VCS 3.110 + Awful HP Outsourcing

[SeanAmicus ITS]

I work for a HP ABSP SWD Partner in UK as a Technical Manager

We have quite a few customers with EVA's of variable types. I always struggle to get any sense when it comes to firmware upgrades.

We have spend a small fortune on getting the ABSP accreditation enabling us to deliver the full EVA installation and start-up service.

It always a battle trying to get HP Services to send over the necessary disk controller and disk firmware.

Various excuses are normally such as

"oh this is only delivered by HP", which IMHO makes a nonsense of the who EVA partner program.

We partner with other SAN vendors such as IBM and Pillar, and have no problems with getting UK or Irish based support and code sent over.

Historically in the Compaq (HS80) days, code and help was forthcoming without issue.

If HP doesn't think the channel can deliver the code upgrade then why have this hybrid approach?

Our customers constantly tell me

"HP we love there kit, but hate the service"

As a partner, we love the kit and hate the service.

It seems the offshoring of the support to India is not improving the engagement with partners, it's making things worse.

We've had loyal HP customers looking elseware for there storage due to this.

At the partner event in Daventry 2006, the general feeling was this was cost driven rather than customer focus improvement, and the mood was very hostile to HP senior management.

Anyway RANT over, I've just fed up trying to speak to support in Bangalore, they can't understand english correctly let alone assist you.

Back to the techy stuff...

Has anyone seen the engineering note for VCS 3.110? I have a customer who is on V.3025 on a EVA3K and needs to upgrade to keep them in the supported matrix?

[Peter Mattei · Accepted solution]

Well, I do not want to comment your concerns but I can understand you :-(

Regarding VCS 3.110.
I do not have the EC yet but it will be like th VCS 3.100 one. The only change will be the fix that is required to overcome the flaw in VCS 3.100.
See http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=130&prodSeriesId=321347&prodTypeId=12169&prodSeriesId=321347&objectID=c00814589

VCS 3.110 is currently only available through controlled release. You need to escalate through HP Support Engineering via GR8 call. This to assure code stability and control.

BTW: The most current VCS versions available today are:

1. VCS 3.028 for active-passive support
2. VCS 4.007 for active-active support

Cheers
Peter

[Rob Leadbeater]

Hi,

You can grab VCS3.028 which is still supported here:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software5/COL11348/co-33572-1/EVA3000_VCS_3028.zip

As Peter says, it doesn't appear that a similar download for 3.110 is available as yet...

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Rob

[Uwe Zessin]

Looks like they had to extend the support for VCS 3.028:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c00584762&printver=true

[Amar_Joshi]

I thought it's a technical forum but sounds like people are allowed to throw tantrums to enlighten hearts and then blend with technical stuffs to keep forum admins happy.

[SeanAmicus ITS]

Amardeep,

I've worked with DEC, Compaq and now HP with their storage offerings, and it takes me quite a lot to make me lose my wrag.

My relationship is about 10 years old, so this isn't the correct way of establishing of sheer frustration with HP Telephone Support in Bangalore so what....

I'm not sure what the support is like in the US?

The first and second line support is horrendous, we (as partners) end up ringing HP Consultants that have partnered with us previously to get any technical sense to help our customers.

As a healthcare aligned partner it's equally worrying that the majority of disk arrays have live hospital data on and the escalation path is still through this route!

Thanks to all so far that have answered my question.

And yes there are some really professional and knowledgeable engineers/consultants who work for HP.

It's just getting directly to them seems to be a challenege....

[Rob Leadbeater]

ATC,

You might want to add your thoughts to this ongoing thread:

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1060955

I'm not sure it will make a difference, but if enough people voice their concerns about the standard of support, it may make those HP senior management people sit up and take notice...

Cheers,

Rob

[Mark...]

Hi,

VCS v4.007 WAS available from HP website for a couple of days.... I guess you need to ask for that as well.
I [so far] have not even been able to find even the release notes for V3.110 ! Everything seems to point back to V3.028.

Happy days

Mark...

[Rob Leadbeater]

> VCS v4.007 WAS available from HP website for a couple of days

It is still there on ftp.hp.com if you know where to look or have got the patience to search for it...

The fact that it got pulled from the download website suggests that HP don't want everyone to download it, so I won't post the full URL...

Regards,

Rob

[Mark...]

mmmm, well I've only been a member of the itrc for less than a couple of months but I thought the idea was to help people out....
not to be coy or make like a "secret squirrel".

HP have sent out a customer advisory that the code is available [no secrets there then] but if people have problems locating the code, or whatever, then isn't that what the forum is for ?

ah well,
"It is still there on ftp.hp.com if you know where to look or have got the patience to search for it..."
well I was looking but I have a day job to do & therefore limited time, this is just for fun. I think this is part of what the base note is about....

"The fact that it got pulled from the download website suggests that HP don't want everyone to download it, so I won't post the full URL..."
OK, well it was easy to find, now a bit harder but it's only a web site. Two options now:
1: you have access and you can download the file
2: you don't have access [behind HP's firewall or whatever] so you do not have access
So what's the secret with posting the address? & it only leads back to the original post again !!

Mark... %-)

PS I have the VCS V4.007 code anyway, I was just trying to be helpful...

[Rob Leadbeater]

> So what's the secret with posting the address?

No secrecy intended... I was just thinking that maybe there was good reason that 4.007 got pulled from the download site.

See what you're saying though, and as the original poster obviously knows what he's doing...

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software8/COL18508/co-47897-1/EVA_GL_Controller_Firmware_v4007.zip

Cheers,

Rob

[Mark...]

Thank You %*)))

Mark...

[SeanAmicus ITS]

My faith in HP has been restored.

I have had a quite interesting conversation with a Service Delivery Manager from deep within HP land who wrote the Ops guide for ABSP engagement.

The guide has been updated and includes lines of engagement for the partners and HP Direct Technical Services with regards to existing EVA deployments.

Although I still consider that the channel has capability to successfull carry out upgrade work on VCS and XCS controller codes as what was the case in DEC and CPQ days.

The channel partners have depth in knowledge of things non HP.

HP need to shape up their post implementation support for the partners and allow direct access to third line support.

ABSP stipulates that you must have a minimum of two Master ASE onboard to deliver your disapline.

The pre-sales engagment has been sorted out.

It nice to know that senior managers do read this occasionally and pick up the phone and reach out :-)

A happy partner means a happy customer.....

Thanks everyone....

[BDB_1]

Hello @,

I fully understand what you are saying, I worked at HP from 2000 till 2006 as a contractor.

When I started, evrything was fine. Thsi happend after the merge with Compaq.

They made me work 12 hours a day without payin it.

On top, I had to do standby for 30 procent of what I used to have before. Working +90 Hours a week. Before like 50 hours.

Managment kept saying this was not there problem because I was only a contractor. My boss did not have anything to say, he would lose his contract. Now a few years later his company has only 2 fron the 15 people left.

This all caused by HP working in a "LEGAL" way ...

[SeanAmicus ITS]

It's Jan 2010 and things have moved on.

HP are moving slowly in the right way.

Although support to the ABSP/ PSP community could be improved.

The EVA range of disk arrays need to inherit some of the lefthand features FOC to stay viable.