DataStax Support Policy

 

General Support Policy

DataStax provides Support of eligible Products under the terms of this Support Policy as long as Customer maintains a current subscription to Support or procures Astra Cloud Services credits. “Support” means the services described in this Support Policy and does not include one-time services or other services not specified in this Support Policy, such as training, consulting or custom development. This Support Policy is part of and subject to an agreement with DataStax (the “Agreement”) that incorporates this Support Policy and the Order Schedule under which Customer is entitled to Support.  Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meanings given to them in the Agreement.

1. Technical Contacts

Support may be initiated and managed only by Customer’s Technical Contacts. “Technical Contacts” are named individuals who are responsible for administration of the Products within Customer’s organization. Customer with Standard support will be able to designate up to ten (10)  technical contacts. Customer shall only designate as Technical Contacts those individuals who have knowledge of and experience with the operation of the Products and who have sufficient permissions and authority to access the Products in Customer’s environment. Additional Technical Contacts may be available for an additional fee.

2. Informational Support

DataStax will provide reasonable product and technical support to address questions concerning use of the Products. Technical Contacts may initiate Support by submitting a ticket through our 24-hour web ticketing system at https://support.datastax.com. Support is provided in the English language only. Customer acknowledges information and materials provided to DataStax in connection with receiving Support may be used by the DataStax global support team for the purpose of providing Support in accordance with this Support Policy.

3. Issue Resolution

DataStax will make commercially reasonable efforts to resolve any Issues submitted by Customer’s Technical Contacts. Such efforts may include helping with diagnosis, suggesting workarounds, providing patches (excluding for Open Source Software), or making a change to the Supported Software or Supported Service, as applicable and as specified in the Product Specific Support Terms, in such new release. An “Issue” is a material and verifiable failure of the Products to conform to its Documentation. Support will not be provided for the following: (1) use of the Products in a manner inconsistent with the applicable Documentation, (2) modifications to the Products not provided by or approved in writing by DataStax, or (3) use of the Products with products or software not provided or approved in writing by DataStax. Customer shall not submit Issues arising from any products other than the Products or otherwise use Support for unsupported products.

4. Service Levels

When a Technical Contact submits an Issue, DataStax will reasonably assess its priority according to the appropriate priority levels defined below. DataStax will confirm the priority level with Customer and will resolve any disagreement regarding the priority as soon as is reasonably practicable. Urgent and High priority levels are not available for non-production systems.

Pay As You Go Customers are only entitled to chat support.

“Urgent” means a catastrophic problem in Customer’s production systems. Examples include a complete loss of service, production systems that are crashed, or a production system that hangs indefinitely. Customer cannot continue essential operations.

“High” means a high-impact problem in Customer’s production systems. Essential operations are seriously disrupted, but a workaround exists which allows for continued essential operations.

“Normal” means a lower impact problem on a production or non-production system that involves a partial or limited loss of non-critical functionality, or some other problem involving no loss in functionality. Customer can continue essential operations. Normal problems also include all problems on non-production systems, such as test and development systems.

“Low” means a general usage question. It also includes recommendations for requests for new products or features, and requests for enhancements or modifications. There is no impact on the quality, performance, or functionality of the product in a production or non-production system.

5. Customer Responsibilities

Customer shall provide DataStax with data, process information, supporting analysis, and access to Customer’s Technical Contacts as reasonably required to allow DataStax to resolve reported Issues. Customer is responsible for the adequate duplication and documentation of all of its files and data for back-up purposes.

Customer will carefully consider the data that Customer shares with DataStax, and will only share the data that is strictly necessary for the provision of the applicable Support. Customer will ensure that it will only share personal data to the extent necessary for these purposes.

6. How to Escalate a Support Issue

DataStax Support is committed to providing accurate and timely solutions to technical support needs. If Customer has a critical or serious technical issue on its production system or is not satisfied with the response or resolution provided by DataStax Support, Customer may use one of the following escalation paths to have its concerns addressed:

• For support issues where the business impact has changed or was not correctly stated initially, request to have the priority of the ticket increased according to the above service level definitions;

• For an existing issue that has become critical in nature where Customer’s production system is down, inaccessible, or Customer is dissatisfied with the DataStax response or resolution, follow the procedure below for management review:

• Verify that the support ticket is up-to-date and all requested information and files have been provided and request an escalation; and/or

• You can use either “Escalate to Support Engineer” or “Escalate to Manager” buttons depending on the situation and if you need more eyes on the situation.

• Once an escalation request has been received, the support manager will: (1) contact Customer’s Technical Contact to acknowledge the escalation and determine the mode of communication and frequency of updates; and (2) work to ensure that the appropriate resources are available to identify a solution or workaround.

7. Support of Customers of Resellers

If Customer purchased its Products through a reseller, then please see the applicable agreement with that reseller for any applicable additional or different terms (for example, Customer’s first contact for support may be the reseller, rather than DataStax).

8. Changes to this Policy

DataStax may update this Support Policy periodically and will post the updated Support Policy on our website with a Last Updated date at the top. If we make material changes to this Support Policy, we will notify you via the Support Portal or by email.

Product Specific Support Terms

The following Product Specific Support Terms provide product specific support details as follows.

DATASTAX LUNA FOR APACHE CASSANDRA

The latest update applies to all new and renewal Subscriptions for DataStax Luna for Apache Cassandra after June 30, 2021. Prior subscriptions are governed by the previous terms.

1. DataStax Luna for Apache Cassandra Standard & Plus Tier Features.

The features included in Standard & Plus Subscription Tiers are listed below: 

2. Luna for Apache Cassandra Supported Software

Support is offered for and covers only the unmodified Apache Cassandra software release versions and if applicable to the Subscription Tier the unmodified Open Source Projects specified under the Support Policy (the “Supported Software”). Support is not provided for software that has been altered or modified or incorporates any third party patch or fix.

Once the Apache Software Foundation (“ASF”) ceases support on a version of the Software, the last release of the version shall be moved to Extended Life Support only and for Customers whose Subscription includes Extended Life Support DataStax will provide Support for up to  one (1) year after the ASF ceases support on the version.

Support for other versions of Apache Cassandra or modified by any source other than Apache Software Foundation or DataStax is not provided under this Support Policy. Support for other versions of the Open Source Projects or for software obtained from or modified by any source other than the governing applicable project is not provided under this Support Policy. Support only covers use of the Supported Software installed on platforms or systems in accordance with the Documentation. Support does not cover use of the Supported Software on platforms or systems that are no longer supported by the original vendor.

DATASTAX LUNA STREAMING

1. Luna Streaming Standard Tier Features

DataStax offers the following features for DataStax Luna Streaming Standard. 

2. Luna Streaming Supported Software

Support is offered for and covers only the unmodified Apache Pulsar software release versions, the unmodified version of DataStax Luna Streaming Distribution and if applicable to the Subscription Tier the Open Source Projects specified under this Support Policy (the “Supported Software”). Support is not provided for Apache Pulsar software that has been altered or modified or incorporates any third party patch or fix.

This Support Policy covers only Software versions for Apache Pulsar as set forth at:

https://docs.datastax.com/en/streaming/luna-streaming/2.10_3.x/install-upgrade/supported-versions.html

Support for other versions of Apache Pulsar or modified by any source other than Apache Software Foundation or DataStax is not provided under this Support Policy. Support for other versions of the Open Source Projects or for software obtained from or modified by any source other than the governing applicable project is not provided under this Support Policy. Support only covers use of the Supported Software installed on platforms or systems in accordance with the Documentation. Support does not cover use of the Supported Software on platforms or systems that are no longer supported by the original vendor.    

DATASTAX LUNA FOR LANGFLOW

1. DataStax Luna for LangFlow Starter & Enterprise Tier Features

Features	Starter	Enterprise
Subscription Measurement	Tickets	Tickets
Ticket Limitations	5	50

2. DataStax Luna for LangFlow Supported Software

Support is offered for and covers only the unmodified Langflow software release version 1.0.x deployed in accordance with the Documentation. Support is not provided on any Langflow software version that has been altered, modified, incorporates any third party patch or fix.

DataStax CDC for Apache Cassandra 

CDC Supported Software

Support covers only the Software versions of Apache Cassandra that are supported by the Apache Software Foundation (“ASF”) as further set forth at https://cassandra.apache.org/download/

This Support Policy covers Software versions for Apache Pulsar as set forth at:

https://docs.datastax.com/en/streaming/luna-streaming/2.10-3.x/install-upgrade/supported-versions.html

In addition, DataStax may choose to designate one or more Apache Pulsar releases as a Long Term Support Release. DataStax will provide such Support for up to one (1) year after the Apache Software Foundation (“ASF”) ceases support on the version. A Long Term Support Release shall be version 2.7.2 of Apache Pulsar.

Support for other versions of Apache Pulsar or modified by any source other than Apache Software Foundation or DataStax is not provided under this Support Policy. Support for other versions of the Open Source Projects or for software obtained from or modified by any source other than the governing applicable project is not provided under this Support Policy. Support only covers use of the Supported Software installed on platforms or systems in accordance with the Documentation. Support does not cover use of the Supported Software on platforms or systems that are no longer supported by the original vendor.

DATASTAX ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE (DSE)

• DSE Supported Software

This Support Policy covers only the software delivered to Customer by DataStax under an Agreement (the “Supported Software”).  The Supported Software only includes software included with DataStax Enterprise Software (DSE) and other third party components delivered to Customer by DataStax, and does not cover any similar third party components that may be available from other sources.

For Customer’s using DSE 6.8 and above without Search, Graph or Analytics workloads, Supported Software also includes the open source project Stargate. No license to Stargate is provided under an Agreement, but DataStax will Support Customer’s use of Stargate as set forth in this Support Policy. Documentation for Stargate shall be found at: https://stargate.io/docs.

DataStax Change Agent for Apache Cassandra which is made available for download at datastax.com is supported under this DataStax Support Policy.

• Technical Currency

As part of this Support Policy, and at no additional license fee, DataStax will make available to Customer all new versions of the Supported Software that it generally releases, including all improvements, enhancements and bug fixes. All such new versions are provided subject to the terms of Customer’s Agreement. Support does not include any item that DataStax licenses separately from the Software or that DataStax makes available for an additional fee.

• End of Life Policy

Support covers the following Software: each Major Release for at least 36 months after its general release, and all Minor Releases under a supported Major Release. If none of the conditions in the preceding sentence are met, and an alternate EOL date has not been provided, then the Supported Software has reached its End of Life (“EOL”). A list of current versions of the Supported Software, specifying the relevant EOL and EOSL dates for each Supported Software releases, including any deviations from the 36 month EOL date, is available at: www.datastax.com/support-policy/supportedsoftware.

“Major Release” means a new version of the Supported Software made generally available by DataStax with substantial improvements, enhancements and bug fixes, represented by a change in the number to the left or right of the first decimal point (such as a version change from 1.1.0 to 2.1.0 or from 1.1.0 to 1.2.0). “Minor Release” means a version change represented by a change in the number to the right of the last decimal point.

The Supported Software will reach its End of Service Life (“EOSL”) 6 months after the EOL. In the 6 month period between EOL and EOSL dates, DataStax shall provide Limited Support (provided Customer has a current Subscription to Support). “Limited Support” means all the features of Support except that if Customer has identified a defect in a Major Release that has reached EOL, DataStax will evaluate fixing the defect in a release that has not reached EOL. Except as provided in the paragraph below, after the EOSL for a Major Release, DataStax will not support such Major Release and/or any Minor Releases of that Major Release.

Support for other versions of the Supported Software is not provided under this Support Policy. Support only covers use of the Supported Software on the platform or operating system versions that are specified at  https://www.datastax.com/legal/supported-software. 

Support does not cover use of the Supported Software on platforms or operating systems that are no longer supported by the original vendor.

HYPER-CONVERGED DATABASE (HCD)

• HCD Supported Software

This Support Policy covers only the software delivered to Customer by DataStax under an Agreement (the “Supported Software”).  The Supported Software only includes software included with Hyper-Converged Database (HCD) and other third party components delivered to Customer by DataStax, and does not cover any similar third party components that may be available from other sources.

• Technical Currency

As part of this Support Policy, and at no additional license fee, DataStax will make available to Customer all new versions of the Supported Software that it generally releases, including all improvements, enhancements and bug fixes. All such new versions are provided subject to the terms of Customer’s Agreement. Support does not include any item that DataStax licenses separately from the Software or that DataStax makes available for an additional fee.

• End of Life Policy

Support covers the following Software: each Major Release for at least 36 months after its general release, and all Minor Releases under a supported Major Release. If none of the conditions in the preceding sentence are met, and an alternate EOL date has not been provided, then the Supported Software has reached its End of Life (“EOL”). A list of current versions of the Supported Software, specifying the relevant EOL and EOSL dates for each Supported Software releases, including any deviations from the 36 month EOL date, is available at: www.datastax.com/support-policy/supportedsoftware.

“Major Release” means a new version of the Supported Software made generally available by DataStax with substantial improvements, enhancements and bug fixes, represented by a change in the number to the left or right of the first decimal point (such as a version change from 1.1.0 to 2.1.0 or from 1.1.0 to 1.2.0). “Minor Release” means a version change represented by a change in the number to the right of the last decimal point.

The Supported Software will reach its End of Service Life (“EOSL”) 6 months after the EOL. In the 6 month period between EOL and EOSL dates, DataStax shall provide Limited Support (provided Customer has a current Subscription to Support). “Limited Support” means all the features of Support except that if Customer has identified a defect in a Major Release that has reached EOL, DataStax will evaluate fixing the defect in a release that has not reached EOL. Except as provided in the paragraph below, after the EOSL for a Major Release, DataStax will not support such Major Release and/or any Minor Releases of that Major Release.

Support for other versions of the Supported Software is not provided under this Support Policy. Support only covers use of the Supported Software on the platform or operating system versions that are specified at  https://www.datastax.com/legal/supported-software.

Support does not cover use of the Supported Software on platforms or operating systems that are no longer supported by the original vendor.

DATASTAX ASTRA 

• Astra Supported Services

Support is offered for and covers only Customer’s use of DataStax’s Cloud Services as provided under an Agreement (the “Supported Services”).

• Issue Support

DataStax will make commercially reasonable efforts to resolve any Issues submitted by a Customer Technical Contacts. Such efforts may include helping with diagnosis, suggesting workarounds, providing patches, or making a change to the Supported Services in a new release. Support will not be provided for the following: (1) If the Issue is caused by Customer’s negligence, hardware malfunction, network latency or causes beyond the reasonable control of DataStax, (2) the Issue is caused by third party software not managed by or provided by DataStax as part of the Cloud Services, (3) Customer has not paid the Cloud Service fees when due, (4) use of the Software or Cloud Services in a manner inconsistent with the applicable Documentation, (5) modifications to the Software or Cloud Services not provided by or approved in writing by DataStax, or (6) use of the Software or Cloud Services with products or software not provided or approved in writing by DataStax. Customer shall not submit Issues arising from any software or services other than the Supported Services or otherwise use Support for unsupported software or services.

Premium Support Specific Terms

Silver Plan

The DataStax Premium Support Silver Plan provides enhanced first response SLAs compared to Standard Support SLAs.   All support tickets can be owned and triaged by the Global Support Team in any geographic region.

This plan is designed for those customers who require significantly faster response to tickets submitted for issues encountered with their business critical applications. Customers must procure the Premium Support Silver Plan via an Order Schedule. 

The DataStax Premium Support Silver Plan is described below:

Gold Plan

The Premium Support Gold plan provides enhanced first response SLAs compared to Standard Support SLAs, and also provides entitlement to Premium Outcome Packages. All support tickets can be owned and triaged by the Support Team in any geographic region with the Premium Outcome Packages being completed and presented only by [qualified] engineers.

This plan is designed for those customers who require significantly faster response to tickets submitted for issues encountered with their business critical applications, and who also want to take a more strategic approach to ensuring the performance and health of their implementations. Customers must procure the Premium Support Gold Plan via an Order Schedule.

The DataStax Premium Support Gold Plan is described below:

Platinum Plan

The Premium Support Platinum Plan provides enhanced first response SLAs compared to Standard Support SLAs, and also provides entitlement to Premium Outcome Packages. All support tickets can be owned and triaged by the Support Team in any geographic region with the Premium Outcome Packages being completed and presented only by [qualified] engineers 

This plan is designed for those customers who require significantly faster response to tickets submitted for issues encountered with their business critical applications, and who also want to take a more strategic approach to ensuring the performance and health of their implementations.  

The Platinum plan goes a step further by providing a named Technical Account Manager (TAM) who will provide a more personal engagement providing holistic, high touch strategic advice and guidance.  The named Technical Account Manager (TAM) for each engagement is a shared, geographically based resource in the customer’s desired region  If TAM engagement is required in more than one (1) region, additional Platinum plans must be purchased per region.

Customers must procure the Premium Support Platinum Plan via an Order Schedule.

The DataStax Premium Support Platinum Plan is described below:

Premium Outcome Packages

Customers who purchase either the Premium Support Gold Plan or Premium Support Platinum Plan are entitled to a base allocation of premium outcome packages as provided in Customer’s support portal (“Premium Outcome Packages”). Premium Outcome Packages provide customers with a constantly evolving menu of à la carte selections aimed at providing strategic support that offers targeted advice to ensure the health and successful operation of your DataStax products.

Base Allocation for Premium Outcome Packages

• Both the Gold and Platinum plans will be provided with four (4) Premium Outcome Packages per year, which will be allocated on one (1) per quarter basis (“Base Allocation”).

• If the one (1) premium outcome package is not scheduled for execution before the end of the quarter for which it was allocated, it will expire.

Additional Premium Outcome Packages

• Customers have the option to purchase Premium Outcome Packages in addition to the Base Allocation described above.

• Gold customers will be able to buy up to an additional two (2) Premium Outcome Packages per quarter.

• Platinum customers will be able to buy up to an additional four (4) Premium Outcome Packages per quarter.

• Should a customer purchase a Premium Astra Migration Add-on, Gold customers will be limited to buy an additional one (1) Premium Outcome Package per quarter, and Platinum customers will be able to buy an additional three (3) Premium Outcome Packages per quarter.

Premium Astra Migration Add-on

• Premium Astra Migration Add-on  is not included as part of the Base Allocation of Premium Outcome Packages.

• Customers may only purchase one (1) Premium Astra Migration Add-on per quarter.

 

 

Legacy Premium Support

For customers that have subscribed to: 1) Premium Support - Named Engineer Service; 2) Technical Account Manager Service; or 3) Named Premium Cloud Engineer on an executed Order Schedule prior to August 20, 2024, the following will continue to be applicable through the end of such customer’s premium support term as provided in the Order Schedule. 

Premium Support - Named Engineer Service

The DataStaxPremium Support -  Named Engineer Service delivers continuity and consistency to end Customers when they are raising tickets and interacting with DataStax technical support.  The Premium Support - Named Engineer is primarily focused on solving a majority of customers’ tickets. The Premium Support - Named Engineer for each engagement is a shared or dedicated, geographically based resource. Customers must procure Premium Support for each of their Products via an Order Schedule.

Customers who purchase DataStax Premium Support - Named Engineer Service will get a named DataStax Engineer and a back-up Engineer assigned to them for the duration of their contract.  The scope of offering for the DataStax Premium Support - Named Engineer Service is as follows:

Technical Account Manager Service

The Technical Account Manager Service is a Proactive premium support service.  The Technical Account Manager is a trusted advisor and a product advocate to the end Customer. The Technical Account Manager maps out what the customer needs to do to achieve sustainable operational success and partners with the Customer to address identified issues in a thoughtful and targeted manner.  The Technical Account Manager for each engagement is a shared or dedicated, geographically based resource. Customer must procure Premium Support for each of their Products via an Order Schedule.

The scope and price for the Technical Account Manager Premium Support Service is as follows:

 

Named Premium Cloud Engineer

The Named Premium Cloud Engineer Service is a Premium Support Service for Astra products. The Named Premium Cloud Engineer functions as a case manager, remains current on all Customer submitted Support tickets, conducts regular Support and general account reviews both internally and externally, and provides expert technical guidance based upon their in-depth understanding of the Customer's unique implementations of DataStax Astra. The Named Premium Cloud Engineer for each engagement is a shared or dedicated, geographically based resource. Customer must procure Premium Support for each of their Products via an Order Schedule.

The scope and price for the Named Premium Cloud Engineer Support Service is as follows: