Support Levels
From Sysadmin
The following support levels are very common within the computer industry. As is often the case, this system is not universal but it is univerally recognised.
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1st Level Support
1st level support are often termed as help desk. They receive the initial query from the end user or client.
Their responsibilities normally encompass:
- Resolution of common problems at the user's end
- Assisting the user in understanding an aspect of the system or product
- Detecting operational problems and elevating them for resolution.
1st level support often work wholly from a script. Resolution of a problem by 1st level support normally means that the problem was anticipated by the organisation.
2nd Level Support
If a problem is beyond the ability of 1st level support or if an operational problem is suspected the problem will be elevated to 2nd level support. 2nd level support often talk directly to end users although this is not universal. 2nd level support are not normally working from a script.
Their responsibilities normally cover:
- Resolution of end user problems that were beyond the capabilities of 1st level support.
- Confirmation of suspected operational problems.
Once an operational problem has been confirmed it will be elevated to 3rd level support.
3rd Level Support
System Administrators are normally situated at this level. If a problem reaches this level then it has been accepted as an operational problem. Applications discussed here may be in-house applications or external applications.
Resolution of problems at 3rd level can involve:
- Reconfiguration of applications
- Patching of applications, if a relevant patch is already available
- Raising bugs to the relevant developers.
- Invoking a service level agreement
Raising bugs will normally involve logging a fault in a bug tracking system. This may involve the bug being sent to an in-house development team, the development team at an external corporation, or an open source development team.
If a bug is in a 3rd party application or library supplied as part of a package the bug report will normally go to the organisation that supplied the application or library rather than the developers of the application or library itself. This is because vendors who supply 3rd party applications and libraries may be supplying very old versions. In the case of open source 3rd party applications or libraries they may have actually modified the code.
3rd level support rarely talk directly to end users. If they do it will normally be to clarify some point about the issue. 3rd level support will not normally become involved in resolution of the end user's problem, although they may provide work arounds to the user.
4th Level Support
4th level support normally comprises the developers of the application.
4th level support will:
- Confirm that there is a bug in the code
- Determine & implement a fix or work around as appropriate
It is very unusual for 4th level support to talk directly to an end-user or even 1st level support. They will often be in regular contact with 3rd level support and may communicate with 2nd level support to clarify points about the problem.
Once a fix or work around is implemented it will be referred back to 3rd level support for testing and implementation.
