Red Hat Support Severity Level Definitions

Opening a support case online can make it easier to share technical data, error messages, and system information with your Red Hat Support representative. Following the online submission with a phone call can reduce response time as well as potential errors in the capture of information.

Red Hat recommends that you follow any Severity 1 and 2 online support case submissions with a phone call to your local support center.

Red Hat Global Support Services uses the following definitions to classify issues:

Severity 1 (urgent)

A problem that severely impacts your use of the software in a production environment (such as loss of production data or in which your production systems are not functioning). The situation halts your business operations and no procedural workaround exists.

Severity 2 (high)

A problem where the software is functioning but your use in a production environment is severely reduced. The situation is causing a high impact to portions of your business operations and no procedural workaround exists.

Severity 3 (medium)

A problem that involves partial, non-critical loss of use of the software in a production environment or development environment. For production environments, there is a medium-to-low impact on your business, but your business continues to function, including by using a procedural workaround. For development environments, where the situation is causing your project to no longer continue or migrate into production.

Severity 4 (low)

A general usage question, reporting of a documentation error, or recommendation for a future product enhancement or modification. For production environments, there is low-to-no impact on your business or the performance or functionality of your system. For development environments, there is a medium-to-low impact on your business, but your business continues to function, including by using a procedural workaround.

For a PDF version of this information please download our Red Hat Support severity level definitions.