Beams Division Local Administrators Meeting

1. Beams Division Local Administrators Meeting 2/19/2002 Brian Drendel

2. What will we talk about today? • PC Support Topics • PC Manager’s Meeting • Service Packs • PC-Support Shares • Local Administrator Response Procedure • Help Desk: A Year in review • Review motivation for using the help desk • Anatomy of a help desk ticket • Managing tickets with Basic Searches • Advanced Searches • Managing tickets with Advanced Searches • Analyzing the data • Lab Time

4. Service Packs • PC Support Topics • PC Manager’s Meeting • Service Packs • PC-Support Shares • Local Administrator Response Procedure • Help Desk: A Year in review • Review motivation for using the help desk • Anatomy of a help desk ticket • Managing tickets with Basic Searches • Advanced Searches • Managing tickets with Advanced Searches • Analyzing the data • Lab Time

5. Service Pack update • Computer Security is mandating timely application of service packs and hotfixes. • We are making progress!!! • BD/Networking is starting to install patches centrally. • Administrators who do not want patches pushed centrally should apply service packs and hotfixes in a timely manner. • BD/Networking is monitoring Service Pack and Hotfix levels. • The following chart shows the progress that we are making with service pack levels on Windows NT 4.0 computers.

6. Windows NT 4.0 Service Packs levels over the last year

7. PC-Support shares • PC Support Topics • PC Manager’s Meeting • Service Packs • PC-Support Shares • Local Administrator Response Procedure • Help Desk: A Year in review • Review motivation for using the help desk • Anatomy of a help desk ticket • Managing tickets with Basic Searches • Advanced Searches • Managing tickets with Advanced Searches • Analyzing the data • Lab Time

8. PC-Support Shares • All PC software can be accessed through the \\Beamssrv1\PC-Support share.

9. WinNT Setup Shortcuts • Shortcuts to all installations and scripts covered in the Windows NT setup procedure at http://www-bdnew.fnal.gov/network/WinNT Admin Setup.htm are found at: \\Beamssrv1\PC-Support\PC-Setup-Shortcuts\WinNT-Setup\ • \\Beamssrv1\WinNT-Setup share is the same thing. • Some of the installations will only work from the shortcuts. • Some installations require that you be in the local administrators group.

10. WinNT Setup Shortcuts

11. Win2k Setup Shortcuts • Shortcuts to all installations and scripts covered in the Windows 2000 setup procedure at http://www-bdnew.fnal.gov/network/Win2K Admin Setup.htm are found at: \\Beamssrv1\PC-Support\PC-Setup-Shortcuts\Win2k-Setup\ • \\Beamssrv1\Win2k-Setup share is the same thing. • Some of the installations will only work from the shortcuts. • Some installations require that you be in the local administrators group.

12. Win2k Setup Shortcuts

13. Hey, my system crashed! • PC Support Topics • PC Manager’s Meeting • Service Packs • PC-Support Shares • Local Administrator Response Procedure • Help Desk: A Year in review • Review motivation for using the help desk • Anatomy of a help desk ticket • Managing tickets with Basic Searches • Advanced Searches • Managing tickets with Advanced Searches • Analyzing the data • Lab Time

14. Hardware Problems • How can a user or local administrator respond to a computer hardware problem before contacting the BD Domain Administratros? • See http://www-bdnew.fnal.gov/network/localadmin-response.htm.

15. Hardware Problems • Before calling anyone, the user or local administrator should gather the following information: • Computer Vendor (ACE, Gateway, Dell) • Computer name and IP address • Serial Number of the computer • Operating System • Location of the computer

16. Hardware Problems • If the user is making the call, no help desk ticket is required. • If the local administrator makes the call, then they may wish to create a help desk ticket for their records. • Include all of the information that you or the user gathered in the previous step in the help desk ticket. • In the problem description ask that the they assign the ticket to the local administrator, not DecisionOne. • You can later reassign the ticket to DecisionOne if you wish them to do the physical repair.

17. Hardware Problems • Use available resources to look for a easy solution to your problem: • BD Documentation: • Help Desk Tickets: • Help Desk Knowledge Base:

18. Hardware Problems • If you wish to contact the Domain Administrators about the problem, that is ok. It is not ok to tell the user to contact us. • Either the local administrator or user should call the vendor. Why? • We pay for support for each of our supported computer vendors. • Each vendor has trained experts available on the phone at any time. • We would have to make the phone call anyway. • If you wish to route the call through DecisionOne, there may be additional delay time. • How do we contact the vendors?

19. ACE Computers • Call 877-ACE-COMP • Give them the information that you gathered earlier. • If they will need to replace the hard drive, then tell ACE that this is a Beams Division computer that needs a Beams Division drive image. • Ace will send a technician to Fermilab to complete any hardware repairs. • ACE Computer Drivers can be found at http://www.ace computers.com/

20. Gateway Computers • Option #1: Call 800-846-2303. • They require the serial number of the computer. • They will ship replacement parts next day air. • Option #2: Go to http://www.gateway.com/support/default.asp • Client ID = 239 7275 • Gateway may ask for you to get drivers off of a restoration CD. • What if the user lost their restoration CD?

21. Gateway Drivers • I have a library of Gateway restoration CDs for all Gateway computers located at \\beamssrv1\PC-Support\drivers\Gateway Drivers\

22. Gateway Drivers Here are the E4200 drivers

23. Dell Computers • Call 800-234-1490 x69080 • Require the service tag and express service code. • They will ship replacement parts • Dell Support may ask you for your Dell CD. • What if the user lost their Dell CDs?

24. Dell Drivers • I have a library of Dell restoration CDs for all Dell computers located at \\beamssrv1\PC-Support\drivers\Dell Drivers\

25. Let’s use the help desk!!! • PC Support Topics • PC Manager’s Meeting • Service Packs • PC-Support Shares • Local Administrator Response Procedure • Help Desk: A Year in review • Review motivation for using the help desk • Anatomy of a help desk ticket • Managing tickets with Basic Searches • Advanced Searches • Managing tickets with Advanced Searches • Analyzing the data • Lab Time

26. Complaints about the help desk • Some users have some misconceptions about the help desk that lead them to believe that they will experience problems. For example, some users think that • They can solve their problems faster by always going directly to our favorite administrator. • The help desk personnel are the ones who will try to solve all of the problems. • Their problem will not get answered in a timely fashion. • The Help Desk does not communicate with user. • Their request will never be followed up. • They will not be able to use the web page. • No benefit to the additional documentation provided by the help desk. • That DecisionOne and the help desk are the same entity. • I will try to address these issues.

27. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • The help desk gives the user a single point of contact. Without the help desk, who would the user call? • Domain Administrator • Local Administrator #1 or Local Administrator #2 • Another Administrator • Computing Division Administrators • DecisionOne • DataComm • Postmaster • Computer Vendor (Gateway, Dell or ACE) • Software or Hardware Vendor • Buddy down the hall

28. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • Defining lines for computer support becoming more blurred as computing services are becoming more centralized. • Networks: The Beams Division Footprint is expanding. • Many Beams Division computers, including controls system nodes, are run on Computing Division Networks and offsite. • Many users must cross logical domain boundaries in order to do their job. • Security: Security is making computing more complicated. • Kerberos: Users authenticate to CD owned KDCs. • Firewall & VPNs. • Windows 2000: • All users will login to a singe CD owned domain (Fermi.Win.Fnal.Gov) • Server and user accounts still owned by Beams Division • Unix: • Fermi Red Hat Linux with Auto RPMs managed by CD. • Email: Computing Division wants everyone to use CD Mail Gateway and Imapservers. • The help desk provides a single point of contact that the user can contact for all of their support needs.

29. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • Using the help desk reduces the local administrator workload: • If users always call the local administrators, the the local administrators will be: • Answering questions more easily answered by another administrator. • Redirecting users to other administrators • Answering simple questions that the help desk staff can answer.

30. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • Help Desk filters phone calls when there are critical problems that effect multiple users (i.e. Beamssrv1 failure, Imapserver down, etc…). • Domain Administrators inform the helpdesk when critical resources are down. • Computing Division Administrators inform the help desk when critical resources are down. • Users call help desk, who provide them with the status. • This saves the administrators from trying to both solve the problem and answer 100 pager and voicemail requests at the same time.

31. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • The help desk system documents common problems • Lets us watch for repeated problems. • If we have repeated problems with a certain software package, we can find a solution or replace the software. • We can pass this information on at a local administrator meeting. • Examples: • NAV 7.01 with Windows 2000 • SP6a hotfixes with old Intellimouse Drivers

32. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • Reduce overlap in work: • Sometimes I would be working on a problem, only to later find that I would be working on the same: • type of problem that someone else worked on for a different computer two weeks earlier, without knowledge of the steps they took. • computer with the same problem that someone else worked on two weeks earlier, without knowledge of the steps the took. • problem as another administrator • This is very inefficient. • Help desk allows us to be aware of these issues.

33. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • The help desk helps us identify problem computers, since problems often repeat on the same system. • User changes computers and the problems follow the computer. • This would be hard to track without the help desk. • Intermittent hardware problems with systems. • Heat problems • Motherboard problems • Failing Hard Drive • Power Supply • Memory • Intermittent software problems with systems • Old service packs incompatible with new software • Solution: Find the problem computer and fix/replace it.

34. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • The help desk helps us identify user error: • User changes computers and the problems follow the user. • Users often make the same types of mistakes when working on different computers: • Netscape Profile problems • Set location to Z: or C: • Overwrite other peoples email • Login problems • Roaming profiles • Software problems • User installs programs from a non-administrative account. • Operating System Problems • User changes the NTFS file permissions on C:\winnt • Solution: User Education

35. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • The help desk aides in transfer of knowledge. • Let’s say a local administrator, who has been dealing with common problems in his group,: • Goes on vacation for 2 weeks • Goes on medical leave for 8 weeks • Leaves the lab • The help desk would allow a substitute administrator access to: • The status of the problems that the local administrator was working on. • A history of the common problems and solutions encountered in the local administrator’s group. • A rough estimate of the expected workload.

36. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • Computing Division does all the work: • Manage the Help Desk server • Manage the Remedy help desk software • Tickets provide us documentation • Knowledge Base enhances documentation • Help Desk personnel interface the user community. • Direct the support requests to the appropriate administrator. • Receive complaints when user problems are not being resolved. • Redirect help desk tickets as necessary. • Update work logs • Close help desk tickets.

37. Reasons for Using the Help Desk • The help desk document the support workload: • Management believes that: • We can not afford to be fat in the area of computer support. • Current computer support resources are sufficient to meet the needs of most users. • Users should be knowledgeable enough to fix their own computer problems. • Using the help desk allows us to document the existing workloads. • Some Fermilab Divisions have many more full time administrators per user or computer. • No other division requires management of their Network cable plant, Network devices, Windows Domain, Windows Servers, Security, Windows applications, and Windows Desktops all from one group. • Help desk data may show the justification for more full time computer administrators? • Ideal solution would be to have a desktop support group manage the desktops.

38. How do help desk tickets work? • PC Support Topics • PC Manager’s Meeting • Service Packs • PC-Support Shares • Local Administrator Response Procedure • Help Desk: A Year in review • Review motivation for using the help desk • Anatomy of a help desk ticket • Managing tickets with Basic Searches • Advanced Searches • Managing tickets with Advanced Searches • Analyzing the data • Lab Time

39. Help Desk ticket • To create a help desk ticket, point your web browser at http://csdserver1.fnal.gov/helpdesk/cd

40. The help desk web page

41. Create a Help Desk Ticket In the left column of the help desk window, click on Report a New Problem

42. Create a Help Desk Ticket

43. Create a Help Desk Ticket • Start entering information into the help desk form. • We start by entering the submitter information. • This is the person who is having the problem, not the administrator - even if the administrator is reporting the problem.

44. Create a Help Desk Ticket • Hint! After typing the last name, hit ENTER. • All user information is automatically filled in • If more that one user matches the last name field, you will be given a list of users to choose from.

45. Create a Help Desk Ticket • Urgency level can be changed • Incident Time can be changed • System Name is the name of the computer. This is very important for documentation and tracking reasons.

46. Create a Help Desk Ticket • A help desk ticket can not be created until a Problem Category, Type and Item are entered. • Use the pull down menus (left to right) to select these items. • Hint: If you are using Netscape and resize your window, these pull down menus won’t work until you hit REFRESH on your browser.

47. Create a Help Desk Ticket • Start with Problem Category: • Click on the down arrow • Wait a few seconds for the menu to load • Select the appropriate Problem category. • Repeat this for the Type and Item fields (see next slide).

48. Create a Help Desk Ticket 1. Select Problem Category 2. Select Type 3. Select Item

49. Create a Help Desk Ticket • Next, enter a short description of your problem. It is good to include descriptions of: • Item that is causing the problem • Any software packages, processes, or servers involved. • Examples: • Can not FTP to NOVA from home PC • RTVSCAN process uses 100% CPU on startup • Netscape inbox receiving duplicate messages

50. Create a Help Desk Ticket • A detailed description of the problem. Include: • Location of PC • As much information about messages the troubled system as possible • Any supporting data (exact text of error) • Request to route to specific administrator (if applicable)