[j-nsp] MX480 troubles.

[Pavel Lunin]

> <Me> "Hi, when this bgp neighbor flaps it sometimes doesn't syslog the
> event correctly, and instead records garbage messages."
>
> <ATAC> "The bgp neighbor is flapping, that is why you are logging the
> neighbor down, can I close this case?"
>
>
Oh-yeeeeah! )

Are your sure it wasn an ATAC guy really, not just a so called 'next-level'
engineer?

In my practice this sort of dialog is an obligatory step for just every
case. Except maybe the ones where an RMA is needed with no doubt (although
there are exceptions here as well, see below).

But. Normally it's not a case with advanced teams. For me "advanced team"
always equals folks from Amsterdam — don't know whether the ATAC selection
depends on timezone, country or something; looks like it does not because
initially cases are usually distributed in some random and unpredictable
manner (which means 80% of them are caught by engineers whose shift is when
it's night here in Moscow, very comfortable). Maybe it depends on product
line, though, I don't really know.

Well, those ~10-15 times when my cases were really escalated to ATAC it was
a pleasure to work. At least after the few weeks in hell with the primary
TAC. More or less clear understanding, some real help in troubleshooting and
fixing (including their lab testing), a clear existing PR reference (really,
not just "Hurrah! I found a PR regarding your issue, so let's close the
case"), or a new PR opening.

What took me years to understand, is that when you just ask an engineer (or
even a duty manager) to escalate the case to 'the next level' (after
realizing it's enough explanations at the current one), the case is often
not really escalated to someone, who is supposed to be more educated, but
just passed to a different TAC (usually somewhere at the opposite side of
Earth) to someone of the same skill level and experience or even worse. As
far as I understand JTACers just press some sort of "surrender" button, and
the case is put in the queue until it's caught by someone other. Max number
of passes in such a soccer seems to be not limited.

So (Richard, of course, I believe you don't :) people often mistake this so
called "I am escalating your case to the next level" for ATAC.

Promised RMA story. Once (quite some time ago) our customer asked JTAC for
an RMA regarding a failed AC power supply. Of course it was seen in the
install base that the device was equipped with an AC PS. It were times when
NextDay meant NextFewWeeks for Russia due to lack of local depots (and
thanks to our world-famous customs). The customer was really surprised when
at the end he received a DC PS. Of course, he also missed himself the RMA
was incidentally opened for a DC one. OK, it happens.

He asked us for help, and I sent a message to the case saying it was a
mistake and a change was needed. Try to imagine the words I pronounced, when
the engineer replied "Sorry, it's not a mistake. As per our internal docs,
only DC power is used in your country". It took another week to convince
him, that the outlet on the wall in front of me (just like all other ones)
provides AC.