Thus spake Mark Thornton
I suspect that if 3Com dedicated a tech to a mailing list to address issues for the smaller clients like us, meaning fewer than a thousand TCH systems per pop, it would go a long way to resolving many of the relationship problems we are experiencing. The techs we do have appearing on this list are obviously doing this in between other tasks. I'm sure we appreciate the time they can provide, though I'm sure they have to steer clear of most of the politically charged stuff.
Actually...I think the presense of the techs on the list now is probably officially sanctioned (if you will) by 3Com at this point. I get the impression that the initial appearance of them on the list was done on their own, but over time 3Com has realized the value of this list. :) Yes, I believe the techs do other things other than just support people on this list, but given how things are split up within 3Com, this actually makes some sense. For example...some of you may have noticed that depending on the part of the TC chassis being asked about, different techs tend to respond. :) So, if you ask about something on the Arcs you'll likely here from Krish and Mike, and occasionally from Dominic. If you ask about something on the NMC card, you're likely going to hear from Steve Valiunas. :) From my understanding, tech support in 3Com is (wisely) broken up into groupings of functionality of the individual components...so, for example, the HiPer Arc will be handled by a different group from the HiPer DSP because the two cards have significantly different functions. So...the folks that work with the Arcs also handle...uhm...I *think* the CMTS (Cable Modem Termination System), and HiPer Trax...both of which also run the Pilgrim code base, and as such have much in common with the HiPer Arc. This all makes sense if you think about it, but means that its not feasible to have one tech *dedicated* to list as they would have to have a knowledge base across the whole product line...that's just not feasible to do. :) Believe me...I understand where 3Com comes up with this idea...if you look in the archives at my posts, you'll probably see that I answer more HiPer Arc and NETServer questions than I do quad or DSP questions...my knowledge of modems just isn't nearly as deep as my knowledge of IP routing, PPP, routing protocols, etc (stuff that runs on a router :) I think 3Com actually does a pretty decent job anymore of doing what you suggest...the techs are here (blessed by 3Com corporate is my understanding)...the 3Com knowledgebase is available...its getting some decent content in it...though it could still be better, it is improving. My understanding is that the 3kb is the same database that the techs work out of (except for the ones in their heads...which is certainly tremendously bigger than the one in my head!). On the actual tech support side of things...I think 3Com is doing a decent job at this point...there are some outstanding issues, certainly, as have been brought up here...seemingly the biggest is v.90 compatibility...but when you call, wait times are short, you usually get someone now that can at least talk coherently about the product (at least this has been my experience). I still have some other beefs as well...security issues need to be addressed faster...I've mentioned this before...none of these things are really to the point of a crisis situation (at least for me)...v.90 being close. Yes, the main problem now, is not being able to obtain support once you have the contract...the problem is being able to obtain the support contract in the first place so you can then easily obtain the support if/when you need it! -- Jeff McAdams Email: jeffm@iglou.com Head Network Administrator Voice: (502) 966-3848 IgLou Internet Services (800) 436-4456 - To unsubscribe to usr-tc, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe usr-tc" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.