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Episode Transcript:

John: 

Hello PANCasters and welcome back. Today we have Daniel back with us to talk about some administrative processes on the Customer Support Portal. Welcome Daniel. Can you tell us what we will be going through today?

Daniel:

Hi John, today we are going to talk about How to Create a Support Portal User account, How to File a Support Case as well as Manage Support cases, and the last portion will be how to get help if you experience any error when attempting to log in to the Support Portal.

John: 

Thanks Daniel, where do we begin then?

Daniel:

We shall begin with how to create a support portal user account, which is a six-step process. You will also need to have your Palo Alto Networks Sales/Purchase Order for your firewall ready during the account registration process.

• The first step is to: Go to the "Create My Account" page. Navigate to the Customer Support Portal account creation page
• Then Enter your email address: Provide the email address you want to use as your account login.
• Next, authenticate your email address by completing the verification process.
• Next, register your Palo Alto Networks product, this is where your Sales/Purchase order comes in handy. You will need to enter the purchased serial number or license authorization code.
• Step 5: Set up your CSP account by filling in the necessary details to finalize the setup.
• Lastly, Activate your account: Once the account is created, you will receive a welcome email and must click the link inside to activate your user account.

During the account activation process, you will also need to set up Two-Factor Authentication (TFA), using methods such as Okta Verify or Google Authenticator.
For information on this, refer to the following knowledge base article: type "Two Factor Authentication Overview" in the search bar in the Customer Support Portal..
The article also details how to log in, reset passwords, and utilize Two-Factor Authentication (TFA/MFA) options like Okta Verify and Google Authenticator.

After setting up your 2FA method, you are ready to log in to the Customer Support Portal.

John: 

Good to know, so what is the next step or if a user already has an account? How do they raise a support case?

Daniel:

Sure, here are the steps to create an admin case and a technical support case in the Customer Support Portal (CSP).

On the CSP home screen, click the Create a Case tile in the Home page.

Click the tile on the left for technical issues, or click the tile on the right specifically for an admin issue.

In the "select your product" section, choose the relevant product

Next, Select or enter your asset ID or serial number of the firewall or cloud product.
You can use the filter option to search for a registered serial number

Then, Choose the most relevant options in the request type and request category sections

Fill in the required information in the "Describe the issue and share symptoms if available" section, and then click Next.

Select the priority level in the "Indicate the impact of the issue" section. Please note that Critical priority typically applies only to a total network outage.

You will then see a "recommended solution to review before you proceed" section that displays articles based on your inputs; if you cannot find an answer, click next

For the final step, enter your phone number and click "File a Case."
You can also select "browse files" to upload any relevant screenshots or documents

Next we will discuss the steps to create a technical case.

The process is very similar to creating an admin case but includes a few additional sections to gather technical details

On the CSP home screen, click the Create a Case tile, and then click the tile on the left for a technical case
Follow the same initial steps as the admin case: select the relevant product, choose the serial number, and fill out the "describe the issue and share symptoms" section
A "confirm the issue category" section will appear; make the appropriate selection based on your product
Select the priority level in the "Indicate the impact of the issue" section. Again, please note that Critical priority typically applies only to a Total Network Outage.
Review the recommended solution articles; if your answer is not there, click next

Here is the difference: an "additional information" section will appear, which is not present in admin cases.

Here, you must select or enter relevant technical details, such as the OS version, problem type, and answer specific diagnostic questions before clicking proceed and then next.

Finally, enter your phone number and click "file a case". You may upload files from this screen as needed.
If you cannot find your device's serial number during either of these processes, a "proceed without serial number" option will appear if no results are found, allowing you to continue creating the case.

John: 

Thanks Daniel, so how does someone manage the case after creation and what options are there?

Daniel:

Yes John, so after creating a case, if you want to manage it or search for an existing one, follow these steps:

Click on Support in the menu at the top left of the CSP home screen
If you have memberships with multiple CSP accounts, ensure you select the appropriate customer account using the account selector before clicking support

Next, Locate the Case: You will be taken to the case page, where you can view cases opened under your name in the My Cases tab, or cases opened by your colleagues under the My Company Cases tab

Click directly on the case number you want to manage to access the management page

Utilize the Management Tabs page which is divided into four main tabs to help you handle different aspects of your case

Next, Check this tab for details such as the current case status, the case owner, the date the case was opened, the product category, and asset information

Use the file manager in this tab to view files you initially attached, as well as any files added by a technical support engineer or customer support representative
You can also upload new files by clicking browse files.
Under Subscribers: Enter the names and email addresses of colleagues or group aliases to register them as subscribers
This allows them to receive email notifications whenever case comments are updated.

Next, In the "Manage Your Case" section, under this section there are three sub-tabs for specific requests:
The first sub-tab, "Request Case Update," requires you to fill out the required fields and click "submit case update request" to notify the case owner and manager that you need an update.
The second sub-tab which is: Change Case Priority: here you can modify or upgrade the priority of your case based on the current situation, and provide a reason for the change.
And the last tab, "Request to Close Case": Once your issue is completely resolved, click "request to close case" so the team can proceed with case closure based on your confirmation

John: 

Great, so what if a user has issues with logging into the Customer Support Portal in the first place?

Daniel:

Not to worry, we got you covered if you forget your password, or unable to verify with your 2FA method, or experience any other error that causes you to be unable to log into the portal. Just follow these steps.

First, navigate to the bottom right of the CSP login page, where you will find three specific tiles to assist you based on your issue:

• The first tile: Login Issues (which is for general account access problems or unactivated accounts):
  Click on the Login Issues tile
  Click on Diagnose my account
  Enter your registered email address, check the "I'm not a robot" box, and click submit.
  You will then receive an email. Retrieve the verification code sent to your email and enter it on the screen to authenticate
  The system will automatically diagnose your account status. For example, if your account is not activated, it will allow you to send a new activation link
  If the system determines you need further help, you will be directed to fill out a contact support form to submit a case.
• The second tile: MFA Issues (if you are having trouble with Two-Factor Authentication):
  Click on this tile to view a page with detailed troubleshooting instructions
  If the provided instructions do not work (for instance, if you lost your mobile phone or changed to a new one and need a reset), click on Contact Support
  Complete the authentication process and fill out the contact support form to create a support case for your issue.
• The third tile which is Request Assistance (use this if you cannot find your serial number, access cases, or create a case):
  Click on the Request Assistance tile
  You will be taken to the contact support page. Click the button to authenticate your identity
  Once authenticated, fill out the contact support form to raise an administrative case so the team can assist you

John: 

Thanks Daniel, what would you say are the key takeaways for our listeners?

Daniel:

In summary, we covered the following:

• We started with How to Create your Customer Support Portal User account, How to Activate your account and set up your MFA.
• Then we touched on the fundamentals of how to utilize the CSP, for example: How to create a support case, set the case priority, how to manage the case after creation in the CSP.
• We also talk about how to get help if you experience an error during logging in, or are unable to log into the CSP, as well as how to still be able to create a support case if you are unable to log into the CSP.

John: 

Thanks again Daniel, as always the transcript and additional info on this and other PANCast episodes can be found at live.paloaltonetworks.com.