Support of Dial-in Customers
Introduction
The technical aspects of offering dial-in service are pretty straightforward. Once implemented, there is (when compared to customer support) very little "support" of the technology. But supporting customers who wish to connect to that service is much, much more problematic. There are many users possessing varying levels of computer literacy owning different computers with different operating systems on them and different modems in them. "Professional" support on a par with that provided by ISPs could be a full-time job for an individual. Given that the Helpdesk has no one with nothing to do currently on staff, this document will set the level and expectation of support that will be offered by Distributed Computing's Helpdesk and its staff to users of the campus-provided dial-in service.
Article I: Supported Platforms
Section A
IBM PC compatibles: The Helpdesk will support any PC compatible computer from any vendor running Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98 as it's primary operating system. (This does not include Windows running in various emulators (PC compatibility cards on Macs, VMware on Linux, etc.)
Section B
Macintosh: The Helpdesk will support any Macintosh running at least Mac OS 7.1 with Open Transport 1.1.2 and Open Transport/PPP installed. Mac OS 7.5.5 is recommended.
Article II: Documentation
The Helpdesk will provide detailed documentation which, when followed, will instruct the customer how to configure a computer meeting the above specifications for use with our dial-in service. The customer assumes all responsibility for ensuring that their computer meets the above specifications. No assistance will be given by the Helpdesk in this matter. Customers unsure of how to accomplish this should contract with a private consultant.
Article III: Software
The college officially supports Netscape Navigator as a web browser and Eudora as an E-mail client. However, while new Macs come with both Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator, new PCs do not sport Netscape products and neither platform includes Eudora. Previous attempts on the part of the Helpdesk at providing these software packages have met with limited success and have been discontinued. Because we are unable to provide the customer copies of the software which we do officially support, it has been decided that the Helpdesk staff, if required to support dial-in customers in the use and configuration of E-mail client software, will learn how to make use of Netscape E-mail and Microsoft Outlook Express for the purpose of checking E-mail. If a customer prefers Netscape Navigator and/or Eudora and does not have it, the Helpdesk will provide the customer with the URL of the web sites from which these programs can be downloaded.
Article IV: Hands-on Support
Section A: Personally-owned computers
Under no circumstances will Helpdesk staff work on a personal computer for the purpose of configuring that computer for dial-in. This is because of liability. There have been occasions where we have had to spend much time rectifying a problem allegedly caused by one of our staff members having worked on a computer or by the software we provided. Failure to perform such service or provide any software will prevent this from happening.
It is not unreasonable for us (Distributed Computing) to expect and assume a certain amount of computer literacy on the part of the customer. We can't be responsible for a customer's inability to follow clearly outlined and known-to-work instructions or any problems arising from the customer failing to follow those instructions.
Section B: SUNY-owned computers being used at home
If a customer has a SUNY-owned computer at home and wishes to make use of our dial-in service, the first course of action will be to provide home or her with the written instructions instructions (see Article II, above). If their computer fails to meet the specifications detailed in Article I (above), the Helpdesk will create a Tracking System Service Request to duly update the customer's computer. The customer must bring the computer to the Helpdesk, as Distributed Computing is not equipped to make house calls for this purpose. This request will get prioritized at the discretion of the Helpdesk Manager and tasked accordingly. The customer will be updated as to the status of their request and informed when it has been completed such that they may come and pick up the computer.
If the customer's computer meets the specifications detailed in Article I (above) and the customer is unable to properly follow the provided instructions to the point of successfully making a dial-in connection, the customer may, at the discretion of the Helpdesk Manager, request that the computer be configured for them. Should this happen, procedure as detailed in Article IV, Section B, Paragraph 1 (immediately preceding) shall be followed.