Module 2.0 Help Desk 2.0 - Chapter Introduction 2.0.1 - Introduction Single Diagram Diagram 1, Slideshow Providing Internet services is a highly competitive business, and poor services can cause the ISP to lose customers to competing ISPs. Having a good help desk ensures that problems are resolved quickly and to the customer?s satisfaction. Whether a technician is employed inside the organization as a help desk technician, or as an on-site support technician , they represent the ISP to the customer. Today, there are millions of individuals connected to this global network and the number is growing. After completion of this chapter, you should be able to: Describe the various roles of help desk and installation technicians. Describe the seven layers of the OSI model and how the OSI model is used in troubleshooting network issues. Identify common tools and diagnostic procedures of help desk technicians. Describe on-site procedures to resolve issues. 2.1 - Help Desk Technicians 2.1.1 - ISP Help Desk Organization Two Diagrams Diagram 1, Animation Depicts a helpdesk operator resetting a users password. Diagram 2, Flowchart Illustrates the process of solving a problem by the helpdesk Problem starts at level 1 helpdesk. If solved all done. If not pass to level 2 helpdesk, if solved all done else pass to level 3 helpdesk who must then fix the problem. 2.1.2 - Roles of ISP Technicians Three Diagrams Diagram 1, Image Level 1 Support Responsibilities: Diagnose basic network connectivity issues. Diagnose and document the symptoms of hardware, software, and system problems. Resolve and document any basic user issues. Help customers complete online order forms to attain various systems, services, hardware, software, reports, and entitlements. Escalate unresolved issues to the next level. Level 2 Support Responsibilities: Diagnose and solve more difficult network problems. Use diagnostic tools and remote desktop sharing tools to identify and fix problems. Identify when an onsite technician must be dispatched to perform repairs. Diagram 2 Level 3 Support Responsibilities Diagnose and resolve problems that have been escalated by the Level 1 and Level 2 technicians. Survey network conditions for analysis by a senior network technician. Install and configure new equipment, including customer premise equipment upgrades, when necessary. Diagram 3, Activity Match the responsibility to the correct help desk level (1, 2, 3) Surveys and documents current network conditions for analysis by senior level technician. Obtains initial information about customer problems. Performs installation of equipment. Identifies when a technician must be dispatched to the customer site. Opens the trouble ticket. Uses remote desktop sharing to diagnose and fix difficult problems. 2.1.3.0 - Interacting with Customers Three Diagrams Diagram 1, Animation Be prepared to answer the customer call in accordance with the company customer service policies. Answer the call in a courteous manner and immediately identify yourself and the company. Ask for the customer contact information. Keep the customer informed of what you are doing and why you need the information. Follow the help desk script, begin by verifying the information in the customer record. Show empathy for the customer. Make sure the customer understands that you will do everything necessary to solve the problem as quickly as possible. Continue following the script, recording all of the information on the trouble ticket. Always ask for permission to place the customer on hold. Keep the customer informed as to what you are doing and why. Avoid using technical terms or jargon, unless the customer does. Always ask if the customer is comfortable performing a task before instructing them to do so. Communicate what to do in plain language, including all of the necessary steps. Verify that the customer is satisfied and close the trouble ticket. A help desk script is used by the help desk technician to gather information and cover the important facts about customer incident. Diagram 2, Image Shows a checklist Preparation Courteous greeting Open a trouble ticket Listen to customer Adapt to customer temperament Diagnose a simple problem correctly Log the call Diagram 3. Activity Match the following parts of customer support to the process. A: Script B: Customer Service Philosophy C: Greeting D: Listening to the customer 1: You have reviewed the problem description with the customer and tried to develop an understanding of the situation. 2: A prepared sequence of questions and statements used by the help desk technician to gather information and cover the important parts of a customer incident. 3: Creating a good first impression of the support staff, the support service, and ultimately the entire organization. 4: This is an organization-wide ethic that is shared by everyone from top management to operational staff. 2.2 - OSI Model 2.2.1 - Using the OSI Model Two Diagrams Diagram 1, Flow Chart Application Layer - Defines interfaces between application software and network communication functions. Provides standardized services such as file transfer between systems. Presentation Layer - Standardizes user data formats for use between different types of systems. Encodes and decodes user data; encrypts and decrypts data; compresses and decompresses data. Session Layer - Manages user sessions and dialogues. Manages links between applications. Transport Layer - Manages end-to-end message delivery over the network. Can provide reliable and sequential packet delivery through error recovery and flow control mechanisms. Network Layer - Provides logical network addressing. Routes packets between networks based on logical addressing. Data Link Layer - Defines procedures for operating the communication links. Detects and corrects frame transmit errors. Adds physical addresses to frame. Diagram 2, Table Illustrates the upper and lower Layers of the OSI model 2.2.2 - OSI Model Protocols and Technologies Four Diagrams Diagram 1, Animation Illustrates the events of the upper layers of the OSI model Application layer ? Initiates communication process Presentation layer ? Format and encode the data for transmission, encrypt and compress the data. Session ? Establish and monitor email session with destination Diagram 2, Image Transport Layer ? Package Data for transport across the network. Add TCP and UDP port numbers. Specifiy reliable delivery of data using TCP. Enable uninterrupted streaming of data using UDP Network Layer ? Route between networks. Assign IP addresses. Encapsulate data in packets for transmission. Diagram 3, Image Layer 2 - Data Link Layer Transmit data to the next directly connected device in the path. Add the hardware address. Encapsulate data in a frame. Layer 1 - Physical Layer Convert data to bits for transmission. Generate signals and timing. Diagram 4, Activity Match the layer to the technology. A: Upper Layers B: Data Link Layer C: Physical Layer D: Network Layer E: Transport Layer Network Interface Cards Frames Twisted Pair Cable HTTP Packets Radio Waves FTP IP Addresses Client Software Network Switching Hubs SMTP UDP Port Numbers Ethernet Routing Repeaters MAC Addresses Electrical Signalling TCP Telnet 2.2.3 - Troubleshooting using the OSI model Five Diagrams Diagram 1, Table Using the OSI Model as a framework for troubleshooting network problems Layer 5-7 Upper Layers - Can your browser open this web site? Layer 4: Transport - Do you have a firewall configured on your PC? Layer 3: Network - Can you ping your default gateway? Layer 2: Data Link - Is the link light lit on your Network Interface Card? Layer 1: Physical - Is your network cable plugged in and secure? Remember the following 3 different troubleshooting approaches: Bottom-Up Approach: The bottom-up approach to troubleshooting a networking problem starts with the physical components of the network and works its way up the layers of the OSI model. Bottom-up troubleshooting is an effective and efficient approach for situations when the problem is suspected to be physical. Top-Down Approach: When you apply a top-down approach to troubleshooting a networking problem, you start with the user application and work your way down the layers of the OSI model. The top-down approach is usually the simple route and typically only affects one or a few users. This is because lower layers, or network infrastructure usually affect more than one or a few users. Divide-and-Conquer Approach: When you apply the divide-and-conquer approach, you select a layer and test its health; based on the observed results, you might go in either direction (up or down) from the starting layer. If a layer is in good working condition, you inspect the layer above it. If a layer is not in good working condition, you inspect the layer below it. The layer that you ultimately select as the first targeted layer is the one that is faulty, and the layer below it is in good working condition. Diagram 2, Image No Meaningful Information Diagram 3, Image Illustrates two cmd.exe windows showing IP Configuration and the ping command. Diagram 4, Image Illustrates the E-mail Accounts Dialog Diagram 5, Activity Match the network issue with the appropriate layer.(1-7, 5 through 7 treat as one) An email client is configured with bad sending and receiving server information. A faulty NIC is installed on a client device. A badly terminated cable is connecting a host device to a switch. A PC is configured with a bad subnet mask. A firewall is blocking all HTTP traffic using port 80. 2.3 ISP Troubleshooting 2.3.1 - Help Desk Troubleshooting Scenarios Three Diagrams Diagram 1, Animation Illustrates a Level 1 service call concerning email issues. The conversation is as follows: Technician Good morning, My name is Jill. How may I help you? Customer My service agreement number is 4567 and I can send email but cannot receive any email. Technician Let me look up your account information. I will be with you momentarily. If you can send email, then your connection is fine. It must be your POP settings. This is how you fix the problem... Customer Yes, I am now receiving email. Thank you. Technician I will close the ticket. Have a great day. Diagram 2, Animation Illustrates a level 1 service call concerning network connectivity issues. The conversation is as follows: Technician Good morning, my name is Jill. How may I help you? Customer My name is Billy. My service agreement number is 998, and I cannot connect to anything. Technician Please hold for one minute while I retrieve your information. Technician OK, when did you first notice the problem? Customer Today after I moved my computer desk to clean the floors. Technician Is the link light on your computer network card illuminated? Customer No, and the cable looks twisted. Technician OK, do you have another cable to replace the damaged one? Customer Yes. Hold one minute. Customer OK, it looks fine now. Thanks for your assistance. Technician Great. I will close the trouble ticket. Have a great day. Diagram 3, Packet Tracer Exploration 2.3.2 - Creating and Using Help Desk Records Two Diagrams Diagram 1, Image Illustrates a Work Order Document Diagram 2, Table Crimpers ? Used to crimp the connector to the cable. Cable ? Used to run new cable or replace old cable. Connectors ? Used to make new cables or replace broken connectors. Multimeter ? Used to measure the difference in electrical potential between two points in an electric circuit. Laptop ? used to test the network through various utility programs. Liinksys Router ? Used to Connect multiple wired and wireless computers to a single network. Floppy Disk ? Used for boot disks. Cell Phone Used for calling the office, setting up and confirming appointments. 2.3.3 - Customer Site Procedures Two Diagrams Diagram 1, Image No Meaningful Information Diagram 2, Image No Meaningful Information 2.4 - Chapter Summary 2.4.1 - Summary 1 Diagram, slideshow Slide 1 text * Help desk technicians provide solutions to customers? network problems. * User support usually exists at three levels: Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3. * Incident management is the basic procedure followed when a help desk technician initiates the standard problem solving processes. * Help desk operation relies on opening trouble tickets and logging information. Slide 2 text * Customer service and interpersonal skills are important when handling difficult clients and incidents. * Skills required by help desk technicians for successful communication include: o Preparation o Courteous greeting o Listening to the customer o Adapting to customer temperament o Correctly diagnosing a simple problem o Logging the call Slide 3 text * A layered approach is used for troubleshooting. * The OSI Model breaks the task of network communications down into multiple processes. * Each process is a small part of the larger task. * The seven layers of the OSI reference model can be divided into two categories: upper and lower layers. Slide 4 text * Upper layers consist of any layer above the Transport Layer and are implemented in software. * Lower layers consist of the Transport, Network, Data Link and Physical Layers and handle data transport functions. * Using the OSI model, the help desk technician can troubleshoot using: bottom-up, top-down, or divide-and-conquer approaches. Slide 5 text * Some of the most common customer service calls are about email and connectivity issues. * Information gathered from the customer is transferred to the trouble ticket. Slide 6 text * Level 1 and Level 2 help desk technicians attempt to solve customer problems over the telephone, web or remote desktop sharing applications. * Sometimes it is necessary to dispatch a Level 3 on-site technician. * It is important to document the solution in the customer work, the trouble ticket, and in a knowledge-base document for future reference.