A little explanation

A little explanation today, as background to the bizarre fax we got this morning. We don’t have a traditional ISP, we have a company that we are partnered with, who provided a consultant about 6 years ago to put together our computer network. (Before I worked here). We’ve simply thrown up a fractional T1 between our two locations, and we connect into their proxy and email servers for our internet access, and they connect back into our database as part of the work they still do for us. (Non-IT work)

Today I got a fax from them stating that there system will be going down at 9:00AM, for about a half hour or so. Unfortunately they did not mention which of their systems will be going down. Since I haven’t noticed any interruption in internet service, I’m going on the assumption that it was their internal systems that were down, the stuff we don’t have access to anyway.

Now here’s the part I don’t get. Recently, rather than continuing our relationship with the original consultant, the guy who knows how our network was originally put together, and understands what I did when upgrading it last year, they advised us to use their internal help desk number. So we wind up being grouped with all of their internal departments when it comes to service, only we aren’t internal, and in fact, have a completely different set of needs when compared to their internal departments. Today being a case in point. Since they were shutting down an internal system that we don’t have access to, there was no reason to fax us the warning about it, but because we are grouped in with everyone else, we got the fax.

Yes I know it’s only one fax, but I worry that this is a trend that will continue, that I’ll have to explain the way it works to every person I come in contact with through the help desk. You also have to understand that being the lone IT person here means that all knowledge about our network starts and ends with me. I’ve documented most of it, but it will take some time for a new IT person to get a grip on it, and in the meantime, interent connection issues will be an adventure, because no one on either end will understand how it works. Oh how I would love to be able to sit in on those conversations..*L*

Follow these topics: HelpDesk