Support · Technical Assistance Center

Technical Assistance Center (TAC)

Engineering-level technical support for networking, SONiC, cloud, and infrastructure - not scripted L1 triage. PalC TAC engineers have direct protocol and platform expertise, with defined severity-based SLAs, structured escalation paths, and root-cause analysis that resolves issues at their source.

Issue Resolution Expert Troubleshooting Remote & On-Site Escalation Management

Rapid

Issue Resolution

Severity-based SLAs from 1-hour P1 response to 24-hour P4 - engineering diagnosis with root-cause analysis.

Expert

Troubleshooting

Deep technical expertise across protocols, SONiC, cloud platforms, and infrastructure technologies.

Flexible

Remote & On-Site

Remote diagnostics, console access, packet capture analysis, and on-site engineering when needed.

PalC TAC is not a generic helpdesk. Every TAC engineer has direct experience building, deploying, and operating the same networking, SONiC, cloud, and infrastructure platforms they support. This means faster diagnosis, accurate root-cause identification, and resolution recommendations that account for production impact - not escalation chains and call-back queues.

Issue Resolution

Rapid diagnosis and resolution with severity-based SLAs

Every issue is classified by severity with clearly defined response and resolution timelines. P1 critical issues receive immediate engineering attention - no scripted diagnostics, no callback queues.

P1 Critical Response

System down or major service impact - 1 hour response with immediate engineering engagement, bridge calls, and continuous updates until resolution.

P2 High Response

Significant service degradation - 4 hour response with dedicated engineer assignment, root-cause investigation, and workaround identification.

P3 Medium Response

Minor service impact - 8 hour response with thorough investigation, fix planning, and scheduled resolution within maintenance windows.

P4 General Response

General inquiries and configuration guidance - 24 hour response with detailed analysis, documentation, and best-practice recommendations.

Resolution Approach

Diagnosis - Engineering-level analysis with protocol and platform knowledge
Root-Cause - Deep investigation beyond symptoms to prevent recurrence
Workaround - Immediate mitigation while permanent fix is developed
Validation - Post-fix verification in customer environment
Documentation - Root-cause report and preventive recommendations

Expert Troubleshooting

Deep technical expertise across networking, SONiC, and cloud

TAC engineers operate at the protocol and platform level - BGP route analysis, SONiC container debugging, Kubernetes networking, and cloud platform diagnostics are standard, not exceptions.

Network Protocol Expertise

BGP, OSPF, ISIS, EVPN-VXLAN, MPLS, segment routing, and multicast troubleshooting at the protocol level - route analysis, convergence, and control-plane debugging.

SONiC & Open Networking

SONiC container orchestration, SAI/ASIC integration, configuration database debugging, and platform-specific troubleshooting for disaggregated networking.

Cloud & Kubernetes

Cloud platform integration, Kubernetes networking (CNI, service mesh, ingress), container networking, and hybrid connectivity troubleshooting.

Security & Infrastructure

Firewall policy analysis, VPN/IPsec troubleshooting, load balancer debugging, and security event investigation across the infrastructure stack.

Technology Coverage

Networking - BGP/EVPN/VXLAN, MPLS, SD-WAN, load balancers
SONiC - SONiC NOS, SAI, platform integration, ASIC debugging
Cloud - Kubernetes, containers, cloud-native networking
Security - Firewalls, VPN, IAM, security policy analysis
Infrastructure - Compute, storage, monitoring, observability

Remote & On-Site Support

Flexible delivery - remote diagnostics or on-site engineering

Most issues are resolved remotely through secure access, protocol-level diagnostics, and packet capture analysis. When remote cannot resolve, on-site engineering support is available for hardware, complex topology issues, or hands-on debugging.

Remote Diagnostics

Secure SSH/console access, remote packet capture, log analysis, configuration review, and real-time protocol debugging without on-site presence.

On-Site Engineering

On-site engineering support for hardware replacement, complex topology troubleshooting, and hands-on debugging that requires physical access.

Packet Capture & Analysis

Deep packet capture, protocol decode, flow analysis, and traffic pattern investigation for complex networking and performance issues.

Lab Reproduction

Issue reproduction in PalC lab environments to validate fixes, test workarounds, and develop resolution procedures before production changes.

Support Channels

Ticketing - Web portal and email with full ticket lifecycle tracking
Phone - Direct phone support for critical P1/P2 issues
Remote - Secure remote access for diagnostics and debugging
On-Site - Engineering dispatch for hands-on support
Bridge - Live bridge calls for P1 critical incident management

Escalation Management

Structured escalation paths to senior engineers and architects

Complex issues that require deeper expertise or cross-domain investigation follow structured escalation paths - senior TAC engineers, solution architects, and development teams are all accessible through defined escalation procedures.

L2 Senior Engineering

Escalation to senior TAC engineers with deep protocol, platform, or technology-specific expertise for issues that require advanced analysis.

Solution Architecture

Engagement with solution architects for design-level issues, topology changes, or architectural recommendations that go beyond break-fix.

Development Escalation

Direct escalation path to PalC development and engineering teams for platform bugs, feature requests, and software-level root-cause investigation.

Customer Success

Account-level escalation through customer success management for SLA concerns, service improvements, and strategic support planning.

Escalation Path

L1 TAC - Initial triage, diagnosis, and standard resolution
L2 Senior TAC - Advanced troubleshooting and deep analysis
L3 Architecture - Design-level investigation and recommendations
L4 Development - Platform and software-level root-cause
Management - SLA oversight and customer success engagement

Support Tiers & SLAs

Defined response and resolution commitments across severity levels.

Severity	Definition	Response Time	Update Frequency
P1 – Critical	System down, major service impact	1 hour	Every 2 hours
P2 – High	Significant service degradation	4 hours	Every 4 hours
P3 – Medium	Minor service impact	8 hours	Every business day
P4 – Low	General inquiries	24 hours	Weekly