GUIDE TO 1ST LEVEL HELP DESK TECHNICAL SUPPORT.

1 GUIDE TO 1ST

LEVEL HELP DESK TECHNICAL SUPPORT.| CompuCom Systems, Inc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………............ 2

IT Service Management ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Network Basics ………………………………………………………….…………………………………………….. 4

Network Troubleshooting ……………………………………………………………………………............ 5

VPN ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………............ 6

Desktop Support (Windows) ……………………………………………………………………………………. 6

Common Tasks at Help Desk …………………………………………….................................. 8

a. Windows ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8

b. MS Office ..…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9

Disclaimer …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12

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LEVEL HELP DESK TECHNICAL SUPPORT.| CompuCom Systems, Inc.

INTRODUCTION

The following guide was conceived as a conceptual framework of general knowledge a Help

Desk Tier 1 associate must have to successfully perform his/her day to day duties in an

effective and efficient way.

This guide is not comprehensive. It is intended to be used as a starting point. The job will

require more extensive knowledge on the topics presented here and others not included.

For further information of the topics presented here you can visit the following websites:

http://compnetworking.about.com/

http://oreilly.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://msdn.microsoft.com/

http://www.dummies.com/

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IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT

A Service Desk is a primary IT service for in IT service management (ITSM) as defined by

the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). It is intended to provide a Single

Point of Contact ("SPOC") to meet the communication needs of both Users and IT

employees, but also to satisfy both Customer and IT Provider objectives. "User" refers to

the actual user of the service, while "Customer" refers to the entity that is paying for

service.

In order to keep track of all requests and incidents reported by users, it is necessary to use

a ticketing system that registers this information and allows the IT support professionals to

provide a proper diagnostic, solution and follow up to each case.

There are several applications used for IT service management like BMC – Remedy and

Service Now, to name a couple.

Remedy Service Now

A service desk handles incidents and service requests, as well as providing an interface to

users for other ITSM activities such as (but not exclusively):

1. Incident management,

2. Problem management,

3. Configuration management,

4. Change management,

This information is usually received and processed by the professionals working at the

Service Desk. It is important to mention that ITIL regards a call center, contact center or

a help desk as limited kinds of service desk which provide only a portion of what a service

desk can offer. A service desk has a more broad and user-centered approach, seeking to

provide the user with an informed single point of contact for all IT requirements.

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A service desk seeks to facilitate the integration of business processes into the service

management infrastructure. In addition to actively monitoring and owning Incidents and

user questions, and providing the communications channel for other service management

disciplines with the user community, a service desk also provides an interface for other

activities such as customer change requests, third parties (e.g. maintenance contracts), and

software licensing.

NETWORK BASICS

A computer network is a telecommunications network that allows computers to

exchange data. In computer networks, networked computing devices pass data to each

other along data connections. The connections (network links) between nodes are

established using either cable media or wireless media. Although there are different

networking models we will Use TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol).

There are various types of network arrangements (topologies) and each one serves a

particular purpose. The Network topologies are: Ring, Mesh, Star, Fully Connected, Line,

Tree and Bus.

Organizations use hybrid networks made out of combinations of the existing models and to

manage this networks they rely on diverse directory services.

One of the most common directory services is Active Directory (AD) which is included on

most Windows Server operating systems.

An Active Directory structure is an arrangement of information about objects. The Active

Directory framework that holds the objects can be viewed at a number of levels. The forest,

tree, and domain are the logical divisions in an Active Directory network.

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An AD domain controller authenticates and authorizes all users and computers in a Windows

domain type network—assigning and enforcing security policies for all computers and

installing or updating software.

Most requests received from Users at Help Desks are password resets, which can be fulfilled

through the GUI of this tool if the directory service being used at the organization is Active

Directory.

NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTING

When experiencing issues with TCP/IP connectivity we can follow a basic set of steps to

verify or determine where the issue is located.

1. Check physical connections,

2. Check the TCP/IP configuration by using the command IPCONFIG at the command

prompt,

3. Ping the loopback address (127.0.0.1) to verify if the NIC (network interface

controller) or network card is functioning properly,

4. Ping your own computer IP address (information that can be found with the

IPCONFIG command),

5. Ping the default gateway (a gateway is a router on a TCP/IP network that serves as

an access point to another network)

6. Ping the destination address,

7. Use the TRACERT command with the destination IP address to verify if there’s any

problem with the routers crossed by the TCP/IP packet.

8. Check your DNS (Domain Name System) configuration

a. With the command IPCONFIG/ALL verify the IP address of your DNS Server

b. Ping the DNS Server IP address.

If the issue is caused by incorrect dynamically added DNS information the

IPCONFIG/FLUSHDNS and IPCONFIG/REGISTERDNS can be used.

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VPN

In the Internet addressing architecture, a private network is a network that uses private IP

address space, these addresses are commonly used for home, office, and enterprise local

area networks (LANs) and these are not necessarily connected to the internet. Private

networks used by organizations are normally inaccessible outside the company network

arrangement unless there is a bridge that allows the connection, here is when VPN’s come

in handy.

A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network, such as

the Internet. It enables a computer to send and receive data across shared or public

networks as if it were directly connected to the private network, while benefiting from the

functionality, security and management policies of the private network. This is done by

establishing a virtual point-to-point connection through the use of dedicated connections,

encryption, or a combination of the two.

Different tools can be used to access VPN’s such as clients or they can be configured with

the tools available on the operative system that is being used.

DESKTOP SUPPORT (WINDOWS)

There are several operative systems that can be used on home, office, and enterprise such

as OS X, UNYX, any of the various Linux distributions and Microsoft Windows.

Microsoft Windows was released in 1985 and has gone through constant versions (1.0, 2.0,

2.1, 3.0, 3.1, 95, 98, ME, NT, XP, Vista, 7 and 8).

Many organizations relied extensively on Windows XP as their main operative system but

Microsoft’s support to this OS is scheduled to end on April 8, 2014, therefore migrations to a

newer operative has been a constant nowadays. In this matter Windows 7 has been the

most widely spread operative system replacing Windows XP. Windows 7 was released on

July 2009 and six different editions were made available to specific markets (Starter, Home

Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate).

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In Windows 7 settings that are not managed by the domain administrators can be

configured through Control Panel.

System and Security Action Center, Windows Firewall, System, Windows Update, Power

Options, Backup and Restore, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and

Administrative Tools

User Accounts User Accounts, Windows Cardspace, Credential Manager, and Mail

(32-bit)

Network and

Internet

Network and Sharing Center, Homegroup, and Internet Options

Appearance and

Personalization

Personalization, Display, Desktop Gadgets, Taskbar and Start

Menu, Ease of Access Center, Folder Options, and Fonts

Hardware and

Sound

Devices and Printers, AutoPlay, Sound, Power Options, Display,

and Windows Mobility Center

Clock, Language,

and Region

Date and Time, and Region and Language

Programs Programs and Features, Default Programs, and Desktop Gadgets

Ease of Access Ease of Access Center and Speech Recognition

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COMMON TASKS AT A HELP DESK

WINDOWS

As mentioned before one of the most common request is a password reset, which will be

performed through the directory service platform (usually Active Directory) but also Users

may place requests such as configuring accessibility options, power administration, adding

devices to the computer, correct the display to match the screen capabilities, amongst

others can be fulfilled through the right manipulation of the various items on control panel.

Adding devices connected to the network, such as printers, scanners, etc. on to their

computers, is also a common request placed by users. To install a network device, it’s

necessary to go to DEVICES AND PRINTERS select the desired option and follow the

instructions shown on screen.

Users may also request having a network drive mapped on to their computers, for this it is

necessary to access COMPUTER and select the option MAP NETWORK DRIVE and enter the

destination address in the format shown on the example ( \\SERVER\SHARE ) being SERVER

either the Hostname (name of the destination computer) or the IP address and SHARE the

path to the desired resource.

E.G. \\161.108.201.189\Users\John\Shared

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MICROSOFT OFFICE

Microsoft Office assistance is also a common request from users; the assistance may cover

from basic inquiries such as formatting MS Word documents, help with both formulas and

cell formatting on MS Excel, assistance with MS Access Databases such as relations between

tables, linking objects to other slides, documents or even websites on MS PowerPoint,

creation of Macros to automate processes and configure mail accounts on MS Outlook to

name a few, being the last one the most frequent.

Most of the inquiries users may place on MS Word, MS Excel and MS PowerPoint can be

completed through the various tabs the MS Office suite applications have.

Regular requests on MS Office may include security related inquiries such as protecting with

password the files.

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Another type of requests may include assistance with advanced features such as Macros

which can help users to automate processes

We can face as well requests from workgroups in need to share MS Office files.

Regular requests MS Outlook may include how to configure an email account in MS Outlook,

for this it’s necessary to access INFO under the FILE tab and select ADD ACCOUNT and

follow the instructions of the add account wizard.

.

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Another type of inquiries or requests that may be placed is the capability to delegate the

administration of a personal calendar by granting the proper author rights to another user.

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DISCLAIMER

All of the information presented here is property of their authors and it was not gathered

with profit purposes. The information is open and available to all public and its reproduction

with purposes other than academic is strictly prohibited.

The information was subtracted from the websites:

http://compnetworking.about.com/

http://oreilly.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://msdn.microsoft.com/

http://www.dummies.com/

and the images were taken from http://www.wikimedia.org/ and Microsoft© applications

Licensed to CompuCom Systems, Inc.