Basic Alarm Troubleshooting

[ralph]

Having been at this for a couple of decades, I forget how easy it is to do some things without even thinking about it.   What I mean is, if I see an alarm I do a handful of steps to trouble shoot and ID the cause of the alarm without really paying any attention to how I do it.
Now a customer wants me to send him a document that describes what to do if he sees an alarm light on his 3300.  I've no such document.   If I see an alarm I look at the alarm and pretty much already understand what it is and what to do next - without having to think about what steps I take to do it.

So my question is this: 
Does anyone already have a document that does a step by step "how-to" check and trouble shoot alarms?
It would be helpful not to have to create this doc from scratch.

Ralph

[Mitel100]

WOW, I would note like to do this from scratch either. I do not have a doc, but How much detail do they want, is the purpose of the document for them to manage the alarms, isn't that what a support contract is for?

I would personally get the person who looks after the kit on site on a training course, then they would have an understanding of how to resolve alarms.

But if you do end up doing it good luck and if you need any help, I don't mind getting involved.

[ralph]

I'm not really sure how much they're looking for.  They just asked for a document that told them what to do if they see an alarm (more than just call us).   The customer is a "Techie" so I don't mind showing him and helping him out.  Problem is, I don't already have such a document.   And unless your a tech writer, it's hard to dump 20 years of experience into any type of document.

Ralph

[Chakara]

  Ouch - that is hard.  I think there are 2 parts to troubleshooting - experience and what I call "techie logic."  Techie logic can't be taught IMHO.  You got it or you don't

 In this case you need a basic understanding of the system.  IE: if I see 100% trunks down that is a problem.  10% might not be an emergency.  Cisco's website has some basic troubleshooting flow charts that can be useful - but they are very specific to a particular technology.  IE: site to site VPN's - not how to troubleshoot an ASA firewall.  And even with such a narrow scope they seem to be pretty large and convoluted.

  Hm - wish this forum had WIKI type functionality.  We could collaborate on something like this....

-Chak

[bobcheese]

I just tell my customers to check Alarm details and then click on the help file to see the alarm catagories. IMO customer shouldn't try to fix faults themselves that is what they have maintenance contracts for but from what I understand you guys do it a little different in the US.

[ralph]

   and what I call "techie logic."  Techie logic can't be taught IMHO.  You got it or you don't

-Chak

Techie Logic - that is so true!  Great way to put it.

Ralph

[ralph]

I just tell my customers to check Alarm details and then click on the help file to see the alarm catagories. IMO customer shouldn't try to fix faults themselves that is what they have maintenance contracts for but from what I understand you guys do it a little different in the US.

The help file is most likely where I'll send him.
As for maintenance contracts, different vendors do things differently here.  Some vendors lock the systems up tight so they can't do anything, but in our opinion, they own the system so they can do what ever they want.   I also like having techies as customers since they do a lot of their own prelim trouble shooting. 

Ralph