Support Agreements: Dell has both a "Cooperative Support Agreement" and "Joint Escalation Team" with Oracle, which allows Dell to open and escalate issues within Oracle when a customer also has an Oracle service agreement. Dell recommends that customers have a service contract with Dell and Oracle. Supported Configurations: Dell supports its hardware and, for customers who buy Gold- or Platinum-level support, Dell will provide operating system (OS) support and issue escalation for the customer to the independent software vendor that provided the OS. For Oracle customers who buy service agreements with Oracle and have not purchase a "Dell validated" configuration, Dell technicians will provide best effort support and can help the customer make initial contact with Oracle. Validated Configurations: Dell has engineers dedicated to validating Oracle on particular hardware and software stacks known as "validated configurations." These configurations are strongly recommended for customers because of database complexity and business-critical importance. When customers with a Dell validated configuration and gold support contract contact Dell, Dell technicians have access to all known issues associated with the validated solution stack that the Dell engineering team has found, allowing them to respond quickly to customers on these issues. For new issues on validated configurations with customers who have Oracle & Dell support contracts, Dell technicians can escalate the problem both within Dell and Oracle for fast resolution. All Dell systems shipped out of the factory with Oracle are validated configurations. | 
