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INSIDE ASSET |
ScanWorks®
maintenance is founded on solid support, but offers
much more
by Nicole Doherty
Mainstream, Business Development Manager
ScanWorks users who take advantage
of ASSET's maintenance programs find that support is
just the beginning of the many benefits at their disposal.
In its own right, ScanWorks technical support far exceeds
the expectations of most users. In fact, a very satisfied
test engineer at a large electronics manufacturing services
(EMS) company had the following to say about ASSET's
support services:
"I just want to say thanks for
all of the time and effort your support personnel have
devoted to us over the last few days. [ASSET's support
people] have been working extremely hard on helping
me with the API functions of ScanWorks. With [your support
personnel's] rapid understanding and response, and excellent
code, I have been able to complete my project on time.
This type of excellent support really sets ASSET InterTech
above other boundary scan vendors. Thank you very much
for everything that [support] did and I am looking forward
to working with [your support personnel] in the future.
Best regards."
Beyond Support
ScanWorks' support is second to none,
but ASSET's maintenance offerings extend far beyond
this solid foundation to include many other sorts of
valuable services. For example, maintenance users have
access through the ScanWorks interface to the resources
of two web libraries on the Internet. One of the web
libraries contains device models that streamline test
development. The second library features all product
upgrades, service packs, a host of useful application
notes and technical tips on the pertinent boundary-scan
standards. In addition, maintenance users receive ASSET's
technical quarterly e-newsletter, Connect. Connect is
chock full of incisive and timesaving information on
ScanWorks, how it works and how it is applied.
Maintenance users also are automatically
enrolled in the ScanWorks Users Group. The "ScanWorks
on the Internet" menu selection on the ScanWorks
user interface contains several online facilities including
an interactive message board to encourage communication,
collaboration and the useful exchange of information
among members of this vibrant user community. |
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Support Wizard
Maintenance users have unlimited access
to ASSET’s online case management system, the
Support Wizard. Through the Support Wizard, maintenance
users have around-the-clock access to technical support
personnel. Because ASSET has technical support personnel
around the world, technical questions are answered quickly,
no matter from which corner of the globe the question
originated. Users can track the progress of their questions
and requests through the Support Wizard. The wizard
also gives users the ability to browse frequently asked
questions, run complex searches on support tickets,
and customize the appearance of their summary screens.
The Support Wizard is accessed at http://www.asset-intertech.com/support/www/caslogin.htm.
Besides the Support Wizard, users also receive support
over the telephone or by e-mail.
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Automatic Upgrades
Maintenance users have immediate access
to all revisions to ScanWorks, including the two major
releases that ASSET has averaged over the last several
years. Moreover, maintenance users are entitled to any
interim minor revisions that are issued throughout a
given calendar year and between major releases of ScanWorks.
And Much, Much More…
Building on the solid foundation that
the ASSET technical support department provides, maintenance
customers also can draw on many other resources for
responsive assistance and expert advice. For instance,
the various web libraries of device models on the ASSET
web site are invaluable for streamlining the test development
process. It is much simpler for a test engineer to drop
a device model into a boundary-scan test than to manually
characterize the device. Device models significantly
reduce the time and effort involved in test development.
ASSET support personnel, other ScanWorks users and several
of ASSET’s strategic partners, such as Agilent
Technologies, have created many of these models. Maintenance
users have access to four different device model libraries,
including libraries for flash memory devices, memory
devices, non-boundary scan or cluster devices, and models
written in Boundary Scan Description Language (BSDL)
for boundary-scan-compliant components.
A search function on the ASSET maintenance
web site automatically finds a model or a BSDL file
for a particular device. Before downloading the model,
the user can review information about the file, such
as who created it and how the accuracy of the file was
tested.
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In addition to the device model libraries,
ScanWorks maintenance users have access to several valuable
online facilities such as technical tips on the boundary-scan
standard (IEEE 1149.1/JTAG), service packs and useful
application notes. Grouped on the ScanWorks Help menu
under the "ScanWorks on the Internet" selection,
these resources appear on a special web page called
ScanWorks Maintenance Benefits.
The application notes, which appear
on the ScanWorks Maintenance Benefits web page, have
been written by ASSET's support personnel or users.
The technical tips on the JTAG standard offer advice
on how best to implement boundary scan in conformance
with the pertinent IEEE specifications. Several useful
documents also are available on the ASSET maintenance
web site, including a "Boundary Scan Tutorial,"
"Guidelines for Board DFT (Design-for-Test) Based
on Boundary Scan," "Boundary-Scan Board-Level
Testability Checklist" and others.
More Value on the Way
Additional services are planned for
inclusion in ScanWorks' maintenance offering over the
next year, making maintenance contracts even more valuable
to users.
For example, a new web-based training
feature for maintenance users will provide information
on the new features that have been included in the various
releases of ScanWorks. This will be accessible by maintenance
users at any time of the day or night.
Another online feature will allow the
automatic authorization over the web of a new ScanWorks
license. Users will be able to activate a ScanWorks
license at their convenience. And, if a licensed computer
were to crash at an inopportune time, the maintenance
user would be able to check out an emergency temporary
ScanWorks license for another computer until a permanent
replacement license can be arranged.
Moreover, a revision management tool
also is being readied for maintenance users. When implemented
sometime over the next year, this tool will allow users
or network administrators to monitor the current revision
level of ScanWorks stations and update the revision
level of a workstation or workstations as needed. This
tool will enable an effective process for delivering
ScanWorks Service Packs and make it easy for users to
stay current between major ScanWorks releases. In addition,
the revision management tool will help ASSET Support
personnel so that they always will know the versions
of ScanWorks running at any installation.
For more information…
For more information on how to take
advantage of the many benefits of ScanWorks maintenance,
ask the local ASSET sales manager or call toll free
at 888-694-6250.
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