Category Archives: Community Network

Scheduling Computer Placements

Due to feedback from customers that a 90 minute appointment is too long for them, and from technicians that most placements do not take 90 minutes, we have made the following changes:

  • In Interview, the default appointment placement length is now 60 minutes.
  • The technician who does the interview may specify a different appointment length as needed. (See On Campus Interviews.)
  • The email response template notifying customers that they need to call us to schedule their placement no longer says how long the appointment will be. We can discuss that with them on the phone when scheduling the appointment.

If customers balk at a long appointment time, we can tell them that they really only need to be available for the first 30 minutes, but the technician may need longer to complete their setup. In such cases, we may miss some items, so it is preferable that they are available for the entire appointment. However, we can work around their schedule as needed.

Upcoming Change to note:

Many placements are pre-scheduled at the time we pick up the computer and do the interview, typically for 5 business days out. However, pre-scheduling the placement is not always possible. In the near future, BuildTracker/Interview will be updated to indicate the reason a placement was NOT pre-scheduled.

Example reasons to NOT pre-schedule placement include:

  • Extension customer (computer is shipped to them by Lisa Gillis, or picked up from Milne instead).
  • End-user not available to schedule placement.
  • Hardware issues may delay rebuild/repair.
  • Malware issues may delay rebuild/repair.

ISCS-MDT moved to new core

The ISCS-MDT server (used for Windows deployments at the build bench) has been moved to new core and to the same VLAN as the build bench in Milne. Anyone using a USB boot stick to do deployments will need to update. Some quick notes about the move:

– Cyder workgroups (DHCP options) OSU-MDT-PXE and OSU-MDT-PXE-UEFI have been updated with the server’s new IP address.

Old: VLAN 463, 10.198.0.68
New: VLAN 1112, 10.217.96.133

Note: Next week I will be asking NOC to configure IP helpers on the Milne building router. This will replace the workgroups above for the build bench, allowing any client (BIOS or UEFI) to PXE boot.

– MDT boot images have been updated to use the server’s FQDN/DNS name instead of IP address.
– The build bench firewall (CN2-FW) has been updated to allow the necessary ports through for remote management and OS deployment.

CN computer intake location

Team,

For CN computers destined for the build bench, the intake/drop-off location is now the grey cabinets at the West end of the long corridor outside Andrew’s office (end closest to the door).

A sticker should be added to each computer including the following information:

  • Ticket #
  • Customer Name
  • Date dropped off

If a computer is too large to fit in the cabinet, it can be placed on the floor next to the cabinets or across the walkway. For large shipments of computers that won’t fit by the cabinets, they can be stored in the old Bench office – please notify Samuel and Jeff if this is the case.

This is ONLY for CN computers, not personal devices.

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this change.

NOTE: the intake location for Extension computers is still the Ballard office.

Changes to Coho Salutation and Signature

As of 8/22/2016, I have made the following modifications to the salutation and signature on Coho tickets in the “CN Base” queue. Note: I have not modified other queues yet.

  • The salutation now says “Hello Name” instead of just “Name”. If you feel it sounds awkward in any particular correspondence, feel free to remove it or change it.
  • The signature block now contains two “news” items: a link to an FAQ about what the Service Desk is, and a link to an announcement about the move of the walk-up from the library to Milne.
  • I have rearranged the signature block so that the technician’s name appears first, the news items second, and the “To respond…” section last.

Let me know if you run into any issues with this.

Software Install Best Practices and Reporting Issues

Team: we have some inconsistencies with how we are doing software installations for customers. To address that, Jade is working on a  recommended best practice document for the software packages we install most often; it will be in ITKnows shortly.

Please note: the preferred method for installing Office 2016 ad-hoc is to do so via Software Center.  

If you install Office 2016 via \\software.oregonstate.edu instead, you will need to update the shortcut for Skype for Business in the start menu as it will be broken otherwise.

If you run into issues doing a software install or with other processes, please do the following:

  • Split a ticket and describe the issue
  • Set Max Cohen as responsible

Thank you!