Online-Support

1. General Regulations

1.1. Bitrix, Inc. provides support services to the company's partners, customers and non-commercial users of Bitrix products.

The Bitrix technical support service helps to settle problems outlined in this document according to the established Service Level Agreement.

1.2. Before you address your question to the technical support service, you should study all the reference information available about your problem in the documentation, manuals, FAQ and search the forum. If your problem is similar to the one that you encounter in the documentation or in the forum discussion but requires consultancy, you have to reference the original document or the discussion.

1.3. Questions that are beyond the province of technical support should be directed to the specialists of hosting companies, third-party software developers, etc. The technical support cannot resolve problems that concern the maintenance of a web project created by Bitrix partners for an end user unless these problems are in some way related to errors in Bitrix products.

1.4. Bitrix, Inc. does not provide web design, development or hosting services. We provide only general consultancy for problems concerning hosting server configuration and server software installation by giving references to the Internet resources and the related documentation.

2. Service Level Agreement Levels

2.1. Technical support requests are classified in several service levels (SLA– Service Level Agreement). The service levels differ in response time and other parameters and depend on a client category and/or a problem category.

2.2. Technical support requests are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Maximum response period is defined by the defined service (SLA) level. High urgency level requests that require immediate response or direct help of techsupport specialists may be processed out of turn. High urgency requests are those concerning the full or partial recovery of web projects.

The problem-solving period depends on the request urgency level, problem complexity and the potential need to handle the request over to the development department.

2.3. Problems that cannot be resolved in the context of the current software version are sent to the Bitrix development department, which means that the fix will be included in the subsequent update. The planned term of the software update release is defined during the problem diagnostics respecting the general software development plan.

2.4. The technical support service cannot guarantee the fixed problem-solving period because there is a number of influencing factors: client’s timely replies; response time of a hosting company; the need to prepare and release a software update, etc.

The response period depends on the current techsupport service workload and can take less time than stated in the regulations. Sometimes, a problem can be solved immediately upon the receipt of a request or additional information from a client or user. The response of techsupport specialists to additional information can take more time but never exceed the maximum response time defined for a given support level. In this or similar situation, making a phone call to the sales department or creating posts in the forum has no practical consequence because it will not accelerate the problem-solving process.

The maximum response times are defined below.

2.5. SLA offered by the technical support service

The following support service levels are provided by the Bitrix support.

2.5.1. Partners and Commercial Clients

• General software operation problems.
• Questions about development using the Bitrix API: undocumented functions or methods; or the function (method) behavior is different than described.
• General questions about server-side software installation and configuration.

The maximum response time is 24 hours on business days.

2.5.2. Commercial Clients: VIP Support

This support level is offered to customers who purchased the Premium or Ultimate editions of Bitrix Site Manager. If necessary, the tickets are passed to the development department without being assigned to the Development support level.

The maximum response time is 24 hours on business days.

In addition to the VIP Support, clients who purchased the Premium or Ultimate editions are provided with the special VIP request coupons:

• 3 VIP requests for Premium edition purchasers
• 5 VIP requests for Ultimate edition purchasers

VIP requests are to be used in urgent cases concerned with the product development and site operation. Clients should enter a special coupon to submit VIP requests.

The maximum response time for VIP requests is 4 hours, VIP requests are assisted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

2.5.3. Non-Commercial Support

This support level is assigned to users of the demo version and for non-commercial clients (owners of the non-commercial versions). The scope of support covers general usage questions; no assistance on web development can be provided.

The maximum response time is 48 hours on business days.

2.5.4. Non-Product Related Questions

This support level is assigned to a ticket if the problem is beyond the scope of standard technical support requiring introduction to common programming principles or explanation of general questions about the creation and maintenance of BSM powered web solutions.

Technical support tickets are processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Any ticket that is assigned any support level can be moved to this level by the support specialists if a given question cannot be classified into any other levels.

The maximum response time is 72 hours on business days.

2.5.5. Development

This support level is assigned to a ticket passed to the development department.

The maximum response time is 14 days.

2.6. Table: SLA Levels

	SLA Level	Response time	Propagation to dev. dept.	Technical support duration	Period of free updates	Complementary services
	VIP request*	max. 4 hours	+	1 year	1 year	Private forum
	Partners	24 hours	+	unlimited	unlimited	Partner forum
	Commercial clients	24 hours	+	1 year	1 year	Private forum
	Non-commercial support	48 hours	-	30 days	30 days	Forum

*VIP request is applicable for Premium and Ultimate license purchasers. Using a coupon, Premium purchasers can make 3 VIP requests, Ultimate purchasers can make 5 VIP requests per year.

3. Scope of issues

3.1. Installation And Configuration

The following problems are within the technical support scope.

• Server-side installation assistance (demo and commercial versions). The consultancy coverage is limited to Installation Guide.
• Recommendations on resolving typical problems occurring during the installation.
• General consultancy on choosing proper server software. Users can also find these recommendations given in the respective documentation sections.
• General recommendations on using the back-up software and scripts for the server-side project deployment; migrating from a local to a remote server.

The following problems are beyond the technical support scope.

• We do not perform server-side software installations.
• We do not prepare or move back-up files to server.
• We do not perform the server software diagnostics installed on a client’s server or local computer.
• We do not install server software on a client’s server or local computer.

3.2. Performance Issues

The following topics are within the technical support scope.

• General recommendations on choosing proper server software to provide better web project performance.
• Recommendations on configuration parameters of a given software, as provided in the "Recommendations on Configuring Web Systems" downloadable manual.
• Assistance on using the built-in caching mechanisms and other features allowing to reduce the site load.

The following topics are beyond the technical support scope.

• We do not configure software on a client’s computer or server.
• We do not perform diagnostics or stress tests on a client’s server.
• We do not optimize code or algorithms of the components or modules on demand.

3.3. Update Issues

The following topics are within the technical support scope.

• Investigation and elimination of license key problems occurring during software update.
• Assistance to find and eliminate problems occurring when updates are installed incorrectly.

The following topics are beyond the technical support scope.

• We do not assist with server connection problems or proxy connection configuration.
• We cannot configure your server or server software for compatibility with the update system.

3.4. Bitrix Products Errors

The following topics are within the technical support scope:

• Bitrix products runtime and operation errors; operation failure and system recovery. Consultancy on finding and elimination of reasons of system failure.
• Bitrix software errors. Diagnostics aimed to assert the fact of software error. The identified error, if any, can be eliminated either during diagnostics or in the forthcoming updates, which depends on the nature of error.

The following problems are beyond the technical support scope:

• Software installation errors. Only general installation recommendations can be provided based on the installation manual and the software documentation. Only the known methods are offered to resolve a problem.
• Database errors. We can give only general suggestions and remedies known for similar problems.
• We cannot give advice on server configuration parameters that hinder the correct installation of updates. We can give only general suggestions based on the knowledge for similar problems. We do not install updates at client's servers.
• We do not find or eliminate server software errors.

3.5. Development Questions

The following problems are within the technical support scope.

• Explanation of general principles of integration of Bitrix products in the site design using the integration manual and the software documentation.
• Consultancy on using the Bitrix API.

The following problems are beyond the technical support scope.

• We do not consult on general principles of programming.
• We do not implement custom, user defined logics and algorithms.
• We do not diagnose code or user software components.
• We do not develop custom components.
• We do not develop custom software modules.
• We do not make customized versions of public scripts or program components.
• We never modify the existing code of the system modules or components to adopt them for specific business tasks, unless such modifications are in some way connected with essential bug fixes.
• Technical support staff does not develop custom payment system integration scripts. However, clients will send requests for custom scripts to the technical support department; from this point on, the scripts become candidates for inclusion in the standard installation package, the possible release date is undefined.

3.6. Abstract Questions

The following problems are within the technical support scope.

• Explanation of functions of the system module lacking from the documentation.
• Commentaries on the software licensing terms.
• Explanation of the multisite system configuration if a client finds the documentation difficult to understand.
• Assistance on improving system security using Bitrix products.
• Feature and improvement requests.
• Issues concerning the existing documentation and help section; requests for documentation improvement.

4. Technical Support Procedure

4.1. A reason for initiating a technical support procedure is the support request (a trouble ticket) of a Bitrix partner, VIP client, commercial or non-commercial client, created in any form. Tickets and requests are processed in a special helpdesk section of the Bitrix site. A request (ticket) can be created in any of the following ways:

• using the “Ask a question” form at the site (preferred method);
• by sending an e-mail to support@bitrixsoft.com;
• using the techsupport ticket creation form built in Bitrix products.

4.2. In the ticket, a client will clearly formulate questions requiring assistance and describe problemsto resolve. The ticket should include the following information to reduce the problem resolution time.

• The problem description and the step-by-step procedure to reproduce the error (if possible).
• Questions should be asked using the commonly accepted terminology.
• The URL of a site where the problem occurs.
• The software version number and the edition name.
• The technical support specialists may inquire information concerning the server software configuration and versions, and the configuration of a client’s software (browser).

4.3. If a certain action is required to be performed on a client’s server to resolve the problem, the support specialist may inquire the Bitrix product license key and the server authorization information for administration access.

Note that additional information like FTP, SSH or the hosting server Control Panel login and password may be requested in some cases, for example, when emergency actions are required to recover the project operation or to diagnose the update problems.

Remember that a client must change the authorization information (login and password) given to Bitrix support team immediately after the problem has been resolved. The technical support staff cannot and will not be responsible for the safety of client's information, hardware and software after the problem has been resolved.

4.4. Whenever a client creates a ticket or sends a message that is further accepted and registered by the technical support service, the system automatically generates and sends a reply message stating that the problem has been accepted, and including the assigned service level.

4.5. After the techsupport service has received a ticket, a client receives a notification message, which indicates that the application has been scheduled and the ticket is assigned a unique ticket identifier (TID). Clients have to preserve the TID in the e-mail message subject field during the whole period of correspondence with the techsupport service. The forthcoming messages are appended to the initial message automatically. Clients can view the full correspondence in the technical support section at the Bitrix web site.

4.6. Technical support cannot be initiated via other communication channels (e.g. phone, ICQ, forum, GoogleTalk, Skype). Questions asked via these channels are not treated as official requests and not registered in the helpdesk system. These communications facilities are for general contacts and consultancy.

4.7. When creating a ticket or sending a support request via the e-mail, you can include screenshots and other images that can help to identify and resolve the problem. Screenshots are to be created in PNG, GIF, JPG formats. If a client's last resort is an image in BMP format, it must be compressed using the RAR or ZIP archiver.

4.8. When sending messages via the client site's Control Panel, a client can include the server configuration information (phpinfo) in the message by enabling the corresponding option.

4.9. If a request is sent via the e-mail, it must contain the correct registered user information: the e-mail address, the Bitrix site login, etc. The specified information is used to uniquely identify a user to assign them the appropriate service level. Clients should understand that a commercial SLA level will be assigned only to a request that is sent from an e-mail address specified in the license, or belongs to a commercial user group.

4.10. Answers to the common, frequently asked questions can be given in the form of links to corresponding pages of the online documentation; the documentation download page; the forum or the FAQ section; the sites of third-party software developers.

4.11. The following reasons can delay or abort consultancy.

• A problem cannot be reproduced using similar hardware configuration, or a client's site cannot be accessed with administration privileges.
• A user cannot give enough information required to resolve the problem.
• The problem requires thorough, scrupulous diagnostics; Bitrix product modules require custom improvements or unplanned update.
• A user carries out actions that break technical requirements for installation and use of Bitrix products; changes the product kernel; exceeds the allowed number of software installations, etc.
• Usage of unlicensed copies of Bitrix products.
• The question is beyond the techsupport service scope.
• The question is incorrect or the client's replies are inadequate, which causes delays in consultancy because additional information on the request is belated.

4.12. Third-party mail services and spam filters may be a serious obstacle to initiating the consulting process. The problem is treated as accepted only if a client has received a confirmation message containing the unique number (a ticket ID, TID). This means that the message has been checked by the anti-spam system successfully and registered in the support system. If a message fails to deliver, clients should create a ticket at the Bitrix site and communicate via the technical support service interface.

5. The Technical Support Quality Rating

Bitrix, Inc. places high emphasis on the technical support service quality and provides a highest possible support service for all categories of users. After resolving a problem, we kindly ask you to estimate the service quality by voting in the ticket form.

If you suppose that a ticket has been prematurely closed, you can re-open the ticket and define your question more exactly. You can send a message to the technical support service supervisor asking them to comment on the ticket or promote the resolution of urgent questions.

6. Additional information

Additional information on the general schedule; changes in the schedule; the holiday schedule; technical and emergency breaks is always published at the Bitrix official site: http://www.bitrixsoft.com/.