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The following terms and acronyms are used frequently in the course of solving customers' problems.
Support terms and definitions
APAR
Authorized Program Analysis Report. A formal report to IBM development, of a problem caused by a suspected defect in a current unaltered release of an IBM program. An APAR may also be used by development to document new function being delivered in the maintenance stream
ALC
Annual License Charge. A method of paying for some IBM software products, usually as a part of a PLC/ALC agreement.
CALL
A single telephone call from the Customer Designated Caller to the Support Center. An incident may involve one or many telephone calls
CBPDO
Custom Built Product Delivery Option. OS/390 deliverable which can include product and service, but is used by many Customers as a vehicle for preventive service
CCC
Call Center Coordinator. CCC is a term within Lotus for people who will dispatch or triage all customer incidents
CONSOLE
A Lotus Support function which routes phone messages, handles expired Support ID's and answers support entitlement questions
CSD
Corrective Service Delivery. Means by which some products deliver their service.
EMEA
IBM Geographic unit consisting of Europe, Middle East, and Africa
EOS
End of Service date. The date when IBM will no longer support, update, patch, or maintain a product.
ESO
Expanded Service Options. OS/390 service deliverable used by many Customers for preventive service
ESP
Early Support Program. A program where customers get a pre release level of a product in order to help IBM evaluate the fitness of the product and the readiness of IBM support
FIN
Fixed-If-Next. An APAR whose fix will be deferred until a future release of the product (by mutual agreement between the Customer and IBM)
FIX PACK
A cumulative collection of all fixes available to registered customers since the last release of the product. It can include fixes that have not been previously released and can span multiple products or components. A fix pack can be applied on top of any previously shipped maintenance to bring the system up to the current fix pack level.
FSS
Field Support Services provided by a Lotus Support Field representative who engages in short term technical projects for Customers
FSU
Fast Service Upgrade. A process for upgrading an installed VSE release level with a newer one.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol. Method for transferring files to or from IBM and Lotus and their web sites
FULLSHIFT
24 hours a day, seven days a week, including national holidays.
GROUP
A collection of recommended fixes that IBM recommends most customers install for a specified level of the product (that is, the release of the product on a specified operating system). This collection is a reference to these fixes, but not an actual repackaging of those fixes.
HIPER
Literally "High Impact Pervasive". An APAR that describes a serious problem and may be one that has a wide spread impact. These APARs should be reviewed and if applicable, the PTF should be installed as soon as possible.
IBM
International Business Machines. Undisputedly the largest software developer, anywhere in the world.
Interim Fix
A tested and verified fix available to registered customers. It can contain fixes for one or more product defects (APARs). The associated APARs are closed.
ICA
IBM Customer Agreement. An agreement under which IBM software products are licensed. The ICA is signed by the Customer and by IBM.
IPLA
International Program License Agreement. An agreement under which IBM software products are licensed. The IPLA is shipped with the product and does not require signatures.
iSeries
The Integrated Series from IBM, evolved from AS/400 and is now called System i
Lotus Knowledge Base
An interactive, web-based support tool allowing a Customer to search for specific support information.
MLC
Monthly License Charge. Pricing methodology for some software products, primarily mainframe, which uses monthly payments
OS/390
Mainframe server platform built on the MVS family of products
OTC
One Time Charge. Pricing methodology for most software products which are purchased by a single payment at the time the product is acquired.
PD
Problem Determination. The process of isolating the source of a suspected problem to hardware or software.
Pervasive
Designation of an APAR which has the potential to affect many Customers
PLC
Primary License Charge. A method of paying for some IBM software products, usually as a part of a PLC/ALC agreement.
PMP
Preventive Management Planning.
PMR
Problem Management Record. A record of the activities performed during the course of resolving a customer reported problem. Customers with access to IBMLink can view their PMRs.
pSeries
The Performance Series from IBM, evolved from RS/6000 and is now called System p
PSI
Problem Source Identification. The process of isolating the source of a suspected software problem to the failing software product or component.
PSLC
Parallel Sysplex License Charge. A special software pricing methodology for mainframe Customers receiving the benefits of the parallel Sysplex technology.
PSP
Preventive Service Planning. A facility that contains information concerning a product's installation or service. A PSP entry consists of upgrades and subsets.
PTF
Programming Temporary Fix. A fix to a reported defect that can consist of documentation and/or code. A PTF is temporary only in the sense that it disappears with the next release of the product, when the patch is integrated into the base product code
Refresh Pack
A cumulative collection of all of the function and fixes that are available to registered customers since the last release of the product. The function and fixes might not have been previously released, and they can span multiple products or components. A refresh pack can be applied on top of any previously-shipped maintenance to bring the system up to the current refresh pack level.
Retain
IBM's system for maintaining problem and APAR records
RLC
Recurring License Charge. A method of paying for some IBM software products.
RMP
Recommended Maintenance Package. Service deliverable for RS/6000 which allows the preventive installation of a set of IBM recommended fixes between maintenance levels
RSU
Recommended Service Upgrade. Service deliverable for OS/390 and VM which allows the preventive installation of a set of IBM recommended fixes
SHIFT
Standard IBM business hours in the local time zone where you receive the Service (for example 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. Monday through Friday), excluding national holidays
sid
Support ID. A unique number that identifies a Designated Caller or set of callers. This ID is used by the Lotus telephone system to automatically verify entitlement.
SPECIAL ATTENTION
Special Attention APARs, while not as critical as HIPER APARs, do require special Customer consideration as they can represent pervasive problems, cross-system (sysplex) problems, new function, installability or serviceability improvements, or other, key product specific considerations.
SPOC
Single Point of Contact
SPR
Software Problem Report. a record in the Lotus software problem reporting system that is used to track an identified software problem -- similar to IBM's APAR, however an SPR may also be used within the incident tracking database to classify an incident's status.
SSA
System Support Agreement. An expanded maintenance agreement which includes some level of enhanced software support services
STATUS
The most recent assessment of an incident's current place in the resolution process
SUF
Service Upgrade Facility. An OS/390, VM, and VSE tool announced in 1997 which uses the Internet to help automate preventive and corrective service application. It was replaced by SMP/E Internet Service Retrieval function in 2006.
SVP
Sales Volume Price. A letter between C and H which gives the Customer's relative level in the Passport Advantage program
Test Fix
A temporary or uncertified fix with limited IBM testing that is provided to one or more customers for testing purposes. It is not available to all registered customers. The associated APAR is not closed.
UR1
Unable to be reproduced on the next product release. Like "FIN", this APAR closing code is also used for an APAR whose fix will be deferred until a future release of the product (by mutual agreement between the Customer and IBM)