SmartIPX have a business focus on helping Communication Service Providers deliver an excellent customer experience by leveraging our shared services model aligned to aggregation opportunities to deliver a highly cost effective yet scalable solutions platform.

Triage works through 3 tiers to assess incoming alerts and deal with them in the most expeditious and efficient manner.

Tier 1 and 2 triage are concerned with working out what form an alert takes, whether it is simply something that needs acknowledging or must be acted upon as a potential problem, along with potential resolutions.

In the event that something cannot be resolved at tier 1 or 2, the problem will be escalated to tier 3 where expert technicians address the issue.

Triage is a key component of our Network Surveillance, Combating Fraud and Outsourced Operational Support services.

If you are a communication service provider anywhere in the world, then SmartIPX are your ideal outsourced operations partner, based in the heart of the UK Internet hub of London Docklands, with a global reach.

Example Triage Process

Tier 1

The task of a Tier 1 engineer is to:
  • Gather customer’s contact information;
  • Understand symptoms of the issue;
  • Get an exact problem statement, if possible;
  • Collect error logs or warning messages;
  • Collect any log files or event records, where possible replicate the issue;
  • Collect screenshots, if necessary;
  • Collect network trace captures;
  • Find out the time the issue started and if the issue is ongoing;
  • Find out what, if any, changes were made to the system that might have caused the issue;
  • Open a new case or ticket in the ticketing system so that it can be tracked efficiently;
  • Support ‘knowledge base’ build including job training to peers and documentation of procedures;
  • Support Level 2 engineers both internally and with customers in managing communications.

Tier 2

This is the second level of support responsible for resolving almost 80% of issues which are not software or hardware defects, or require R&D intervention. This may often involve escalation with vendor or service partners, coordination of ticket resolution, management and testing of fix procedures.

The task of a Tier 2 engineer is as follows:

  • Analyze traces and logs collected by Tier 1 engineer and narrow down the module where the issue is;
  • Understand all the software and hardware modules and procedures related to routers and switches;
  • Suggest configuration changes to resolve the issue;
  • Perform more detailed actions to get additional logs or specific traces;
  • Upgrade or rollback the relevant system(s);
  • Suggest configuration changes to third party equipment like Layer 2 / Layer 3 switches or routers;
  • Analyze hardware issues and understand Linux logs and alarms;
  • Use various tools available for IP traffic analysis like Wireshark;
  • Support Tier 3, Vendor escalation and/ or R&D engineers.

Tier 3

This is the third level of support for ensuring resolution of all issues unresolved at first and second tiers. Tier 3 is also responsible for providing fixes for software and hardware defects.

The task of a Tier 3 engineer is as follows:

  • Analyze the debug logs providing the issue details;
  • Reproduce the issue in local test environment and perform further analysis;
  • Perform non-standard or one time only procedures to resolve the issue or to get more information about the issue;
  • Perform detailed tasks involving Linux systems or OS issues;
  • Provide complex configuration solutions for resolving complicated and involved issues;
  • Can optionally up-skill workers to work at client specific L3 support.

Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is at the core of problem management.

The technicians involved within the SmartIPX NOC are trained formally within RCA and ITIL accredited structures to ensure their capabilities match the requirements of our triage services.

24×365 Availability

Our network surveillance operations are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As the trusted operations partner for a wide range of communication service providers world-wide, we blend people, expertise and systems to enhance our client’s network operational capabilities.

We are experts in remotely helping to operate and maintain our customers’ infrastructure and network, fine-tuned around their exact requirements.

Speak to us about how SmartIPX’s triage services add significant value to our network surveillance and outsourced operational support services.

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