F. No. 12/Member (11)/2017
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
(Central Board of Excise & Customs)
New Delhi, 11th December, 2017
To
All Pr. Chief Commissioner / Chief Commissioner
All Pr. Director Generals / Director Generals
Subject: Advisory on A10 Functioning, connectivity issues regarding.
Issues with regard to slowness of AIOs [all-in-ones] have been brought to my notice. Discussions have been held with the representatives of M/S TCS, who are our vendors for the network/ AIOs and Wipro software application team. Accordingly following advisory is issued to the field formation for immediate action.
A. Slowness of the network or network fluctuations:
i. In case, the network has been provisioned by DG systems then the same can be reported to Saksham Seva so that DG systems can take up the matter of MPLS network slowness with the service provider for redressal. In case of Broad band issues where broadband connection has been taken directly by the local office, the local office should take up the matter directly with the local BSNL office.
ii. Slowness can be experienced due to local LAN issues due to any incorrect configurations etc if the LAN equipment like switch, cabling etc has been provided by the local
iii. AIO not switched on and connected daily to the central system for mandatory updates of Windows OS and Anti-Virus. These can be heavy updates, so it is imperative to take these daily. For example, if an AIO is switched on after 2-3 days gap then it will take all the consolidated updates from the Data center due to which the user may experience Keeping the AIO updated on a daily basis will improve the response time of the desktop. The Resident Engineer has been instructed to help facilitate these updates using a local update server, wherever feasible.
iv. Connecting unauthorized network devices such as hubs/ splitters into the LAN will dramatically slow down the system, as these are ‘broadcast’ These must NOT be put on the LAN under any circumstances. The Resident Engineer has been instructed to inspect the LAN and report its health on a daily basis. The ACL Admin of the location should be instructed to inspect the LAN for such unauthorized devices.
v. If the AIO is connected to open Internet while being on LAN, it can lead to slowness. Internet access from LAN desktops should only be through the data center secure Internet proxy server.
vi. No old redeployed PC should be connected into the secure LAN, as such devices may not have authorized OS or Anti-Virus and may be infected with malware and spyware which can considerably slow down the system.
vii. Slowness, especially while generating large reports can also be due to complex queries running concurrently by multiple users. To address this issue, reporting is being streamlined by code optimization by the application team as well as utilization of the second data center for running reports (being done by the application.
The DG Systems team can troubleshoot cases of slowness better if some additional specific details are provided, such as time of the day, any particular application module, whether all users are affected or only some, etc. Then only a specific fix can be applied.
B. Printer connection is not available with AIO
Printers are not part of centrally supplied LAN equipment and have to be provisioned by the local formations. Any printer that supports ‘universal driver’ can be used for printing from the GST application. This has been successfully tested and implemented at multiple locations. Resident Engineers have been instructed to facilitate the same wherever any issue is being faced. In case of any specific problem at a site, the same should be logged with Saksham Seva.
C. The list of TCS personnel deployed in each zone as well as the list of 740 resident engineers for each of the buildings have been separately emailed to the Pr. Chief Commissioners / Pr. DGs / Chief Commissioners / DGs. The same information is also hosted on CBEC web-site.
D. In order to assist the field formations in any difficulty regarding the GST software developed by M/s Wipro and accessed through AIOs, CBEC has requisitioned 111 resources from Wipro. A list of 79 resources who are already deployed in the field with their contact details is enclosed.
E. You are directed to take necessary action with assistance of the H.P resident engineers, Wipro hand holders and ICS escalation resource personnel to ensure early resolution of any related connectivity issues. Responsibility of each of these resources are given in the Annex-A.
Yours faithfully,
(S.K. Panda)
Encl:- 3 Annexures containing list of HP, Wipro & TCS resources, Annex-A responsibilities of HP, Wipro & TCS
Copy to:
1. Chairman, CBEC
2. All Members of CBEC
3. OSD to Finance Secretary
RESPONSIBILITIES OF HP RESIDENT ENGINEERS
- “Be the first point of diagnosis in case of a communication failure. He would establish whether the break down has been caused by failure of patch cord, IO, Cabling, patch panel, mounting cord, switch/port, up link cord, router or BSNL equipment.
- Provide Level 1 (L1) support to on-site LAN equipment related calls. L1 support may be provided remotely, verbal or via telephone or by working hands-on.
- Respond to user service requests for any product supplied by CBEC and for equipment that is redeployed. RE would ensure that ticket is logged with the NISD by CBEC user as soon as any defect occurs. RE would assist users in case of any difficulty in ticket logging process. Work with OEM call center technical support to diagnose and resolve problems.”
RESPONSIBILITIES OF WIPRO HAND HOLDERS
- “They are required to work out issues based on the known-errors and solutions given to them.
- Responsible for providing hand holding support to end user in accessing the application related to department.
- Responsible for guiding users and providing functional support for known issues. Coordinating between CBEC and application team.
- Facilitate departmental User regarding role Mapping and Facility mapping.
- Analysis & Identification of solutions to application related incidents & problems.
- Analyze the gap between application and users expectations and assist users identifying the problems and in raising complaints with the proper authority.
- They are required to escalate all other issues faced by departmental officers while accessing the CBEC GST application to relevant help desks (CBEC Mitra for GST application and Saksham Seva for user access, hardware and network issues).”
RESPONSIBILITIES OF TCS RESOURCES
- “TCS connects are mapped with the GST zones where Chief Commissioners are stationed Meet Chief Commissioner at a regular intervals and update them on the overall progress of LAN at their sites. Take inputs for any support needed for fast tracking LAN implementation and identify gaps if any.
- Inform gaps as identified and informed by zone to central team to help closure of these issues/ gaps.
- Be a point of escalation for CCs or Commissioners for any LAN related issues till the LAN implementation is complete as per satisfaction of CBEC. “
