A

Anonymous

Question

Adobe Support is an oxymoron

Forum|Forum|17 years ago
June 10, 2008
17 replies
2720 views

I purchased ColdFusion 8.0 from the university computer center and received the standard edition educational version. After installing as a 30 day evaluation and validating the install (downloaded 8.01), I entered my serial number.

The CF administrator now says that I have a developer edition. The display shows the correct serial number but indicates a developer edition. Why would I pay $859.00 for a developer edition when that edition is free?

Something is seriously wrong with the process that validates and determines the version from the serial numbers.

I have spent 2+ hours on the phone, five departments, and still no resolution other than a support tech will call me back within 24 hours.

This is absolutely assinine and indicates shoddy support from Adobe. Expensive products that should warrant better technical support. If I had other options I would use them. In fact I may just find a pirate serial number on the web and use that. It is obvious that Adobe is of little help in supporting their product.

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A

Anonymous

A valid key registering as Developer edition can be seen when a CF8 Standard key is entered into a 64 bit install of ColdFusion, which is invalid and hence does not unlock the software.

Easiest check I've found for 64 bit install (but not bulletproof) is to run the following against the JRE installed with ColdFusion (which will error if not a 64 bit JVM): java -d64 -version

A

Anonymous

quote:

Originally posted by: dacf
A valid key registering as Developer edition can be seen when a CF8 Standard key is entered into a 64 bit install of ColdFusion, which is invalid and hence does not unlock the software.

True. But the installer will not tell you when entering your key during the install that the key is not valid and will in fact continue to install CF as a 32 bit application. What the installer will also not do is properly configure IIS for a 32 bit workspace.

Additionally, if you do not enter a key while installing, and later on enter your key, the routines will not tell you the key is not valid for your current install. Only by verifying the serial number page will the indication be shown about a developer edition.

CF will run on 64 bit windows. What the installer does not do is properly configure the environment in IIS. The routines that allow entering of the key will not properly change the configuration.

It is also worth noting that Adobe support people are clueless about this and offered no help, no advice, other than to purchase the Enterprise Edition for several thousand more dollars.

Find one link, one page, on the Adobe support site that indicates how to install CF Standard on 64 bit Windows and make it work. CF Standard should work on 64 bit OS, just disable the enterprise features such as load balancing and failover. A 64 bit workspace is no longer an Enterprise only feature.

A

Anonymous

I have opened bug 72071 to have an error message displayed on ColdFusion 8 when a standard license is entered into a 64 bit trial or developer version. This is not likely to be fixed until a new installer is released when we release the next version of ColdFusion, since this is an install related issue.

We are also educating our installation support consultants on the various 32/64 bit issues that can arise. Also, an updated system requirements page will publish shortly that makes it more obvious that only 32 bit CF8 standard is available on 64 bit OSs.

tclaremont

Inspiring

Ray, this is speculation, but is there a chance that the installation media that you received with your specific solftware was built and released BEFORE CFs acknowlegement of Win2k8?

If that is the case, the media they are distributing today (or that you download) may very well handle this issue in a graceful manner. Like a broken record, though, we might never know because Adobe is not a part of this conversation.

I am not trying to defend Adobe or minimize your pain, rather I am just trying to come up with a logical explanation of how this went so poorly.

A

Anonymous

quote:

Originally posted by: tclaremontis there a chance that the installation media that you received with your specific solftware was built and released BEFORE CFs acknowlegement of Win2k8?

No. I knew that version 8.0 was released before Server 2008 and had problems configuring IIS. Of course Adobe should have known about IIS and Server 2008 long before it's release as beta copies of Server 2008 have been available for almost a year.

Anyway, regardless of Adobe's ability to prepare for a new OS release, I downloaded version 8.01 of CF and never used the media supplied in the box. CD case was never opened as the needed serial number is on the outside of the case.

tclaremont

Inspiring

Ray, how long now have you had it running under the 64 bit configuration now?

The reason I ask is because I am curious as to whether you will start throwing errors further down the line that you simply have not experienced yet. If (and this is a big IF) there are issues, that MIGHT explain why Adobe is not allowing the installation by default. Perhaps they are aware of conflicts that you simply have not encountered yet.

Of course, this is purely speculation on my part due to the total lack of participation on the part of Adobe. Bottm line, I am not sure what it would take to convince me to run the current installation in a production environment until I got a complete answer.

It has been a long time since I laid eyes on the packaging. Does it make any differentiation between 32 and 64 bit?

A

Anonymous

quote:

Originally posted by: tclaremontRay, how long now have you had it running under the 64 bit configuration now?

I have been running for about 10 days in production with the 32 bit configuration in IIS 7.0 running on Windows Server 2008 64 bit with no problems. All our current scripts work. Perhaps I may get a failure on some tag that I may use in the future.

However, the matrix that I saw indicated that CF Standard WILL work with a 64 bit OS as long as a 32 bit environment is established. I enabled this in IIS 7.0 and it all worked.

I suspect that Adobe not recommending is more of a failure on their installation routines that they can't, or won't, resolve.

I see no difference in speed the primary limits being the DB, network, and disk drives. I want 64 bit so that my memory is not limited to 4 gig but can instead grow in the future to 32 gig or better. Just to have a larger memory space should not require that the much more expensive enterprise version be required. Especially when the enterprise features are never going to be used.

tclaremont

Inspiring

Ray, if you read for comprehension you will notice that there are others on this thread that are having issues that have not endeavored to do the homework that you claim to have. My frustration is directed at them. Your issue is most certainly one that I have not come across.

Now, if it were me, I would RETURN the software since in its current state it is UNUSABLE for the purpose for which it was sold. Ask for a replacement. Perhaps the next serial number will work as it should. The classic "No returns on opened software" should not apply, since the software was not able to be used for the most basic of tasks it was designed for, though absolutely no fault of yours. Most software vendors will allow for an EXCHANGE for the very same product, which could very well solve your problem. If you choose this route, you would not even need to remove your current sofltware. Just apply the NEW serial number to your current installation and see if that does the trick. If it does NOT solve the problem, there is a reasonable chance that your serial number is not actually being commited during the write process. This could be a result of a directory permissions issue, where the CF software does not have permissions to commit the new serial number where it should.

A

Anonymous

quote:

Originally posted by: tclaremont
Ray, if you read for comprehension

Nah. That falls under the same category as reading the manual.

quote:

Originally posted by: tclaremontNow, if it were me, I would RETURN the software since in its current state it is UNUSABLE for the purpose for which it was sold.

I was able to solve the problem with the current software. It is a convulted story and Adobe was of no help in the solution.

I installed my software without inputting the license key so that I could validate the installation. Adobe CF installs are notoriously fickle and will fail if you don't hold your mouth in the proper orientation. After the install was validated I input my key and get presented with the developer edition. Calls to Adobe, who indicated the key was valid, were clueless.

Here is where the problem starts. I am running Server 2008 64 bit. The standard edition of CF will NOT run on a 64 bit OS. The matrix that Adobe has is very much unclear about this, almost to the point of deception. When you install on a 64 bit OS without the serial number the software thinks it is going to be the enterprise edition. What you have to do is install and input the key when you install.

Now is when it gets even more bizzare. The software will flat out not work with IIS 7.0 on Server 2008 64 bit if you let the install complete. When finalizing the install by using the web interface errors are thrown that indicate a configuation error. The Adobe site does NOT list any resolutions the errors that are thrown by IIS.

It is necessary to dig deep into IIS 7.0 and enable 32 bit workspace. When that is done CF will run properly, even on a 64 bit OS.

The installer will not notify you of the problem, will not properly configure IIS. What the installer should do is either do the configuration change, or stop the installation until the proper changes are manually made to IIS.

What is particularly irritating is that multiple Adobe people were clueless. When I finally got someone that realized the OS 64/32 bit problem, I was told flat out that the standard edition would not run on a 64 bit OS and I would need to puchase the enterprise edition. Even that was not true as the standard edition can work with a 64 bit OS if the web server is properly configured.

Most of the problems with Adobe CF seem to have to be solved by others that are not part of Adobe. Adobe support is clueless, ill-informed, ill-trained, and frankly, cares very little about customer support. I spent several hours on the phone, hours doing web searches, all to no real resolution. My solution was born out of desperation, guessing, and sacrificing a double decker moonpie to the great code Gods.

E

EtnisDesign_Com

Participating Frequently

quote:

My solution was born out of desperation, guessing, and sacrificing a double decker moonpie to the great code Gods.

Sorry to hear that Ray, you should go directly to adobe representative in your country, if any. Asking support by phone wont give you a complete & satisfied answer.

Best Luck for You Ray.

N

Newsgroup_User

Inspiring

> He was knowledgeable and once we
> diagnosed the problem(s), he guided me to the solutions.

And what was the problem?

--
Adam

tclaremont

Inspiring

Having used CF since the Allaire days, I have never had to contact AllaMacroDobe for any reason whatsoever. Straightforward Googling or manual reading has always led me to my answer in short order.

When people complain about the lack of support without describing the steps they took to resolve the issue on their own, it makes me wonder what kind of programming / development abilities they have in the first place. I most certainly can understand how frustrating CF must be for someone who can't use the internet or read the manual.

A

Anonymous

When people make assumptions that someone has not used the web or other resources to solve a problem it makes me wonder what else they assume in their programs that will later cause problems.

Tell you what? Why don't you provide a link that describes why a perfectly valid key would indicate a developer edition. Search the web, search the support forums.

My first step in problem solving is to search the web. But when the answer is not there, or you did not use the magic keyword that no one knows, what else is left. Adobe. And that is no guarantee the problem will be resolved.

S

ShannaraAlaska

Participating Frequently

Ah, I realize this is the coldfusion forums, but what I was referring to is Adobe Capture Server. No updates since 2003, riddled with bugs, and no longer supported. I was afraid that coldfusion may end up along the same path as Capture.

It is a relief to hear that CF isn't heading the same direction. We have spend quiet some monies on that software only to find out these details after wards. Since then, we have moved on to other products.

We currently use CF7 and CF8.0.1, and have no plans no moving away from that except for using Java for heavy lifting. No problems with CF so far (minus the spry bugs, so we stay away from that), support-wise.

So, my apologies for bring in another product into the CF forums. Its good to hear that CF isn't going away anytime soon like Capture.

S

ShannaraAlaska

Participating Frequently

I don't know. Working for the Gov with $$$$, you would think the support would be better ... it is not. Not surprising I suppose. But riddle me this ...

Why does adobe sell licenses for non-supported products, and no updates/bug fixes? ... without telling anybody? It's a sure sign of pure greed.

This may cost them in the end if they end up in court for bait and switch .. selling license & support for products and not providing any support. (via phone, email, tickets, etc).

Word is slowly leaking out about this business practice, and contracts are being disputed, but eventually, Adobe will have no customers to do the bait and switch to ...

A

Anonymous

Hello Shannara,
You submitted an interesting reply. But, I guess I would like to know specifically what you mean. First, in terms of ColdFusion we provide what I think are very timely updates and hotfixes.

ColdFusion 8.01 has already been released as a complete updater for ColdFusion 8.0, which is itself a fairly new product. The updater rolls up all the fixes released for ColdFusion 8, adds many new fixes and adds support for many new OSs. Also, there is already a cumulative hot fix available for CF801 and other fixes. So, I am not sure what you mean by no updates or fixes.

We also have put out many updates for the previous version - CFMX7. Like many software products, generally only our 2 most current versions are actively supported.

When you say there is not support, we have all sorts of support. We have paid support plans from Platinum & Technical Account Managers (TAM), down to single paid incidents. We also have free installation support by email. We have lots of free support options from these user forums, the knowledgebase and devnet articles.

If you had a specific bad experience with support, give the details and we can try to fix it. When we know specific details like, "I opened install support issue #xyz and got no response" we can try to fix things. Just hearing that we offer no support gives us limited ability to improve our support.

N

Newsgroup_User

Inspiring

In my experience, once you can get past that high walls of initial
support that have little knowledge of ColdFusion, support can be very good.

But I have heard a lot of frustration with that initial experience.

A

Anonymous

Adobe told me that EMAIL INSTALLATION support was free. However, I filled out their form on the Adobe site and it took them two days to respond that I should refer to the documentation. This is not what I call support at all. Further, "free" is a missnomer in this case. I just purchased a product. That product supposedly has installation support *included in the price*. It's not free.

That said, after much ado, I did get a call from Adobe and the technician helped me get the installation working. He was knowledgeable and once we diagnosed the problem(s), he guided me to the solutions. I honestly feel that if I could have received support when I ran into my problem it would have taken minutes rather than days.

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