Realizm

If you are Tier 1 in IT what does that mean?

Mr.Deflok

I believe it's the same as Entry Level/Industry n00b

charliex

Well a tier 1 isp is usually a large scale owner/operator with geo connections at the top of the food chain so to speak, though its not clearly defined.

Tier 1 can often be the highest, not the lowest, but it depends on the area . its like saying Grade A.

Nizzle

Tier 1 = webserver level
Tier 2 = application level
Tier 3 = database

Usually T1 faces the Internet, and forwards requests to the application servers. Application servers use the database. Typically you have a firewall between all 3 levels.

If that's not what you're asking, then I don't know.

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Nizzle

Realizm

Entry Level/Industry n00b that's me. :-)

rogue49

There are different definition as you can see throughout the industry.
You should have to see how they are using it in the context of the sentence.

Mostly I see it used in context of levels of service provided.
And as one issue gets more & more difficult, it gets kicked up a tier.

Leggo

I'm Tier 1...it's basically a newb IT Support Desk. Tier 2, been there longer, and so on with Tier 3. Higher you go, you would theoritically get someone more experienced. Doesn't always happen that way.

rock_bottom

The context I've usually heard it mentioned in ("we are a tier1 ISP") means they have a direct connection to a backbone, such as Digex or UUNet (or whatever they're called nowadays). I guess it gets applied to other stuff, but I'd always thought that was the actual definition.

ratbastid

In the support world, Tier 1 is usually just a speedbump on the road to somebody in Teir 2 who can actually help with your problem. They weed out the "is the computer plugged in?" problems, and bump upstairs anything they can't handle off their script.

frankx

I think it depends upon the company/organization you're working for. In our organization, Tier 1 indicates first level technical support, basically someone who reads standard answers to technical questions from a book.

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Realizm

After ratbastid and frankx's descriptions I have changed my mind. I am not Tier 1. I am Tier 1 and a 1/2. I have no script. :\ Well, I don't even have the job yet!!

Going to be called an "IT Intern."

poof

Good luck on the new job <b>Realizm</>. If you get it, and I am sure you will, know the tiers before this noob calls for help!

jfranco13

Tier-1 almost always means you're the lowest tier. That could be anything from customer service/data entry (taking down names, reading off script, etc) to taking calls on your own as the main analyst, but still having specialists above you that support specific apps.

As descirbed here, probably 70% or more of the tier-1 people tend towards the first type (script monkeys)

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Xirax

My job only has 2 tiers...We've got us in tier 1 that take all incoming requests, and do all which we can.

Anything that completely baffles us we escalate to tier2 who actually has the time to investigate things like that.

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krazykemist

At my company Tier 1 refers to all technicians regardless of term of employment. There are no manuals. This is the basic troubleshooting level. (ie. check settings, account status, run diagnostics).
Tier 2 is the level that a problem is escalated to when it is determined not to be a problem on the users end or beyond the power of a Tier 1 tech. Usually these are the people that are in direct contact with the administrators.
Tier 3 are the administrators themselves who are contacted when it is determined to be a server/DNS/authentication problem.

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Mephisto2

As can be inferred from the answers so far, Tier 1 has at least two differing meanings in the IT industry.

When discussing ISPs or Service Providers (SPs), Tier 1 means one of the major, key players in the global internet backbone. This is not a perfect definition, but you get the idea. A Tier 1 ISP has links directly onto the main peer internet nodes, doesn't buy wholesale bandwidth off other ISPs etc.

In the IT Business or Helpdesk service, Tier 1 is the same as "First Level" support. Usually, support desks have 3 (sometimes more) levels of support. 1st Level is usually the guys who first pick up the phone. They sometimes work from a script or at the start of their career. 2nd Level guys know a lot more and 3rd Level support are generally pretty senior guys with lots of experience and sometimes working in Design or Architecture etc.

Hope this helps explain.

Mr Mephisto

neoinoakleys

I work with the automotive industry...For us, a tier 1 company means that they deal directly with the main company. Sub contracting companies would be tier 2, which are the ones that support the tier 1 companies, and so on...

In IT tier 1 generally means that they are either directly connected to the internet back bone or are a back bone provider.

That has been my experience....

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timesvr

How I can get a list of Tier 1 ISPs?

tcp

Tier 1 network - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Although that list doesn't include all networks that have direct access to backbones, like InterNAP.

Whether dealing with the Internet or IT tech support, tiers don't really mean anything. There's always the middleman on top of the middleman. You just have to know which level is the right one for you , in terms of service.