Re: [nznog] NZNOG Digest, Vol 80, Issue 9
Hi Dean,
While I agree with the general notion that people should go to the ISP
directly first, in the Telstra case with their transparent proxy I
think it is okay posting here.
Mainly because most people on this list know it is there, while most
people on the ISPs desk probably don't. Telstra could make this a bit
better for themselves by being more verbose about the proxies
presence, rather than getting various levels of brokenness complaints.
In the beginning when diagnosing the problem, an engineer might not
even know that the problem lies with Telstra, and we have seen people
posting http headers and so on in the past wondering what was going
on. I just think that this kind of thing is a natural side effect of
an ill publicised (and some would argue, annoying) network feature,
and if Telstra are not proactive about letting people know they have
it and the problems that may arise, then they deserve the occasional
mail list post.
Regards,
Anton
Disclaimer: I have run into their proxy before due to asymmetric
routing + transparent proxy unhappiness (resulted in what looked like
a black hole).
On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 2:00 AM,
From: Dean Pemberton
Subject: Re: [nznog] Telstraclear international proxy? To: nznog Message-ID: <4A7F6257.9080104(a)deanpemberton.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 I'd like to take this opportunity to remind people that the appropriate way to handle situations like this is to log a support call with the ISPs helpdesk before posting support questions to this list.
If you believe that it is a problem which effects the NZ Operator community as a whole and you have exhausted your options (including escalations) with the ISP concerned then it is maybe appropriate to post.
This is to eliminate the situation where an ISP finds its name/helpdesk practices used in vain throughout a mailing list without being given a chance to put the matter right in private first.
Thanks Dean
On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 12:31 AM, Anton Smith
*snippet*
In the beginning when diagnosing the problem, an engineer might not even know that the problem lies with Telstra, and we have seen people posting http headers and so on in the past wondering what was going on.
On that note, at least they do add headers of NetCache, or something else recognisable that it is indeed going through some sort of proxy/being retrieved from a cache repository. e.g Via 1.1 nc1 (NetCache NetApp/6.0.5P1) Note: They were using NetCache the last time I had to diagnose issues with the transparent proxy, they may be using a new flavor of the month these days. - Drew
On 11/08/09 12:31 AM, Anton Smith wrote:
In the beginning when diagnosing the problem, an engineer might not even know that the problem lies with Telstra, and we have seen people posting http headers and so on in the past wondering what was going on.
I don't believe that was the case in this instance. It was not a general query about a general problem. It was a specific technical issue with a specific ISP. In that case a trouble ticket should be logged with the ISP first, then post to the list. I'd even accept if these were both done at the same time. To not give the ISP involved a chance to address the issue through normal customer support channels is not giving them a fair go. Some ISPs are not very good at customer support, but if you don't log the call, then how can you expect anything of them. I'll explain some more why this is so important; In years gone by, NZNOG was seen by the major Telcos and some ISPs as a bunch of troublemakers. I know this for a fact because I've worked for them while they held this opinion. They viewed NZNOG as a group of individuals constantly waiting to bash them at any opportunity. The minute that someone found a bug, or a technical issue, they would post it first to NZNOG and everyone would hang the associated ISP/Telco out to dry. As such, no one from those organisations joined NZNOG, contributed to NZNOG, attended the NZNOG conference, etc etc etc. Over time we have worked very hard to re-engage with the ISPs and Telcos, making NZNOG a place where they can derive benefit from contributing to. Just today we see Paul Tinson posting about Telecom's cache changes. I doubt anyone would disagree that this is the sort of involvement that we want. Do you think that TelstraClear are going to engage with NZNOG if just the week previously an NZNOG member was posting publically about technical issues on their network before giving them a chance to address them? It's a bit like someone buying a shirt at a store, being unhappy with it, and doing a spot on Campbell Live before going back to the shop and asking for a refund. Now sure, Campbell Live has its place. It even has a place for long running retail disputes, but it shouldn't be the first port of call. And neither should NZNOG. We work hard with the Telcos to keep them engaged (the benefits of which can be seen in Telecoms post this morning), please keep this in mind when posting. Just make sure you've worked with them first. If you have and they did a bad job, then by all means post and all bets are off =) Dean
This isn't Campbell Live. This is network operators sharing ideas with, and
helping other network operators.
Your help may be to direct him to Telstra's helpdesk. Song and dance are
superfluous.
--
Jeremy
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2009/8/11 Dean Pemberton
On 11/08/09 12:31 AM, Anton Smith wrote:
In the beginning when diagnosing the problem, an engineer might not even know that the problem lies with Telstra, and we have seen people posting http headers and so on in the past wondering what was going on.
I don't believe that was the case in this instance. It was not a general query about a general problem. It was a specific technical issue with a specific ISP. In that case a trouble ticket should be logged with the ISP first, then post to the list. I'd even accept if these were both done at the same time.
To not give the ISP involved a chance to address the issue through normal customer support channels is not giving them a fair go. Some ISPs are not very good at customer support, but if you don't log the call, then how can you expect anything of them.
I'll explain some more why this is so important; In years gone by, NZNOG was seen by the major Telcos and some ISPs as a bunch of troublemakers. I know this for a fact because I've worked for them while they held this opinion. They viewed NZNOG as a group of individuals constantly waiting to bash them at any opportunity. The minute that someone found a bug, or a technical issue, they would post it first to NZNOG and everyone would hang the associated ISP/Telco out to dry.
As such, no one from those organisations joined NZNOG, contributed to NZNOG, attended the NZNOG conference, etc etc etc.
Over time we have worked very hard to re-engage with the ISPs and Telcos, making NZNOG a place where they can derive benefit from contributing to. Just today we see Paul Tinson posting about Telecom's cache changes. I doubt anyone would disagree that this is the sort of involvement that we want.
Do you think that TelstraClear are going to engage with NZNOG if just the week previously an NZNOG member was posting publically about technical issues on their network before giving them a chance to address them?
It's a bit like someone buying a shirt at a store, being unhappy with it, and doing a spot on Campbell Live before going back to the shop and asking for a refund. Now sure, Campbell Live has its place. It even has a place for long running retail disputes, but it shouldn't be the first port of call. And neither should NZNOG.
We work hard with the Telcos to keep them engaged (the benefits of which can be seen in Telecoms post this morning), please keep this in mind when posting. Just make sure you've worked with them first. If you have and they did a bad job, then by all means post and all bets are off =)
Dean
_______________________________________________ NZNOG mailing list NZNOG(a)list.waikato.ac.nz http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/nznog
Dear NZNOG: This one time, I tried to send an e-mail to a Telco address, and it bounced. Can you help? What do you think is going on? It Is A Mystery. I think it's entirely reasonable to post this inquiry here, instead of contacting the Telco helpdesk, as NZNOG members in generally are likely to be familiar with mail systems than your average front line helpdesker. Yrs, etc, JSR P.S. BEER LOLOLOL
participants (5)
-
Anton Smith
-
Dean Pemberton
-
Drew Broadley
-
Jeremy Lawson
-
John Russell