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Neo4j Support Terms, version 4.x and below

A copy of the Support Terms that apply to Neo4j 5.x is available here.

Support Duration

Neo4j commits to supporting and patching stable, generally available (GA) releases of the Neo4j software that have undergone Neo4j’s full release testing (“Software”):

(1) Major Releases

A Major Release, is a generally available release of the Software that contains functional enhancements and extensions, fixes for high severity and high priority bugs, and is designated by Neo4j by means of a change in the digit to the left of the first decimal point (e.g., Enterprise Edition 3.0 >> Enterprise Edition 4.0).

(2) Minor Releases

A Minor Release is a generally available release of the Software that introduces a limited amount of new features, functionality and minor enhancements, fixes for high severity and high priority bugs identified in the current release, and is designated by Neo4j by means of a change in the digit to the right of the decimal point (e.g., Enterprise Edition 3.0>>Enterprise Edition 3.1).

(3) Patch Release

A Patch Release is a generally available release of the Software that typically provides maintenance corrections only or high severity bug fixes, designated by Neo4j by means of a change in the digit to the right of the second decimal point (e.g. Enterprise Edition 3.0 >> Enterprise Edition 3.0.1).

All Software releases are supported under a standard enterprise subscription plan for 18 months from the general availability release date for such major and minor versions, except for the final minor version for a major release which shall be supported for 36 months from the general availability release date (which shall be indicated by Neo4j). Patch releases are supported for the duration of the minor release that it is associated with.

A list of currently supported software versions can be found here: https://neo4j.com/developer/kb/neo4j-supported-versions/

Extended support may be available for non-supported releases for an additional charge, please contact Support Management.

Upgrade Compatibility

Neo4j will use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure all features and functions remain compatible between updates with the same major and minor version. Neo4j may remove or modify features between major and minor versions of the Software. Features indicated in code or documentation as DEPRECATED or PROVISIONAL are the most likely to be removed or modified. APIs marked as DEPRECATED in any release of the Software will typically be removed in the subsequent major release of the Software.

Definition of Support

  • Platinum Support includes support on a 24×7 basis for all issues via telephone, email, and web.
  • Premium Support includes support on a 24×7 basis for Severity 1 issues via telephone, email, and web.
  • Standard Support for technical issues is available during business hours. Our highly qualified customer support engineers are geographically dispersed to better meet our customers’ global support needs.
  • As used throughout these Neo4j Support Terms, business hours means 8:00am to 6:00pm (local business hours), Monday through Friday. The local business hours must be defined and be the same for all contacts to the Support Portal from the same customer project.
  • Access to the Neo4j Support Service system available at https://neo4j.com/support/, for the customer’s nominated technical representative(s).
  • Technical support with service requests, based on severity and escalation guidelines indicated below.
  • Access to supported releases of the Software, including general maintenance releases and documentation updates.
  • Access to software updates and documented processes, as well as technical assistance, for upgrading between supported stable releases of the Software.
  • Development of compatible updates to the Software, where commercially reasonable, for the purpose of addressing Severity 1 and Severity 2 issues identified in the Software release for a maximum period of thirty six (36) months from the date a last minor release for each major release of the Software is made, and eighteen (18) months for all other releases (excluding patch releases). Updates may be provided in the form of an API-compatible minor or patch release, or as otherwise specified by Neo4j Support.

Support Documentation

  • Requests for support will be logged and managed in the Neo4j Support Portal. All outstanding and resolved requests relating to the customer account will be visible in this system to the nominated technical representative(s) of the account.
  • Stable releases will be accompanied by release notes, detailing changes and issues resolved from the previous stable release.
  • General issues and resolutions will be available through the community issue tracking systems, publicly available on github.com.

First and Second Line Support

The customer is expected to manage “First Line Support” services for their own end users of the Software. First Line Support includes  providing direct responses to all requests relating to performance, functionality and operation raised by users regarding the Software.

If, after reasonable commercial efforts, the customer is unable to diagnose or resolve problems or issues in the Software, the customer may then contact Neo4j for “Second Line Support” that includes Service Levels 2 through 4 below. The customer must use all commercially reasonable efforts to provide Neo4j with the necessary access required (e.g. access to servers, copies of on-disk data stores, log files, etc.) to verify that observed issues can be replicated and originate in the Software in order to be provided Second Line Support.

Severity Definitions

Ticket severity levels are assigned during ticket creation. Severity assignment will be validated with customer by the Neo4j Customer Support Engineer and is based on the technical and business impact of the customer’s technical issue as outlined below. Neo4j Customer Support, at their sole discretion, may upgrade or downgrade the severity of the ticket depending on developments during the ticket flow process. For example, if available, a temporary resolution may be provided to mitigate the material impact of a given problem resulting in the reduction of the severity of a ticket. Severity levels will also be adjusted downward as the technical issue is mitigated or if the customer does not engage in like-effort.

Severity 1

The production use of the Software is stopped or so severely impacted that the user of the Software cannot reasonably continue work. The user of the Software is experiencing a complete loss of service. The operation is mission critical to the business and the situation is an emergency.

A Severity 1 service request has one or more of the following characteristics:

  • Data corrupted
  • A critical documented function is not available
  • System hangs indefinitely, causing unacceptable or indefinite delays for resources or response
  • System crashes, and crashes repeatedly after restart attempts

Severity 1 classification must not be used for any service request relating to embedded deployments of Software, unless the customer can clearly demonstrate that the issue originates in the Software. Neo4j will use all commercially reasonable efforts to respond to Severity 1 service requests within the Response Time Guidelines further below. When Neo4j determines that the issue is indeed a Severity 1, Neo4j will employ all commercially reasonable efforts to resolve the issue, including the engagement of engineers on a 24×7 basis as long as useful progress can be made. Whilst a Severity 1 service request remains active, Neo4j will assign a designated point of contact to the customer, who will be available 24×7 for Premium and Platinum support issues, and within the customer’s business hours for Standard support issues. During this same period, the customer is required to provide Neo4j with a contact, available 24×7 for Premium/Platinum and during business hours for Standard, and reachable via email and phone, to assist with data gathering, testing, and applying fixes. The customer will make all commercially reasonable efforts to provide Neo4j with the necessary access and materials (e.g. access to servers, copies of on-disk data stores, log files, etc.). Where access cannot be provided or issues cannot be replicated in a timely manner, Neo4j is unable to guarantee the quality of support and cannot be held accountable for delay in resolution.

Please allocate Severity 1 classification with great care, so that valid Severity 1 situations obtain the necessary resource allocation from Neo4j.

Severity 2

The user of the Software is experiencing a severe loss of service. Important features are unavailable with no acceptable workaround; however, operations can continue in a restricted fashion. The operation is mission critical to the business.

Neo4j will use all commercially reasonable efforts to respond to Severity 2 service requests within the Response Time Guidelines further below. When Neo4j determines that the issue is Severity 2, Neo4j will employ all commercially reasonable efforts to resolve the issue, including the engagement of engineers within local business hours of the customer’s region, until the issue is resolved or as long as useful progress can be made. While a Severity 2 service request remains active, Neo4j will assign a designated point of contact to the customer, who will be available within local business hours*. During this same period, the customer is required to provide Neo4j with a contact, available within their local business hours and reachable via email, to assist with data gathering, testing, and applying fixes. The customer will make all commercially reasonable efforts to provide Neo4j with the necessary access and materials (e.g. access to servers, copies of on-disk data stores, log files, etc.). Where access cannot be provided or issues cannot be replicated in a timely manner, Neo4j is unable to guarantee the quality of support and cannot be held accountable for delay in resolution.

Severity 3

The user of the Software is experiencing a minor loss of service. The impact is an inconvenience, which may require a workaround to restore functionality.

Neo4j will use all commercially reasonable efforts to respond to Severity 3 service requests within the Response Time Guidelines further below.

Severity 4

The customer requests information, an enhancement, or documentation clarification regarding the Software but there is no impact on the operation of the Software. The user of the Software is experiencing no loss of service. The result does not impede the operation of a system. Neo4j will use all commercially reasonable efforts to respond to Severity 4 service requests within the Response Time Guidelines further below.


Response Time Guidelines

Platinum

Premium

Standard

Severity 1

< 30 mins

< 1 hour

< 1 business hour *

Severity 2

< 2 hours

< 4 business hours *

< 4 business hours *

Severity 3

< 8 hours

< 8 business hours *

< 8 business hours *

Severity 4

< 8 hours

< 8 business hours *

< 8 business hours *

*Local business hours are 8:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday, excluding major holidays (https://support.neo4j.com/hc/en-us/articles/115012965008)

Response and Escalation Guidelines

Guidelines for service request escalation from customer’s First Line Support to Neo4j’s Second Line Support and escalation within Neo4j are the following Service Levels:

Level 1:

The customer is expected to manage First Line Support services for their own end  users of the Software. First Line Support includes providing direct responses to all requests relating to performance, functionality and operation raised by users regarding the Software.

If, after reasonable commercial efforts, the customer is unable to diagnose or resolve problems or issues in the Software, the customer may then contact Neo4j for “Second Line Support” that includes Service Levels 2 through 4 below.

Level 2:

A Neo4j Support Engineer receives information on an issue and analyzes the symptoms. They will engage in appropriate troubleshooting practices, and propose solutions or further investigative actions accordingly.

Level 3:

At this level, resources and measures not prescribed in Level 2 will be utilized. Neo4j Support Engineers will conduct advanced troubleshooting and analysis in collaboration with assigned customer resources. Investigative actions will be prioritized and managed in order to best uncover and remedy the issue. As described above, the customer is required to make all commercially reasonable efforts to provide Neo4j with access to systems and materials (log files, etc.) as required to diagnose and reproduce the issue.

Level 4:

The most critical or complex issues are addressed at this level. All information and actions taken in Level 2 and 3 are shared with the Neo4j product engineering team, who engage in further research and analysis and then propose solutions to be developed and provide detailed estimates for delivery. For support requests of severity 1-2, reasonable commercial effort will be made to provide compatible updates to previous stable Software releases, where those releases are less than six (6) months older than the date of the most recent stable Software release. When a compatible update is not available, the customer will be provided assistance in preparing their system(s) for upgrade to a recent stable Software release.

Escalation between service levels 2-4 will be made at the discretion of Neo4j, based on the results of investigation into the issue.

Changes to Support Terms

Neo4j reserves the right to change, alter, replace or otherwise modify these Support Terms at any time. The date of last modification is stated at the end of these Support Terms.

Last modified: May 1st, 2020