Cent 315 Network Administration

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Cent 315Network Administration

• Chapter 14

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Introduction14.1

• Importance of maintenance and support is not
  always recognized - until problems arise
• Costs and commitment associated with these
  activities - often overlooked
• Survival and competitive advantage of company
  depends on communication and network equipment
• Goal - problem free environment

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• Cost of support and maintenance service has
  dropped
• More choice available
• Organizations have more leverage

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Service and Support Offerings14.2

• Site engineering - utilities, cable, wiring
• Performance monitoring
• Alarm interpretation
• Initiation of diagnostic activities
• Identification and isolation of system faults
• Notification of vendors for service restoration
• Repair or replacement
• Escalation of unsolved problems

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Service and Support OfferingsContinued14.2

• Testing of the restoration action
• Trouble ticket and work order administration
• Administration of moves and changes
• Network design tuning and optimization
• Systems documentation and support
• Preventative maintenance

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Methods of delivery

• In-house staff
• Equipment vendor or communication carrier
• Cooperative arrangement - user and vendor
• Third party maintenance firm

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Cost of Support

• Annual service charge 4 - 10 of list price

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In-house Approach14.3

• Organizations Self reliant out of dissatisfaction
  with QOS of vendors
• Often a third party relationship exists with
  vendor
• In-house solution often faster and more efficient

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Scheduled preventative maintenance

• Spot potential problems before they occur
• Check physical facilities
• Clean fan filters and check AC equipment
• UPS battery life - SNMP monitoring is best
• Need resources and commitment to handle the job
• Requires substantial investment in technical staff

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Staffing requirements14.3.1

• Specialized staff with up-to-date skills
• Provide best possible response time to users
• Quick and cost effective trouble shooting
• Effective systems and network management

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User support

• First level of support - help desk
• Troubles, knowledge base, Move-Add-Change,
  training, record keeping, interpersonal
  communication skills
• Often several people - variety of skills

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Trouble solving

• Screening the problem- user, app, network
• Instructing users on proper operation
• Prevent reoccurring problems
• Preparing trouble tickets to identify organize
  and track problem resolution.
• Maintaining log entries
• Monitoring trouble escalation
• Verify cleared tickets and determine level of
  satisfaction
• Handle 50 - 70 of calls

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Knowledge base

• Use of expert systems
• Solutions stored in database
• Accumulated knowledge is availabel

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Moves, Adds, Changes

• User support position
• Process MAC from user, work group, Dept
• Assign dates
• Provide relevant information
• Monitor MAC progress
• Update records, asset management database
• Track new equipment
• Prepare summary reports

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Training

• On the spot assistance - remote - 1 to 1
• Scheduled training missions for multiple users
• Interfacing with department managers
• Training summary
• Effectiveness monitoring

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Record Keeping

• Maintaining central library
• Use help desk software
• SQL or some query language to query database

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Interpersonal Communication Skills

• Diplomacy and sense of urgency
• Primary contact point for IT dept
• Well developed people skills
• Self motivated and self directed
• Hands on experience with variety of hardware and
  software
• Formal training may be needed

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Technical Support14.3.3

• Provide routine remedial service for systems and
  network
• Quick, efficient, cost-effective diagnosis
• Special incentive programs to preserve staff
  continuity

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Operations Management

• Oversight of all maintenance and operations
• Evaluation of system performance
• Evaluation of vendor performance
• Determining maintenance and equipment budgets
• Determining required equipment to be ordered to
  accommodate growth
• Technical policy guidance
• Planning and testing
• Establishing required service levels