Contacting the ARCHER2 Service Desk
The ARCHER2 Service Desk is the first point of contact for all questions relating to the ARCHER2 Service. Support is available Monday to Friday from 08:00 until 18:00 UK time, excluding UK public holidays. The ARCHER2 Service Desk can be reached by:
- Email support@archer2.ac.uk
- Via the SAFE
- Telephone: +44 (0)131 650 5000 (if the above number is unavailable, please use +44 (0)131 618 8313)
- By post, to:
ARCHER2 Service Desk
EPCC
Bayes Centre
47 Potterrow
Edinburgh EH8 9BT
Please try and provide as much background information as possible as this will speed up the processing time considerably. Existing ARCHER2 users will be asked for their user ID, project code, and, where applicable, the commands they are using and the error message they get. In order to investigate issues, we may ask you to share data (e.g. source code, job scripts, input data) with us. Information on how to share data with us can be found in the ARCHER2 documentation.
For more complex queries a callback may be booked to discuss your issue with an EPCC expert at a time of your convenience. This may be done via Zoom or telephone.
About the ARCHER2 Service Desk
The service desk is available to prospective and current users of the Service. It is available between the hours of 0800 and 1800, Monday–Friday (excluding UK Bank Holidays). Users typically contact the service desk via email, but users can also submit a query via the SAFE.
The Service Desk is staffed by experienced members of the ARCHER2 Service team who can assess the nature of the issue and then either deal with the issue directly or assign it to an appropriate member of staff. We aim to personally acknowledge queries within 3 hours and—along with the acknowledgement of the query—we assign a service level to the query and an estimated resolution time, which is communicated to the user. Queries are designated either as SP or CSE queries and then further designated as Level 1, 2, and 3 queries, depending on the estimated complexity. Each query metric has a different Service Level Agreement which we report on a quarterly basis.
The Service Desk is the face of the ARCHER2 service to the user community and we value the personal interactions with the users. When dealing with queries, we ensure polite, timely communications whilst working to resolve the issues. Once the query has been resolved, the Service Desk asks the user for feedback on the handling of the query. To date, the feedback has been consistently high: if there is an identified issue, this is followed up with the user.
How the Service Desk query system works
When a query is submitted by email or through the SAFE, it is placed in the SAFE query system. Phone queries are entered into the system by the Service Desk operator.
When you email your query, you will normally get an automatic email response, including a tracking ID, within a few minutes. If you submit your query through SAFE, it will give you a tracking ID at once. A few minutes later, your query will be assigned to the appropriate expert within the ARCHER2 team to handle. A personalised acknowledgement email will be sent, letting you know how your query has been classified, the expected resolution time and any other information which is immediately available.
The expert may contact you to discuss your problem or to get extra information. Finally, the expert will send you an answer, and the query will be closed. At this point the Service Desk will send you another message, telling you that this has happened.
Closed queries are kept in the SAFE database, so that we can refer back to them when solving future problems, and when writing documentation, etc. The SAFE database is protected by ARCHER2 Personal Data and Privacy Policy.