1st line, 2nd line, 3rd line....

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by Yosh1, Jul 9, 2009.

  1. Yosh1

    Yosh1 Bit Poster

    36
    0
    16
    Hi all,
    I have a question for you all.

    Normally I would wiki a question like this but I 'm told it's written by 12 year olds.

    So you have 1st line support, second line support and 3 rd line.

    Could anyone here from experience explain to me and others who may be interested -
    what kind of experience is required for each role what are the qualifications needed and generally expand a bit about each one plz.

    Thx
    Owain
     
    Certifications: HNC Computing
  2. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

    19,183
    500
    414
    There's no standard definition. They mean different things in different companies.
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  3. craigie

    craigie Terabyte Poster

    3,020
    174
    155
    1st Line Support

    Your mainly looking at answering the phone and simple quick fix enquiries such as setting up Outlook for first use, adding printers, talking customer through things like checking NIC lights are on etc.

    I would say A+, N+ and MCDST are 1st Line qualifications.

    2nd Line Support

    Calls logged by 1st Line that cannot be resolved are normally vetted by 2nd Line e.g. a printer issue would be diagnosed by 2nd line before sending out a Field Engineer.

    Your mainly looking at things like, adding groups, mailboxes, enabling, disabling accounts, diagnosing network issues, but passing to 3rd Line to resolve.

    Qualification wise your looking at MCSA/E with a sprinkle of CCNA.

    3rd Line Support

    This is where the buck stops, it comes to you and you solve it. This could be configuring Access Conrol Lists, Port Forwarding on Routers to renewing SSL Certs to configuring Exchange, plus all the stuff that 1st and 2nd Line cannot fix or do not have the rights to fix.

    As BM said, it all depends on the company. In most 1st Line are locked down to only be able to fo the basics, 2nd Line can do a little more and 3rd Line have the ability to do whatever they want.

    Qualifications for third line are something along the lines of MCSE, MCITP: EA, CCNA, CCNP, VCP and whatever other speciality they are involved in.

    4th Line Support

    This is where you specialise in a particular field, e.g. Storage Architect, Virtualization Architect, Security etc.

    Your looking at peps having this such as CCIE, MCM.

    Hope that helps a little.
     
    Certifications: CCA | CCENT | CCNA | CCNA:S | HP APC | HP ASE | ITILv3 | MCP | MCDST | MCITP: EA | MCTS:Vista | MCTS:Exch '07 | MCSA 2003 | MCSA:M 2003 | MCSA 2008 | MCSE | VCP5-DT | VCP4-DCV | VCP5-DCV | VCAP5-DCA | VCAP5-DCD | VMTSP | VTSP 4 | VTSP 5
  4. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

    14,292
    265
    329
    what they said ^
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  5. dazza786

    dazza786 Megabyte Poster

    758
    30
    67
    i agree with craigies understanding of those levels
     
    Certifications: MCP (271, 272, 270, 290, 291, 621, 681, 685), MCDST, MCTS, MCITP, MCSA, Security+, CCA(XA6.5)
  6. craigie

    craigie Terabyte Poster

    3,020
    174
    155
    I also agree with me :eek:
     
    Certifications: CCA | CCENT | CCNA | CCNA:S | HP APC | HP ASE | ITILv3 | MCP | MCDST | MCITP: EA | MCTS:Vista | MCTS:Exch '07 | MCSA 2003 | MCSA:M 2003 | MCSA 2008 | MCSE | VCP5-DT | VCP4-DCV | VCP5-DCV | VCAP5-DCA | VCAP5-DCD | VMTSP | VTSP 4 | VTSP 5
  7. fatp

    fatp Byte Poster

    196
    7
    44
    Hi buddy.

    My spin on this is:

    If you do a search, there are many threads like this one, and I have personally posted one myself.

    The definition tends to vary from company, sector etc but IMO is as below:

    1st Line Support - Helpdesk (Job titles such as Helpdesk Analyst, First Line Support, Call Logger)
    Typically involves resolving calls over the phone in an service desk environment and may escalte to 2nd line support.

    2nd Line Support - Desktop Support (Job titles such as IT Technician, PC Engineer, Desktop Support Analyst)
    Typically involves onsite desktop support of all workstations, printers, scanners and and may escalaye to third line etc

    3rd Line Support - Network Support (Job titles such as Netowrk Admin, Network Manager, Server Engineer)

    Typically involves onsite support of all servers and dedicated to maintenance of network related issues.

    4th line could be a MSP, outsourced company, specialised field engineer etc...

    FatP
     
  8. dazza786

    dazza786 Megabyte Poster

    758
    30
    67
    I agree that you agree that I agree that you agree! :biggrin
     
    Certifications: MCP (271, 272, 270, 290, 291, 621, 681, 685), MCDST, MCTS, MCITP, MCSA, Security+, CCA(XA6.5)
  9. Arroryn

    Arroryn we're all dooooooomed Moderator

    4,015
    193
    209
    I agree whole-heartedly with what has been said above :) with the following caveat: perceptions of 1st, 2nd and 3rd line and the roles they do will probably change depending on the size of your company, and whether you are public or private sector.

    Larger companies can afford to pigeon-hole staff in to certain roles, but with smaller firms there are often less people to carry out the same variety of complex tasks, so that 1st/2nd and 2nd/3rd lines become quite intermingled.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, 70-410, 70-411
    WIP: Modern Languages BA
  10. Sparky
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

    10,718
    543
    364
    In *many* cases it depends on the size of the organisation to be honest. Some companies cannot justify having a first, second and third line as they will just have an IT department. There may be someone who answers the calls to screen all the password reset\can’t print type calls and anything else is passed onto someone with more experience.

    In saying that some large corporates don’t have a first, second and third line so don’t think just because a company has thousands of employees it will have various lines of IT support.

    For example a contract I worked on for a large organisation had a helpdesk (as you do!) and then teams that would specialise in certain areas. For example there was a messaging team (Exchange and Domino) and also a SAP team. There was also a desktop team and a printer team on-site at one of the larger offices. Apart from the helpdesk there was no defined ‘line’ of support.

    Sure there is broad definition on what each line should do but it does vary depending on the organisation and its IT infrastructure.
     
    Certifications: MSc MCSE MCSA:M MCSA:S MCITP:EA MCTS(x5) MS-900 AZ-900 Security+ Network+ A+
    WIP: Microsoft Certs
  11. Yosh1

    Yosh1 Bit Poster

    36
    0
    16
    Ah, so you are all agreed then"
    Thx for that.:D
     
    Certifications: HNC Computing
  12. Mecha

    Mecha Bit Poster

    41
    0
    16
    Pretty much what I do at work. Sometimes it's real simple and I have to fix Word issues or installing new software, but then again I might need to set up a FTP account, or add a new distribution/mailing group via AD, adding/disabling new users in AD, password resets in AD, network cable patching at clients machines and in the server room (we now have a sweet server room :D), network connection problems for users (not for server problems, thats another level to me)..From telephone, emails, helpdesk requests I do most fixes probably remotely as we have the majority of users across the world, and we are the main IT dept, so it is definitely interesting

    Overall I don't even know what line I am in, but at the moment it doesn't really matter. What will matter is when I look for a new job and I will refuse (oh the joys of having experience) to do 1st line primarily. I'm not saying I won't do the basic things when I'm in a job, but in terms of job description I don't think I will go lower than 2nd line. But I am happy where I am, so I'm just going to keep learning more on VMWare networking things (got my course coming up soon) and more networking factors in the data center. I am doing a fair bit of AD work at the moment and work on non-mission critical servers such as Outlook/Communicator/etc, and a fair bit of work on the ES servers from the VMWare client which is always fun, but daunting!
     
    Certifications: BSc Networking, A+ (601)
    WIP: MSc InfoSec, S+, CISMP, IA ISO27001
  13. Jiser

    Jiser Kilobyte Poster

    385
    10
    37
    Everywhere I have worked has just had an I.T. Department, so peeps jack of all trades. Also in each place there has been no chance for professional development, you learn on the job, figure it out for yourself or with others in your immediate team. Usually someone was/is specialist in certain areas such as reporting, web dev, CRM, sql etc. Contracts are used where needed.
     
    Certifications: BSc (Hons), PGc, MCTS:Win 7, MCSA W7/MCITP EDST, ITIL Foundation, Prince 2 Foundation, C&G: Web Design, MOS 07: Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Outlook.

Share This Page

Loading...
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.