Support: A day in the life of.

Recently Random and I were going over our daily activities, which can include internal support, Client support, and project work, and we were discussing how scattered and at times hectic our days can end up. We put together a list of events that could happen on any given day. This shows how techs covering several duties must be able to multitask and not pull your hair out in the process.

7:50 AM -Arrive at work, boot up laptop, and prepare for another work day.

7:55 AM – Check emails that came in over the night. It looks like we received a ticket regarding a client’s Oracle IPM that had crashed and they are not sure why. They attached the log information, but it will take some further investigation to fully vet the issue. Go to get coffee and found none ready so I needed to start a pot, I’ll come back later when the coffee is done.

8:00 AM – Begin work on an internal project that I was unable to work on much yesterday. Nothing scheduled for today so I should have time to work on it and I expect to finish it by the end of the day.

8:30 AM – Support Hours start.

8:35 AM – Reviewed Oracle IPM logs from the ticket that came in last night. I called the client and was only able to leave a voice mail.

8:55 AM – Returned to work on internal project.

9:02 AM – Internal Support: Employee calls asking for help with their second monitor. They cannot get it to come up even after several reboots.

9:18 AM – Replaced the cable and it fixed the issue.

9:21 AM – Back to work on my project.

9:40 AM – New Ticket. Here is the customer’s description: Urgent: System down!!! Please contact ASAP!!!. The call is listed as urgent, severity 1, so I will call immediately.

9:42 AM – After a couple of attempts to call I could only reach a voicemail. Sent off an email and still awaiting a response.

9:44 AM – Go to get Coffee and had to start another pot as someone left the pot that I had started earlier empty!

9:52 AM – Resume work on my internal project.

10:07am – Instant message from another employee who needs some help trouble shooting an issue for an upcoming demo. Started a WebEx to review the problem and help trouble shoot system.

11:01 AM – NEW TICKET – Client has questions about Nexus 10, forwarded ticket to their Sales Rep and Marketing to answer their questions. Back to work on trouble shooting.

11:55am – Found the issue in the linked server configuration on the system that is being configured for the demo.

11:57am – Stretch break right before lunch time.

12:50pm – Return from lunch only to find out that the entire network is down including all email.

12:59pm – Received phone call from employee letting us know that the email is down. I ensured them that we are working on the issue and we will have it up as soon as possible.

1:04pm – Received phone call from another employee letting us know that the email is down.

1:11pm – While trying to fix the networking issue, we received IM letting us know that the email is down. We are unable to send out a companywide email to inform people that the network is down because the email is down.

1:48pm – Found the issue with the network. An employee had connected a LAN line back into an internal jack causing a dead loop. This in turn shut everything down. After many insults we were finally able to forgive the coworker. Sent companywide email letting everyone know what had shut the system down and how to avoid this in the future.

1:50 – Back to work on internal project.

2:03 PM – NEW TICKET. Description: 1-3 users are unable to look at images on their workstations. They are able to see the images on other workstations. We have tried rebooting several times as prompted, but we are then asked to reboot again. Please Help!

2:09 PM – Finally able to figure out what the client’s was trying to say and sent email with the steps on how to correct issue. Returned to internal project

2:13 – Received response from “urgent” ticket. Contacted the client and jumped on a WebEx to solve the issue.

3:40 – After several attempts to unsuccessfully ping the storage server, the client rebooted the server. After the reboot we are still unable to ping or remote into the server, we successfully attempt to directly log into the server, and found that the NIC drivers became corrupt. Reinstalling drivers and rebooting the server brought it back up online.

3:41 – Back to project.

3:50 – Customer called wanting help configuring a batch class in ILINXCapture. I then walked the client through submitting a support ticket .

4:09 – Finished assisting client with building the desired batch classes in ILINX Capture.

4:28 PM – NEW TICKET – Client needs assistance in backing up their system. The client is busy through the rest of the day and we set up and appointment first thing in the morning.

4:33 PM – Restart internal project

5:00 – Entered in time for the day and realized that I was never able to finish my project. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

Brandon Konen
S.E. at ImageSource Inc.

Random McParks
S.E. at ImageSource Inc.

  

Exchange 2010 Upgrade

As part of our Enterprise Content Management system we are upgrading our Exchange servers to 2010 to better handle our enterprise demands for e-mail content and integrate with SharePoint 2010.  Upgrading from Exchange Server 2003 to 2010 most users won’t notice a huge difference in E-mail performance but where they will notice changes is the new look and feel of OWA (Outlook Web Access) 2010.  OWA 2010 has some great new features such as Conversation view, which allows a user to view the whole chain of responses in one threaded view.   Another great feature that I think everyone will be happy about is that in OWA 2010 all  messages show up on one page, with OWA 2003 the maximum limit was 100 per page, now with OWA 2010 there is no limit no matter how big your inbox is all your messages are on one page.   Also a great feature which we just tested is the function to allow a user to remotely wipe their phone via OWA, so if your phone is lost or stolen you can completely wipe your phone clean of sensitive information.  

 At ImageSource we represent a variety of software options, our consulting services provide an independent and objective approach. Many consultants use a one size fits all philosophy. Our flexible and proven methodologies allow us to help you define truly suitable solutions for ECM and integration with corporatet office tools. 

Will Hart
Support Engineer
ImageSource, Inc.

Nexus 2009 Shows Promise for a Stronger Economy

I’ve heard many comments from individuals summing up their ‘NEXUS ECM Experience’ over the past week following the show’s November 2nd close.  From my perspective, the tweets and blogs captured the momentum and attendance at the show was greater than last year.  I think this is because the quality and value of the show in general was up.  Attendees this year definitely had an agenda, and most were actively seeking solutions, as compared to years passed.  The companies that will be on top when the economy turns will be those who have a strong ECM foundation for business processes.  It was encouraging to see the excitement and drive to get back to work and start retooling for a more efficient future.   If you missed out this year, make sure to register for Nexus 2010 and lock in the reduced rate of $195! Use code NEXUS10SPL

Leigh Woody

Program Manager

ImageSource, Inc.

Listening to the Machine

I was chatting with Sophia Marchi, the director of sales for the Americas for BÖWE BELL + HOWELL Scanners at our recent Nexus event. She had just delivered a great break-out on scanner selection criteria and we started talking about how the users need to have input on scanner selection – they really know what they like and what works for them. Often, these aren’t the people consulted when purchase decisions are made, and it’s a shame. She related how at FedEx, there were 13 identical scanners deployed, and the staff had names them all – Annabelle, Karina, Chloe, Hannah, and so forth. Workers bonded with their machines, and would line up for their favorite – even to the point of coming in early to get their machine. Or switching to it the second in came available. Well what’s the attraction — they are all the same machines, right? Then I recalled my brother and I had the same Schwinn 2 speed bikes as kids, then in college we bought the exact same motorcycles (I stuck to silver, he to purple). 3K miles down the road, I’d borrow his bike. Felt a bit funny, compared to mine with the same mileage. Fast forward to when we had put over 45K miles – what a difference. Rider habits with braking, acceleration, maintenance, even storage – added up to make these bikes ride with distinct differences. I do remember mine being faster – I guess my throttle was used to more demands. It’s the same story with scanners. Properly maintained scanners – the ones that are doted on and listened to carefully – are bound to last longer with fewer unexpected breakdowns. Sophia learned from the users that with their favorite scanners, the operators can hear roller wear, hear double feeds, even hear the need for a cleaning. Scanning shops that listen to their operators, allowing them to use a particular machine when possible, and reward regular maintenance and cleaning will outperform shops that neglect these steps.

Peter Lang
ImageSource, Inc.

Tuning ECM Capture Systems – Is It Optional?

Recognizing forms and then performing successful OCR and ICR is a result of careful planning.   Then comes plenty of testing during development, exploiting every advantage you can discover.  Once rolling, are the results what you expect?  All of that testing should ensure the answer is YES.  But if they are falling short of expectation, it’s time to tune.  Are image enhancement/preprocessing settings set optimally (or are they in place at all?).  Are alphanumeric fields defined in such a way that the OCR engines aren’t trying to discern zeros from letter O’s?  For handwriting, do forms have text instructions coaching the users how to write ‘between the lines’?  Are you matching expected data with available dictionaries encompassing all possible entries?  These are just a few of the questions to ask while tuning a paper capture system.  At ImageSource, we’ll work to resolve recognition problems you are experiencing to maximize your ROI and data throughput.

Peter Lang
ImageSource

Enterprise Content Management (ECM): Best Practices for Backfile Conversion

The 2 main aspects of Backfile Conversion are Security and Quality.  Security within the document scanning process is tracking and maintaining records for each document through the workflow.  If a conversion workflow is tracked and accounted for efficiently, a quality product will be the result. 

In addition to maintaining records of documents it is not uncommon that someone will want to view one of the documents that are in the workflow.  If an itemized inventory list (tracking log) was created at the beginning of the conversion workflow and an entry to the tracking log was made every time the document was processed, it should take minutes to locate where the document is and provide either the hard copy or the imaged copy of that document for the individual looking for the document.

The conversion workflow process usually consists of incoming inventory, preparation of documents for scanning, scanning of documents, indexing, releasing of images into the Document Management System and outgoing inventory.  When an entry is made to the tracking log, the name and date should be included in the entry.  This will assign that technician the responsibility of the document during this stage in the workflow.  The goal with assigning responsibility is to add incentive for the technician to make sure the document is imaged clearly and indexed accurately.  Accountability ensures quality of work being produced.

Through the use of a tracking log documents are secure in that they know where they are at all times.  Technicians are held accountable for their work. 

 

Jeff Martin

Conversion Services Project Coordinator

ImageSource, Inc.

  

When you are a hammer all of your problems look like nails.

The phrase “When you are a hammer all of your problems look like nails” is just one version of a group of statements that refers to the phenomenon that the French call déformation professionnelle which refers to looking at things from the point of view of one’s profession.  This behavior is more commonly know in the psychological field as the “Law of the Instrument” and was purposed first by Maslow.  A simplified version of his concept is thus: an individual that is incomplete in their knowledge or training, tends to propose the same type of solution to every problem they encounter.  They opt for the more familiar solution to one that may be more effective.  People unconsciously fall back on what they are comfortable with and where they have been trained instead of stepping back and looking at the whole picture to find the most rational solution.  For example, a cardiologist might automatically assume left arm numbness or tingling as an issue with ones heart, a systems engineer might identify poor scanned image quality as incorrect software settings when in reality the issue could be in an hardware issue with the scanner. 

This situation can happen frequently with content management support as most ECM systems (ie. Oracle UCM, Oracle IPM, Kofax, ILINX Capture) are large and complex requiring support to have knowledge in several areas including but not limited to; Networking, Engineers, Development, and Scanner Hardware Repair.  Each department will rely on fixing issues based on what they are trained in.

In addition to proper training one of the best ways to combat this behavior is to simply be aware of it.  If we are conscious of our behavior it will help us to avoid our unconscious actions.  Psychologist Carl Jung said “Man’s task is to become conscious of the contents that press upward from the unconscious.”   Eventually, the desired behavior to see a problem from another person’s perspective will become habit and will alter our automatic response.  One must also seek to look at all system behaviors for anomalies, even if they seen normal to the user.  If an abnormal behavior has gone on long enough it will become normal behavior.  Pulling someone else in to get a second opinion can also be helpful on finding the irregularity patterns.  Its best to look at the whole picture and try to hypothesize what is really going on.  The main point to keep in mind as you are diagnosing issues is whether the behaviors and/or symptoms that you are seeing in a system and your hypothesis of the cause truly fit together, if they don’t you are running the potential of falling victim to getting clubbed by the “Hammer”.

Co-Authered  by:
Brandon Konen
Support Engineer
ImageSource, Inc.

Random McParks
Support Engineer
ImageSource, Inc.

Monitoring Server Performance

Does your ECM server seem to have performance related issues?  Are requests to your ECM software taking longer than normal?  If so then you may have a few choices:

• You can always add some extra physical ram, this may help but may not get you to the root of the problem.
• You could maybe add a processor or two and hope for the best, or you can figure out why your ECM server is running so slowly. 

There are several different things that can cause ECM system performance degradation.  In this article we will explain how you can use Performance Monitor aka “PerfMon” a Microsoft Windows built in diagnostic tool to help determine the cause of your ECM server’s bottle neck.

As with any other diagnostic tool Performance Monitor is a running process and like any other process, Performance Monitor may consume things like CPU cycles, system memory, and potentially hard disk resources.  This will slightly lower the amount of available system resources reported by Performance Monitor then when performance monitor is not running.  Even with that Performance Monitor is still accurate enough that it can be used to help IT staff determine system bottle necks that are causing performance related issues.

When running Performance Monitor we recommend turning off all of the default counters.  This will allow you to add the counters and attributes that we are going to discuss below.

• % Processor Time
  • This counter will show you what percentage of the available CPU cycles that are being consumed by the system. For example if the % Processor Time counter reads 40, then the CPU is working at 40% capacity.  If your processor is exceeding 65% capacity then this will be a problem area.
• % Disk Time
  • This counter’s average value should be as low as possible. An average value of 70% or above indicates that the hard disk can’t keep up.  Adding more spindles or faster hard disks may be required.
• Current Disk Queue Length
  • This counter will show you how many I/O operations are waiting for the hard disk to become available.  Our recommendation is that the average disk queue length should be 4 or less.  Adding more spindles or faster hard disks may be required.
• Cache Bytes
  • This counter monitors the amount of memory being used for the file system cache.  Anything over 10 MB would be considered too much. If this is the case it is recommended that you add more physical memory.
• Pool Non-paged Bytes and Pool Non-paged Allocations
  • Another way to test for memory leaks is to monitor these two counters. The Pool Non-paged Bytes counter counts pages of memory that can’t be moved to virtual memory, these will stay in physical RAM.  Most likely, if this value is too high, you’ll have to add more physical memory to the system.  You can also watch the Pool Non-paged Allocations counter to see how many calls are being made to that portion of the memory. If the number of calls does not seem to correspond with the number of memory pages, you may likely have a memory leak rather than an insufficient amount of physical ram.
• PAGES/SEC
  • This value counts the number of times per second that the system is accessing virtual memory rather than physical memory. A value above 20 is considered to be high, and it may indicate a problem with the way your virtual memory is configured rather than a problem or shortage of physical memory.

We recommend monitoring these counters over a day or more to document and establish a baseline.

Co-Authered  by:
Jon Sutherland
Senior Systems Engineer
ImageSource, Inc.

Bryan Wilhelm
Senior Systems Engineer
ImageSource, Inc.

Benefits of Remote Services for ECM Support

Would you land a plane in dense fog without radar?   Probably not, so why can it be difficult to get support representatives of  major software manufactures to dial in and assess critical business ECM servers to aid with troubleshooting?  I recently worked with a large ECM company that told me “Before that occurs ( dialing in ) … the customer needs to have the understanding that all we would be doing is observing the issue and that no troubleshooting or resolution recommendations would occur”.

What kind of a response it that!  I literally thought it was a joke.  I brought this to the attention of the technician’s manager and he agreed with his staff and said to me that in some occasions a remote session is the very first request (and occasionally only info) in new service requests.  He went on to tell me that occasionally something like – “my system isn’t working start a web session so I can show you”.   is frustrating for them because it is easy to get trapped into a complete unknown situation with no measurable exit strategy.  This can turn a quick 30 minute dial up session into an all day ordeal burning multiple resources at the expense of their other customer’s Service Request”.  So, they don’t want to help you because it may take up too much time?

Dumbfounded I went back to the support technician for more clues to this odd adaptation of quality customer support:

“To answer your question, it is not a joke. Since we do not know the cause of the issue we cannot state what the customer should do regarding resolution or troubleshooting. Therefore remote access is not going to accomplish anything outside of observing the customer system and possibly gathering new information. We often experience remote access sessions where the customer had the false expectation that just because we have remotely accessed the system we have an intimate knowledge of exactly what is causing the issue when in fact we are simply trying to discern the nature of the issue. The customer is then quite upset that we did not fix the reported issue. To avoid disappointment for the customer I felt it was of value to set an expectation of what the remote session would accomplish.”

This is a very experienced and knowledgeable technician who has already confirmed the validity of the issue and should be helping us figure out the solution to very complex problems by using all the tools available.  As the manager of the ImageSource Support Department there was no way that I was going to have a conversation with the client to tell them that I had a specialist on the line who has no intention of troubleshooting or coming up with possible resolution recommendations.

At ImageSource, It is our philosophy that we dial into a system because we don’t have an intimate knowledge of what’s causing the issue. If you had “intimate knowledge of exactly what is causing the issue” you would have no practical need to take a look.   We at ImageSource understand the value of getting in and taking a firsthand look to confirm the actual facts and maintain momentum to solve problems.  We believe that it is impossible to get the level of good data required to close service request and garner the benefits of informative research without truly understanding the environment. You know the adage… I picture is worth a thousand words.

Leigh Woody
Program Manager