) Call Logging program now allows binary
files to be attached with Problem Description
information (using the 'Attachments ...' button).
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4. Bug_Fixes
o Binary attachments
In the escall(1) Call Logging program, binary files may
now be submitted as attachments.
o Simultaneous escall(1) executions, with attachments
Multiple simultaneous users on the same machine may now
attach the exact same file (identical absolute path)
with no name collision problems. A temporary directory
is now created in the '/usr/tmp' directory, with a name
of esXXXXXX, for each invocation of the attachment
dialog. This directory is removed on the successful
transmission of the attachments, or if the function or
call is cancelled.
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5. Known_Problems_and_Workarounds
This chapter describes the known problems with the current
release of the Electronic Services product and how to work
around them.
o escall - Attachment information not saved during the
``Save to file'' function
When saving entered call information to a file, main
window fields values are saved, but any attachments
that were requested in the attachment dialog are not.
Workaround: Reenter these attachments after loading the
other field information.
o espro - Long address information
Certain very long address lines may not fit into the
allowed address fields. In this case, you may submit a
message to SGI with the message facility.