Dell Technologies SolVe: Increase Your Solution Satisfaction
Wed, 24 Apr 2024 17:01:06 -0000
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Dell Technologies SolVe: Increase Your Solution Satisfaction
With technology constantly changing and advancing, a continuous effort is necessary to improve processes and procedures. I can remember having to make changes in an environment and grab a user manual to ensure I got it right. Problems arose when the process changed after it was documented. The last code update changed the screens or did not provide information about the new area I needed to click. While it did not happen most of the time, it was frustrating when it did. So let me introduce you to Dell SolVe.
SolVe stands for Solutions for Validating your Engagement. It is a knowledge solution that you can use to access trusted, best-practice, guided instructions for accomplishing common service tasks. After logging in to https://solve.dell.com, you will find detailed step-by-step instructions for completing numerous tasks and processes. With SolVe’s verified procedures, I could have gone into the data center or approached my laptop with confidence that I could complete the task to solve my challenges (pun intended!).
While SolVe is available for products across the Dell portfolio, this blog focuses on SolVe as it relates to VxRail. SolVe provides the blueprints for successful procedures that complement various VxRail processes. You can think of these as tailored procedures that are specific to your hardware and software versions.
Figure 1 shows a high-level view of SolVe for VxRail options:
Figure 1: SolVe for VxRail
Under VxRail Procedures, five main categories are available: Connectivity, Install, Upgrade, Replacement Procedures, and Miscellaneous (other Dell products may have sections that reflect that product's options). A Reference Material section contains Documentation and Support Matrices. Select a category to view more specific options in that category, for example, select Replacement Procedures to view Hardware Replacement Procedures.
SolVe is an outstanding tool to ensure that you have globally consistent processes at your fingertips. From installation to upgrading to replacing customer-replaceable parts like drives, fans, and power supplies, SolVe provides easy-to-understand instructions to ensure your success in completing these tasks.
The following example shows how to generate the process for replacing a Capacity HDD on a VxRail P570:
Select Replacement Procedures > Hardware Replacement Procedures to start the generation procedure (Figure 2). You are prompted to provide the required information.
Figure 2: Providing information
Select the VxRail model and Hardware Component that you want to replace. Note: If any alerts or warnings are displayed at the top of the page, click Acknowledge to activate the NEXT button. These special alerts and warnings may be critical to ensure that the process is completed successfully.
Next, select the applicable VxRail HCI System Software (Figure 3) to ensure that the procedure is generated for that version.
Figure 3: Selecting the software version
In the Usage information section (Figure 4), you can provide information about the product or service request for which this procedure will be used. While this information is not mandatory, it is useful for documenting which work was performed on which node or if you want to delegate the task.
Figure 4: Providing usage information
You can review a summary of your selections before you generate the procedure (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Generating the procedure
After you click GENERATE, a PDF file downloads with the information that is required to complete the task. In our hard drive replacement example, the PDF includes a list of recommended tools.
SolVe makes it possible to share and promote relevant, focused information for a planned activity in a globally consistent manner. Other benefits of using SolVe Include increasing the success of first-time fixes, not having to call support, and having the freedom to do the work when you are ready. I recommend visiting https://solve.dell.com to test-drive a process and see how easy it is to get custom procedures. Using the PDF-generated procedure may also simplify the process of getting change control approval. Using SolVe instead of user manuals would have saved me a lot of time and frustration by giving me a single source of truth across multiple data centers in heterogenous environments and enabling me to stay on top of processes that evolve over time.
Resources
Solve Procedure Generator
Dell Support
Author: Vic Dery LinkedIn