Support Availability
If you are within the warranty period of 90 days or have an active support agreement in place, phone and email support is available between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm (UTC) Monday-Friday.
If you have purchased Provideam from one of our resellers then they will be best placed to deal with your support requests. If they are unable to resolve your issue then you can contact our helpdesk.
Support Request
If you have a support query you may submit it to us via web form, email or phone. We endeavor to resolve all issues on the same day, on a best effort basis. Support is only available to users that have installed the latest version of the software.
- Email us on [email protected]
- Submit a support request form
- Call us on +353 1 4924560
Support FAQ
- What are the System Requirements?
| Hardware | Min | Suggested |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel® Core™ i7-10700 | Intel Xeon Gold 5215 2.5G |
| RAM | 8 GB | 12 GB |
| Free Disk Space | 120 GB | 200 GB |
| Software | Min | Suggested |
| OS | MS Windows 10 Pro | MS Windows 2019 Server |
| Web Server | Microsoft IIS | Microsoft IIS |
| Web Client | MS Internet Explorer v11, Google Chrome v85+, Mozilla Firefox v80+, MS Edge v85+ | MS Internet Explorer v11, Google Chrome v85+, Mozilla Firefox v80+, MS Edge v85+ |
| Database | MS SQL Server Express 2015 | MS SQL Server Std Ed 2019 |
| Microsoft .NET Framework Runtime Engine | .Net Framework 4.5 | .Net Framework 4.5 |
| MS .NetCore Runtime | .NetCore 3.1 | .NetCore 3.1 |
- What is the recommended Hard Drive configuration for Provideam Database Files?
Single Hard Drive - Not Recommended
This is not a recommend option, a) because there is no redundancy in case of hard disk failure, and b) because performance will suffer under heavy usage.
SAN Drive System - Not Recommended
SAN systems are great for file servers and other applications. However for hard drive intensive applications such as databases, SAN Systems will, in many cases, not be the best solution.
Because SAN systems cost a lot money the tendency is to use them in every possible situation. They typically end up being loaded with lots of different types of data. SQL Server does not like sharing disk space. I/O performance will go down, and add to that other factors such as routers, slow network speed etc. The result for database systems is usually disappointing performance and a bad cost to performance ratio.
A SAN systems is a good place to store your Database Backups.
Solid State Device(SSD) Hard Drive - Recommended
SSDs can offer vast speed improvements over traditional SATA drives. RAID mirroring should always be used with SSD systems.
RAID 10 Hard Drive Configuration - Recommended
Local storage setup in RAID 10 is our recommended option for enterprise level systems. In this setup 4 or more hard disks are used to create a mirrored raid (RAID 1) for redundancy and then a RAID 0 for performance combining the best of both worlds. This is an excellent comprise between cost and performance.
- Is an OPC Server included with Provideam?
The Provideam Setup Installer gives the option to install a trial version of the Kepware OPC Server for demonstration purposes. To license the Kepware OPC Server you would need to purchase a Kepware Driver License. This is separate to the Provideam License.
- How do I remove Demo Data??
If you have installed the Provideam application with Demo Data then you may delete it by running the ProvClearDemoData application which is located in the \ProvDemo folder. Warning! This will remove all configuration and logged data from your installation.
Licensing
- What is the licensing model?
Provideam Licenses are typically perpetual. Time limited licenses can be supplied for demonstration or test purposes.
The Provideam OEE Monitoring Module is licensed by the number of assets you wish to monitor. For example, if you want to monitor the OEE of 4 assets then you require for 4 licenses. The number of PLCs or Tags you need to communicate with is not a factor in calculating the number of licenses.
The Provideam Event Monitoring Module is licensed by the number of tags you want to monitor. The Event Monitoring Module is completely separate from the OEE Monitoring Module and they don’t necessarily share the same Tags.
- How do I request a change to an existing license (including a Demo license)?
If you have an existing licensed version of Provideam (including a Demo License) which you wish to modify, for example to change the expiry date or to add new Tags then you need to send us the License Request Key (generated in the Admin Section of the Provideam application). You can do this via email or via the web service interface included in Provideam. Once we receive your License Request Key we will respond with a new License Key. Enter the License Key text in the Admin Section of Provideam and the new license will be activated the next time you log in.
- How do I apply a new License Key?
Once you receive a License Key, log in to Provideam with Admin Privileges and browse to the Licenses Page in the Provideam Admin section. Click on the link to Add Licence. Copy the license text in to the text box and click Save. The license will be active the next time you log in.
- Why does my License show as 'invalid' or 'expired'?
The Provideam Licence is locked to your PC/Server. If you change important machine configuration details then the license will be invalidated. Demonstration Licenses are provided with an expiry date. Once the expiry date has passed the license will no longer be valid. In either case you may log in to Provideam as an Administrator for the purposes of applying a new License.
Support
- What support do you get free?
Support is free of charge for the first 90 days following your original purchase of a Provideam License. This includes free email and phone support as well as free Provideam Updates.
Once the 90 day warranty period expires no support will be available unless you have purchased a Support Agreement.
- Why does it say my 'License has expired' when I try to apply an Update?
Support and Updates are only available to users that have a current Support Agreement (SLA). If your Support Agreement has expired then you will not be able to apply updates. If you have a current Support Agreement and the most recent updates won’t run then the most likely reason is that you need to update your Provideam License to reflect the correct Support Agreement expiry date.
- What is the cost of support?
If you keep your Support Agreement up to date then the cost is in the region of 20% of your Provideam License fee per annum.
If you allow your Support Agreement to lapse by over 2months then the cost of re-instating the Support Agreement is 50% of the license value.
- If my support has lapsed, how to I renew my support agreement?
In the normal course of events we will contact you in advance of the expiry of your current support agreement to offer you the chance to renew the agreement at the lower cost. If you allow the agreement to lapse by more than 2 months and then need to renew your agreement please contact us for a quotation. The cost of renewing a lapsed agreement is 50% of the Provideam License value.