Revision as of 10:48, 15 September 2017

Introduction

The supporter finds here instructions how to handle a user's level 2 telephony problems.

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Introduction Support Level 2

The level 2 support is the first instance where the user's telephony problems are handled that a user cannot solve himself. Additionally the level 2 supporter must be able to detect if the user problem is a "single" problem or if there is a large scale problem, that produces the same problem for multiple customers, e.g. data transfer problems in the Internet so that no VoIP call signaling is possible.

The level 2 supporter must be aware of the complexity of a VoIP system and the multitude of telephony solutions on the user side. Further he needs an understanding of:

• IP networking
• VoIP protocols SIP for signaling, SDP and RTP for speech transmission.

Overview of a VoIP system and the multitude of user telephony solutions:

The level 2 supporter faces problems with the following layers:

1. Equipment
2. IP data transfer
3. Telephony service

And each of this layer can be located into the following raw areas:

1. Customer/User site
2. Internet Service Provider ISP
3. Telephony Provider

This layer and dividing into areas produces a "3x3 Support Matrix":

Within this "3x3 Support Matrix" the supporter can:

• advice the customer what to do when the problem is located in the nodes 1-T, 1-D and 1-E
• check the customer configurations on the VoIP Switch, node 3-T, and, if he has operator rights, adjust configurations.

For the other cases the level 2 supporter must be able to identify if:

• the user must contact his ISP, due to possible Internet access problems
• the VoIP System administrator must be involved, due to possible telephony service problems

Hint:

These cases indicate mostly large scale problems within the VoIP system!

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Best Practice for Handling an User Problem

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Record the Customer's Data and Problem Description

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Get the Customer's Data

From the customer get:

• Name of the caller
• Telephone number of the caller
• if applicable the company name

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Identify the Customer's Use Case

From the customer get if it is a:

• Residential user
• Business "Legacy ISDN PBX"
• Business "IP PBX with SBC"
• Business "SIP Trunk / IP PBX"
• "vPBX"
• etc

If the customer doesn't know then identify via the ConfigCenter the telephone number and its associated account.

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Note the Customer's Problem Description

From the customer get:

• Date and time of the issue
• The involved telephone numbers
• The problem description

If the customer doesn't know then identify via the ConfigCenter the telephone number and its associated account.

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Cross Check the User Inputs

With this cross check the supporter can validate the user information, gets an impression of the state of the account and will probably find the reason for the user problem...

Via ConfigCenter check the users status and account configuration on the VoIP Switch:

1. Check the telephone number registration status.

   If there is no registration you can proceed directly with The user device is not registered ...

2. Check "TopStop":

   Check if a TopStop in the account or address prevents the user from doing outgoing calls.

3. Check "RuleSet":

   Check if a RuleSet in the account or address prevents the user from doing outgoing or receiving calls.

4. Check "Call Forwards" or "Call Rejecting":

   Check if a "Call Forwards" or "Call Rejecting" in the account prevents the user from doing outgoing or receiving calls.

5. Check "Call Data":

   Consult the "Call Data" for the last connection attempts and connections longer than 2min of the user.

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Check the Big Picture

At this point the supporter should get aware if the problem is limited to this user or if it could be large scale problem within the VoIP System.

If the supporter suspects a large scale problem, due to a great amount of the same ore similar user complains then he should contact the telephony provider support or emergency organization.

If the supporter has enough privileges he can check:

1. The VoIP Switch component status

   This will show if the VoIP Switch itself hat a problem.

2. The VoIP System monitor

   Here you can check if:

   • The registrations dropped in a large scale
   • The calls dropped in a large scale
   • The IP connectivity somewhere in the VoIP system failled

At any rate the supporter must inform the VoIP system administrator!

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Analyzing the Customer Problem

During this first step the supporter shall identify the user's problem.

By interviewing and checking the facts the supporter must be able to collect all basic information:

By identify the user's use case the supporter can selectively optimize the questioning.

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Use Case "Residential" Questioning

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Solving the Customer Problem

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Solve Problem: The User Device does not Register

1 Check: Review the account and telephone number configuration

2 Check: Where REGISTER messages received from the device on the VoIP Switch?

Failed registrations due to disabled account or address:

Actions:

• Check why the account is disabled and activate if allowed.

Failed registrations due to wrong SIP credentials:

Actions:

• The user must manually adjust the SIP credentials on the device
• The user must re-configure the device via AdminCenter

The device didn't refresh its registration:

Actions:

• Check if the device is really on-line! Device defect? power? patch? IP address? → see below

For information a successful registration:

Hint:
The supporter might try to find REGISTER messages from the device in the "Trace" . This gives the certainty that the message was received by the VoIP switch. The supporter can filter for the telephone number. If the IP address is needed then the customer must be able to tell or evaluate it, e.g.:

https://www.whatismyip.com/

3 Check: Is the device is correctly configured for registration?

4 Check: Is the device is powered on, not defect, connected to the IP network?

5 Check: Has the device an IP address and can access the Internet?

2. Was the device registered in the past?
3. Where outgoing and/or incoming calls possible in the past?

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Solve Problem: Incoming Connections are Failing

Instruction how to solve failing incomming connections, e.g.:

• User device not correctly registered
• Wrong calling number
• User device not correct configured

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Solve Problem: Outgoing Connections are Failing

Instruction how to solve failing outgoing connections, e.g.:

• User device not correctly registered
• Wrong called number
• User device not correct configured

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Solve Problem: Irregular Connection Release

Instruction how to solve irregularly released user connections, e.g.:

• Failing Session Timer

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Solve Problem: Disturbed Speech Transmission

Instruction how to solve disturbed speech transmission, e.g.:

• Short interruptions during the connection
• No transmission in one direction from the beginning of the connection
• No transmission in both directions from the beginning of the connection

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Solve Problem: Disturbed FAX Transmission

Instruction how to solve interrupted FAX transmission, e.g.:

• Fax transmission doesn't start
• Not all pages are transmitted

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Solve Problem: DECT Multi-Cell Handsets are not Working

Instruction how to solve problems with DECT Multi-Cell handsets, e.g.:

• Hand over from cell to cell not working
• Bad speech quality

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© Aarenet Inc 2018

Version: 3.0     Author:  Aarenet     Date: May 2017