3. Technical Support
Technical Support
The technical support strategy should focus on how to deliver reliable ICT services at all hours of the day with minimum downtime. These services should be determined by the overall ICT strategy as defined by the end-users. In SMJK Dindings, technical support strategy is related to the overall ICT strategy headed by the principal and assisted by system administrators who are IT teachers and the ex-students of the school. The technical support are categorized into hardware and software support. The hardware purchasing policy is to purchase refurbished equipment from computer hardware vendors who are able to provide up to 5 years, online support, warranty on spare parts and labour. The hardware suppliers can also be a useful source of technical knowledge about the products they sell and at the same time provide specialist technical support services when necessary. Computer peripherals are purchased from online auction sites such as eBay.com and lelong.com.my. Well stocked spare parts enable the support team to instantly replace faulty peripherals to minimize downtime thus ensuring maximum availability of the system.
Hardware is maintained by in-school technical support staff – the cyber brigades comprised Form 2 to Form 5 students. Software and Operating System maintenance are assisted by Form 4 and Form 5 students taking Information Technology and Computer Programming courses at SPM level. Network and servers maintenance are undertaken by ex-students working in Kuala Lumpur, either remotely or onsite during the weekend. A detailed hardware inventory and an up-to-date network diagram illustrating the topology of the network are maintained to assist IT support staff in recognizing potential problem areas and bottlenecks.
New network installations are tested and certified to TIA/EIA 568 standard to ensure that the maximum possible throughput is obtained. A portable Fluke DSP 2000 cable tester is used to verify the UTP cable installation to meet the required specification. A proper documentation of cable certification tests and network diagrams are necessary for easy trouble-shooting when required. The future of online learning lies in the transition from predominantly text-based information to interactive applications using multimedia techniques that require a reliable network with maximum possible bandwidth.
Open source software is used for proactive monitoring of network performance to identify bottlenecks and it also provides an early indication of any network congestion problems. Proxy and web caching servers are used to prevent the Internet connection from becoming a bottleneck and are configured to filter and restrict access to inappropriate sites thus conserving bandwidth. The log files in proxy server are used for monitoring of URLs accessed by users surfing the Internet. Remote administration and management facilities are made possible by the fixed IP using Streamyx.
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