Planning summary for Autosupport configuration

Use Autosupport

By default, Autosupport sends messages to Network Appliance over HTTPS, with minimal detail (no private data). You can change the default settings.

• You can be alerted to potential problems before they become actual problems.
• Support for Autosupport is included as part of your basic warranty service.

Recipients of Autosupport messages

One or both of the following:

• Network Appliance Technical Support.
• Non-Network Appliance recipients. You can specify up to five e-mail addresses for event alerts and up to five addresses to receive both event messages and weekly reports.

Network Appliance looks for potential problems and has the experience to help you solve problems quickly.

Message types you want Autosupport to send

• If Network Appliance Technical Support is a recipient, event messages and weekly reports are sent.
• For non-Network Appliance recipients, you can separately identify recipients to receive event alerts and recipients to receive both event messages and weekly reports.

Sending event alerts to employees with pagers enables them to respond more quickly to problems when they are out of the office.

Level of detail in Autosupport messages (for messages to Network Appliance only)

• Include private information, such as IP addresses, in Autosupport messages.
• Do not include private information in Autosupport messages.
• Include the host name or system ID in the subject line of Autosupport messages.

If you are concerned about revealing data that you consider to be sensitive external to your company, specify that the messages include a minimal level of detail.

By default, the system ID is included in the subject line of Autosupport messages. You can have the host name of the appliance in the subject line instead.

How Autosupport messages can be sent

• For messages to Network Appliance, the transport can be HTTP Post, HTTPS Post, or SMTP e-mail.
• For non-Network Appliance recipients, the transport must be SMTP e-mail.

• HTTPS Post provides the highest level of security. Firewalls might block transport, however.
• Typically, messages sent by HTTP Post can bypass firewalls.
• SMTP e-mail requires a mail server. If a firewall blocks the mail server, use HTTP Post.

If SMTP e-mail is the transport for Autosupport messages

• You can choose the transport for messages to Network Appliance.
• The transport for non-Network Appliance recipients is always SMTP e-mail.

You must have at least one host at your site that listens on the SMTP port (25) to send mail--an SMTP server or a mail forwarder, such as the sendmail program or Microsoft Exchange server. This host must be reachable by the NetCache appliance. You can specify up to five e-mail hosts.