How to write a support ticket that gets solved fast

The fastest tickets are the ones support can act on straight away, without sending a list of questions back first. Every round of "which server?" or "what was the exact error?" adds hours to a fix. This guide shows what a complete ticket contains, with examples for Linux and Windows problems, and the one thing you should never put in a ticket.

Before you start

• You are signed in to the Dashboard and ready to open a ticket at /tickets/new.
• You have tried to reproduce the problem at least once, so you can describe it accurately.
• A way to take screenshots: Win + Shift + S on Windows, Cmd + Shift + 4 on macOS.

The five things every ticket needs

1. Which service

Select the server under Related service, and mention its IP address in the message, for example 203.0.113.10. If you have several servers, this alone can save a full round of replies.

2. What you expected and what happened

One or two sentences: "I expected my website at example.com to load. Instead the browser shows ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT."

3. The exact error text

Copy and paste error messages rather than describing them. "It says something about the connection" could mean a dozen different problems. The exact text usually points to one.

Useful places to copy errors from:

• The message in your SSH client, Remote Desktop app or browser.
• Log files. On Linux, the last lines of a service's log often show the cause:

  journalctl -u nginx --since "30 min ago" --no-pager | tail -n 30

• On Windows, Event Viewer → Windows Logs → System or Application.

4. When it started and what changed

• When did it last work?
• What changed just before: updates, a firewall rule, a new app, a password change, a DNS edit?

Most problems follow a change. Saying so early often solves the ticket in one reply.

5. What you already tried

List the steps and the result of each. This stops support suggesting things you have already done. For example:

• Restarted the server from the control panel: no change.
• Tested from mobile data: same error.
• Checked the port from my computer: closed.

Add evidence that helps

Short test results are often more useful than long descriptions.

To test whether a port answers, from PowerShell on your own Windows computer:

Test-NetConnection 203.0.113.10 -Port 3389

From macOS or Linux:

nc -vz 203.0.113.10 22

Paste the output into the ticket. For Windows servers, test port 3389, the Remote Desktop port. For SSH, test port 22, or your custom port if you changed it.

Screenshots help when the problem is visual: an error dialog, a frozen browser console, or a setting you are unsure about. Crop them to the relevant part.

A complete example

Subject: Website on 203.0.113.10 times out since 09:30

Service: Linux VPS, 203.0.113.10
Expected: example.com loads.
Actual: browser shows ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT.

Started around 09:30 today. Just before that I enabled
the UFW firewall on the server.

Tried:
- Restarted the server from the control panel: no change.
- nc -vz 203.0.113.10 443 from home: timed out.
- SSH still works, so the server is up.

Output of "ufw status" is attached.

This ticket already points at the likely cause: the firewall is blocking ports 80 and 443.

Never include passwords

If you pasted one by mistake, change that password or key straight away and mention it in the ticket.

Check it works

Before you click Open ticket, read your message once and ask:

• Could someone who has never seen my server understand the problem?
• Is the IP address and the exact error included?
• Have I listed what I already tried?
• Is there no password or key anywhere in the text or screenshots?

If all four are yes, send it.

Troubleshooting

• Support asked for more details anyway: answer every question in one reply, in the same ticket, rather than piece by piece.
• The error is too long to paste: include the first and last ten lines, and attach the full log as a text file.
• You are not sure which department to choose: pick the closest one. Support can move the ticket.
• The problem comes and goes: note the exact times it happened. Times let support match it to their own logs.

Next steps

• Open your ticket: Open a support ticket at MdmHost.
• Try the quick checks first: Server not responding? First checks before contacting support.
• Fix a common Windows case yourself: Fix Remote Desktop can't connect.