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If it is a configuration or infrastructure request, we will work to answer questions and provide guidance within 20 business days.
Resolution of Level 4 Software Defects and feature requests are solely at Aspenware’s discretion and are not guaranteed. A reasonable result would be for Aspenware to close the ticket after adding the request to its internal list of non-urgent issues/requests that it evaluates periodically. We will not add software defect or feature requests to Monday as we do not guarantee a resolution on these, so tracking these requests is not respectful of either party's time.
HINT: If a feature request is highly important to a customer and they are interested in funding the development efforts to ensure that the feature is included in the application, email info@aspenware.com to receive a quote and discuss options.
Examples by Category (each category has a corresponding section below with more details):
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If reporting an issue that has not yet been reproduced by you or a member of your team, first attempt to reproduce. Take notes on the steps taken, and collect necessary information and details (accounts experiencing the issue, products experiencing the issue including links to the customer-facing PDP and admin editor page, steps to reproduce, browser and OS used, time of occurrence, etc.) that will help troubleshoot the issue.
When creating a ticket, include additional contacts, enter a subject, a description, and attach any necessary files. If reporting a bug or defect, please Please include as much of the following context as possible:
Detailed steps to reproduce
Impacted product header code, and component code
Links to the impacted product (guest-facing link to the PDP and links to the admin product editor page)
Screenshots/Screen recordings (the more legible, the better) We recommend using http://loom.com.
The device, browser, and version details of the guest experiencing the issue if unable to reproduce across all browsers
The exact time of day when this started happening (including time zone information)
Specific user details if relevant (email, account setup in RTP)
Order details if relevant (alternate order id, products ordered, etc.)
Any helpful background information
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IMPORTANT: If your ticket is Urgent, only meaning it meets Level 1 criteria as described above, add URGENT to the subject line or body and our automation rules will pick it up as a Level 1 ticket. If your ticket is not a Level 1 as described below please DO NOT add Urgent to the subject line. |
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, Aspenware has sole discretion to determine the priority of submitted issues and will de-escalate any ticket marked Urgent that is not a Level 1. |
Appendix B: Azure and Unity Management/Monitoring Services
As part of your Aspenware service agreement, we configure, maintain, and monitor most supportedelements of your Aspenware platform environments and infrastructure. Unless otherwise specified in your agreement, Aspenware does not pay the customer’s hosting fees (typically monthly Azure fees) and these are the responsibility of the customer. The following sections on Hosting, Monitoring, Auto-scaling, and Scheduled/Unscheduled Network changes detail what environment management services are included out of the box, which are not, and which are available at professional service fees.
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B1: Azure and Unity Management
Included Services - These infrastructure-related services are available at no extra cost and are considered part of a standard Aspenware Service Agreement.
Environment set up and configuration within Azure. Typically performed during the implementation phase of the customer life cycle.
Alert configuration and monitoring for Level 1 outages (see Monitoring section below)
Auto-scaling configuration and maintenance (see Auto-scaling section below)
Tracking SSL expirations and working with customers to retrieve new SSLs. Often this task requires customer participation.
Keeping Azure SKUs and infrastructure up to date with the latest Aspenware recommendations for optimized configuration.
Available Add-on Services - Unless otherwise specified in your package, these infrastructure-related services are available but will require professional service fees and require planning/communication with Aspenware.
Manual scaling and Azure intervention for traffic surge events. If auto-scaling, which is included for all customers is insufficient to handle upcoming traffic surges, please notify and work with your Aspenware representative to manually scale up and down your Azure resources to accommodate traffic surges. Details on when to notify your Aspenware representative of upcoming surges are defined here https://hub.aspenware.net/main/Flash-Sale-or-Product-Launch-Scaling-Preparation.1298334147.html. In the event of a manual scale, professional service fees will apply for planning, scaling activities, and monitoring time. Scaling up and down activities are limited to business hours, so if a sale is running over a weekend, we’d scale you up on a Friday and down on a Monday. Note there are additional fees for Azure associated with manual scaling.
Queue-It is a 3rd party service Aspenware optionally provides its customers as an add-on. Queue-It is a virtual waiting room for high traffic events and requires a separate license and implementation. Queue-It provides digital queueing capabilities for planned, high-traffic events and a “SafetyNet” feature for unexpected spikes in traffic. Queue-It is the queuing system used by high-volume providers such as Ticketmaster, StubHub, Vail Resorts, and AXS.
It is recommended for customers that plan to utilize “flash sales”, which are characterized as an announced, scheduled release of limited inventory on a specific date and time.
If interested, contact your Aspenware account executive. Queue-It implementation times vary between 6-15 hrs and are charged at a professional services rate.
Aspenware can offer dedicated monitoring services leading up to and throughout the course of important launches and sales. These In-depth monitoring activities are only available as a professional service package. With this package, Aspenware will look at historical traffic trends and recommend scaling activities leading up to the event. If you have the Queue-It add on they will help guide you on using Queue-It for this event. During the event, they can monitor and tweak system levels alongside your team to ensure optimal performance during the event. Following the event, they can return systems to normal operating levels and report out on system performance, which can be used to guide future similar traffic events. Typically these services include 1-2 hrs to plan and consult on strategy, 1 hr before the event, the duration of the event when marketing communication is sent (varies), and 1 hr after the event to return systems to normal and report out on activities. These monitoring services require 10 days' notice to Aspenware and may not be available if the launch event is outside of standard business hours (8 am - 5 pm Mon - Friday, Holidays excluded).
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B2: Customer Expectations around Azure Management
The following customer expectations must be upheld by the customer in order for Aspenware to achieve and maintain its Service Level Guidelines and provide the best service possible.
Responsible for maintaining servers where Unity is hosted and keeping specs up to on these servers if Unity is hosted on-premise and not in Azure.
Minimum server requirements for Unity application server
Windows Server 2016 or 2019
Processor - 2.60GHz 64-bit
Installed memory (RAM) – 16 GB
Disk space – 158 GB
Unless otherwise specified, the customer responsible for paying monthly Azure hosting costs.
Provide business hours and after-hours access to IT and networking personnel. After-hours contact will only be made for emergencies.
Quick response/completion of tasks on SSL renewals when necessary
Notify Aspenware of all high traffic sales events - defined here https://hub.aspenware.net/main/Flash-Sale-or-Product-Launch-Scaling-Preparation.1298334147.html
To uphold our Service Level Guidelines, Aspenware designated staff needs adequate and continuous access at all times to a minimum number of services (All access to Azure, RTP|One, and the DB where unity is hosted, what else? what specific RTP permissions do we need? ) This cannot require a person approving access each day. If approval is required to access any of the on-premise or hosted applications, services, or servers, Service Levels cannot be guaranteed for these customers.
Provide Aspenware with an updated list of contacts and contact information for monitoring alerting.
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B3: Monitoring
Aspenware will monitor production Commerce, Identity, Arrival, and Unity URLs proactively within support hours and will contact the customer, notifying them of an outage if not reported by the customer, within the service level guidelines outlined above.
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NOTE: One potentially avoidable outage if proper planning and communication with Aspenware are done ahead of time are crashes caused by volume surges that are higher than what the configured Azure levels can handle. This can cause a slow-performing site at best, and an outage at worst. As part of our hosting agreement, we offer services to help your site handle most loads, but this requires customer participation and planning alongside your Aspenware representative. Aspenware cannot guarantee an immediate resolution to any incidents caused by volume surges if proper planning and communication with Aspenware were not completed. See our published guidelines on scaling and manual scaling intervention for details on when auto-scaling may not be sufficient. |
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B4: Auto-scaling
To secure the platform against sudden outages due to unexpected volume, and to ensure optimal performance of all Commerce stores, Aspenware will set all production Commerce stores to auto-scale. This means stores will be able to handle unexpected gradual* heavy loads of traffic.
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IMPORTANT: When a store is scaled out, any Aspenware Commerce administration changes will take about 1.5 hours to take effect for all shoppers on the site. To keep you informed about exactly when an auto-scale occurs, Aspenware will set your team members up with notifications. |
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B5: Scheduled/Unscheduled Aspenware Related Infrastructure Configuration Changes
Aspenware must be informed of all impactful Aspenware Related Infrastructure changes completed by the customer 5 days in advance or as soon as possible if unscheduled.
Requests for changes within business hours - Aspenware can participate to help update its platforms for scheduled and routine infrastructure changes that occur within standard business hours (8 am - 5 pm Monday - Friday, Holidays excluded) at no extra professional service charge but must be scheduled 5 business days in advance with Aspenware.
Requests for changes within the after-hours on-call hours period - Customers can request professional services to have Aspenware’s participation in networking/infrastructure changes that occur outside of business hours , but within our on-call period (8 am - 8 pm Mountain Time). These requests must be scheduled 10 business days in advance and professional service fees will be charged for all activities completed outside of standard business hours.
Requests for late-night and early morning changes changes outside of business hours and after-hours on-call period - Networking/infrastructure changes made outside of after-hours on-call windows and business hours will not be considered. For example, if the customer is making changes at 2 am, the Aspenware portion could be completed starting at 8 am the next morning.
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A regular (typically monthly) sync call with your service rep to review AGENDA DETAILS HERE Jen Dixon
Clarification of documentation, functions, and features - Our products are well documented and we love helping customers get the most out of these products by sharing relevant areas of documentation, links to articles, release notes, and configuration guides to answer your specific questions around your desired setup. If documentation is unclear, Aspenware services will provide additional color and direction to help you better understand existing documentation.
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Aspenware offers releases approximately every 4 weeks. For more details on our release processes and methodology, see https://hub.aspenware.net/main/Aspenware-Release-and-Update-Process.1385824260.html.
E1: Upgrade Guidelines
Customers should not fall further than 4 releases behind in their production code at any time.
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Production environments will not be updated/changed without first notifying the customer. In the case of a Level 1 issue, Aspenware may begin upgrade/infrastructure change activities without the consent of the customer, but to swap and make material changes to versions, and significant infrastructure changes, the customer must be informed, and in the case of upgrading software versions, provide consent. This raises the importance of customer contact availability - see customer availability expectations section.
If a reported Software Defect is fixed in a future release and a customer declines to take a release, ticket resolution within the stated resolution times is not guaranteed.
Before scheduling a release to production, customers are expected to smoke test and approve the code version for their production environment. All functionality that is unique to the customer and not widely adopted should be tested by the customer with each upgrade. For example, if you use subscriptions these should be specially tested with each upgrade.
We offer scheduled release timelines within business hours and do not offer routine releases outside of Business Hours.
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E2: Customer Expectations During Upgrades
To ensure that Aspenware has the ability to reach out to customer contacts in the case of emergencies and for code upgrades, customers must provide Aspenware with the following emergency contacts:
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Training - As customers hire new employees, need refresher training, or are hoping to take advantage of new features and functions, Aspenware offers training on its supported products and features.
Configuration - Aspenware can help with configuration requests by providing relevant documentation links and occasionally may help with infrastructure configuration like installing required functions in Azure, etc. however configuration requests that take >30 minutes are at Aspenware’s discretion to transition the request to a Professional Services request. If you would like Aspenware to assist with setting up products, prototyping options, etc. That is always considered Professional Services.
Best Practices Consultation - Aspenware has worked with many ski areas on various product configurations, shop setups, and more. The professional service team will consult around best practices for product setup and getting more out of your store, helping you think through a new and different way to sell rentals, lift, lessons, and more.
Consulting - As experts in commerce as well as ski POS systems, we're equipped to help you think through any new product being offered from both the commerce shopping experience and the fulfillment experience.
Project Management - There are a lot of moving parts and parties involved in getting a store ready for the winter or summer season, with Aspenware’s knowledge of customer’s personnel, business, and products gained through past relationships position Aspenware to support in project management on the implementation of new or additional features of the Supported Program.
Copy live to test requests that fall outside of Aspenware’s offered copies. (More details in Appendix G)
Configuration issues that are out of compliance with reasonable planning and communication guidelines outlined in Appendix D.
Available Azure Management Add-on Services detailed in Appendix B1.
Scheduled/Unscheduled Aspenware Related Infrastructure Configuration Changes within After-Hours On-Call Period. Detailed in Appendix B5.
Implementation of new products, services, features, etc. Typically require a separate change request and coordination with an Account Executive.
Support, testing, and training on new development projects that are customer-funded. Typically require a separate change request and coordination with an Account Executive.
Appendix G: Test Environments
Aspenware offers regular opportunities to copy production commerce configuration so that test configuration mirrors production configuration. Aspenware currently sends out available dates and customers can sign up for one copy every month.
If a customer requests a copy outside of these published time-frames, Aspenware can coordinate, but these outside requests will require professional service fees for the copy. Typically 1 hr for dev ops and 1 hr for service, so typically these unscheduled copies require a minimum of 2 professional service hours.
Aspenware requires that customers complete a copy live to test for both their commerce and POS environments every 3 months at a minimum. If a copy has not been completed within a 3-month window, Aspenware reserves the right to run a copy and will charge professional service fees for all development, dev-ops, and services time to upgrade the customer until they are within compliance.
Test environment issues are not held to the same resolution times as production-related issues.
Aspenware has sole discretion to run a copy live to test in the case of L1 or L2 troubleshooting, or if a customer is out of compliance without the consent of the customer. Aspenware will always seek to notify and obtain customer approval before completing copy live to test, however, if approval cannot be obtained promptly, a copy live to test can be run without such approval.
Aspenware has full autonomy to make changes/updates/infrastructure changes to test environments without the consent of the customer. Aspenware will attempt to notify and receive consent from the customer on major changes to test environments, such as upgrades, adaptations to major products, etc, however, if consent is not received, Aspenware can proceed without being in violation for troubleshooting efforts as it is a test environment and is purposed to help evaluate which efforts will positively impact production.
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