GE-01: Unisys Needs to Provide an Automatic "Change To NFS" Response For UCFs

Background

Currently, if after evaluation a UCF turns out to not be a "bug" but rather a request for new functionality, the Unisys engineer must close the UCF requesting the customer to re-submit the issue as an NFS.

There should be some form of automation where the customer does not have the burden of the re-submission. In other words, just by his approval of the UCF closure, an NFS would be automatically submitted.

UNITE Requirement

Unisys agrees to provide a new UCF closure type "Change to NFS". Upon customer acceptance of the UCF closure an NFS would be automatically opened for the UCF-ed issue.

Unisys Response

Unisys will reinforce our existing policy on the reclassification of UCF Trouble Reports as New Feature Suggestions (NFS). A UCF Trouble Report may not be reclassified as an NFS without the agreement of the initiator. However, this reclassification requires additional input beyond the normal UCF submission such as a business reason or impact statement from the initiator to justify the need for an NFS. Once this justification is obtained, the evaluation and response to the NFS will then be subject to the normal 45 day response time goal from the date of reclassification to allow for sizing, scheduling and budgetary evaluations.

Agreement on reclassification must occur as a result of communication between engineering and the support center. The reclassification will be performed by engineering without requiring a UCF re-submission by the initiator. If the initiator does not concur with the reclassification, the UCF will be reevaluated and responded to as a Trouble Report.

The initial submission should include a business justification. Until we have a revised process in place the business justification should be required for all NFSs. No resubmission is necessary. If it is initially submitted as an NFS or as part of the user agreement to convert a submitted UCF from a Trouble Report (TR) to a NFS, the justification should be there. If it is a conversion of a TR to an NFS the CSC Rep should prompt the customer to supply the business justification or ask the customer to submit

supporting information to the appropriate location referencing the NFS number. The CSC Rep should note the pending arrival of such additional input in the body of the NSF submission.

UNITE Response

UNITE accepts the Unisys response.

Title

GE-02: Unisys Maintenance Standards on Non-Unisys Manufactured Equipment

Background

Unisys markets many subsystems manufactured by other companies (Storage Tech, EMc, etc). More often than not, Unisys elects to be supply maintenance on this equipment. Under most conditions, it is to the Customers’ benefit to deal with only one vendor and not have to determine which one to call when there is a failure. Every once in a while, a serious problem occurs on a device for which Unisys does not have a large installed base. When this occurs, both parts and trained personnel may be in short supply within Unisys. The specific issue here is with the CLU1000 manufactured by Storage Tech.

UNITE Requirement

If Unisys desires to accept payment for maintenance of a device they do not manufacture and in fact do not sell a large number of, the normal level of escalation should include the OEM. Since these devices are often large components, they often become a critical part of the customers operation and this escalation should occur very quickly, preferable within 24 hours.

Unisys Response

The Unisys escalation process on Unisys supported products is consistent whether or not the product is built by Unisys or acquired from an OEM source. The Unisys field organization escalates problems based on standard policies to the Product Engineering Support group who are in contact with the appropriate design engineer organization either inside or outside Unisys. So in the case of sourced products the Product Engineering Support group is responsible for escalation to the OEM. Unisys Problem Escalation Procedure requires elevation consistent with the nature and severity of the customer impact of any encountered problem. Escalation, either technical or management, is customer specific and will be addressed between the customer and the local Unisys support organization. A custom overall system service management agreement is possible where the primary contract would normally be between the customer and a specific OEM service supplier but the terms of such agreements are unique for each customer.

UNITE Response

UNITE accepts the Unisys response.

Title

NX-01: Unisys Documentation of ClearPath HMP NX/A Series TCP/IP
Conformance to Common Industry Standards

Background

Unisys has stated that the ClearPath HMP NX/A Series enterprise server is positioned as a host end-node within an IP network, and that Unisys's strategy is to implement RFCs that are relevant to this positioning and that have the greatest impact to the client base.

As Unisys does not provide a full TCP/IP implementation, it is often difficult for the ClearPath HMP NX/A Series user community to know what operational and inter-operability capabilities should be expected to be available. Often, what a user considers to be a "bug" by comparison to other vendor's TCP/IP implementations is, in actuality, an intentional limitation of the ClearPath HMP NX/A Series enterprise server.

Hence there is a need to clarify which TCP/IP operational and inter-operability capabilities will be supported and which capabilities will not be supported by the ClearPath HMP NX/A Series enterprise server.

UNITE Requirement

Unisys agrees to provide documentation to identify the TCP/IP operational and inter-operability capabilities that will be supported by the ClearPath HMP NX/A Series enterprise server.

Unisys Response

Unisys TCP/IP engineering agrees to provide documentation to clarify the support of TCP/IP capabilities on the ClearPath HMP NX/A Series Enterprise Servers. A draft of the information that we propose is attached. We request that the UNITE RCC review this information and confirm it satisfies the requirement.

Please note that this draft is under review by the marketing organization and various engineering product owners within Unisys. We have divided TCP/IP capabilities into "Network Services" and "Host Services". For each category, we list TCP/IP related features, attributes of the feature, if the feature is supported on HMP NX/A Series servers and in what software release, related Unisys Product Information, and the applicable industry RFC(s), if any. Regarding feature support, we will note if the feature

* is already Supported
* is Planned, indicating a reasonable commitment to deliver, or
* is Not Supported

We are providing the Planned and Not Supported data to assist customers as they devise their network evolution. Feedback from customers is welcomed and encouraged. The posting of this information will include a notice that ClearPath program priorities change, and as such, future deliverables are not absolutely guaranteed. Unisys believes the Unisys Support Web Site is the appropriate forum for distributing this data, so that engineering can keep it current as our plans evolve, and as we receive customer feedback regarding the content. The data may also be included in Unisys Product Information, subject to the caveat that the on-line web version is more accurate. We request that UNITE approve the Unisys Support Web Site for the data repository. In summary, this is to request that the UNITE RCC:

1. review and confirm the contents and format of our proposed response using the
attached draft document
2. confirm that the Unisys Support Web Page is an appropriate forum for delivery
3. provide feedback on other features to be included in the capabilities list

Based on your concurrence on behalf of UNITE with our proposed response, Unisys will post this information on our website in February, following the internal Unisys review.

UNITE Response

UNITE has reviewed the document referenced above and finds it a satisfactory response to the requirement.

Title

NX-02: NFS 49992467, New Feature to Log User Information on FTP File Transfers

Background

NFS 49992467, New Feature to Log User Information on FTP File Transfers was rejected. The rejection has been appealed and the appeal supported by the required 10 customers.

UNITE Requirement

NFS 49992467, New Feature to Log User Information on FTP File Transfers be implemented.

Unisys Response

This NFS has been re-opened by Unisys. The resolution is a Unisys commitment to provide this feature in HMP 6.0/47.1.

UNITE Response

UNITE has reviewed the specifications for the planned implementation and accepts the Unisys response.