Customer Service

There are four questions from Customer Service and seven questions from Technical Tasks.

You can use “open book”. This means you may use whatever resources you have at your disposal, including the Internet, to research your answers. Please be mindful to avoid simply pasting an answer. Answering in your own words shows us include screenshots – how to do it in steps.

Customer Service Questions

1. Aside from Ubuntu please name two or more products Canonical provides to customers. For each product, provide a brief explanation about what they are and how a customer would go about to install it.

2. A user is looking to purchase a new laptop for work, with the hopes of installing Ubuntu on it. What recommendations and guidance would you give for a non-technical user?
   1. Suppose that that user wishes to install Ubuntu onto a new Macbook, what sort of considerations should be taken?

3. A user has been newly hired to the company, is a non-technical user, and is concerned about computer security. What sort of best practices would you recommend for keeping their information secure?

4. A non-technical user is unfamiliar with ubuntu but wanting to try it out before installing it onto their computer. What methods would you recommend for testing it out? Would these methods be the same for Windows and Mac? If not, describe different options

Technical Tasks and Questions

Please read these instructions carefully. There are no trick questions, but the subtleties matter.

All of these scenarios should be completable within Ubuntu 20.04 (unless otherwise specified such as Mac or Windows).

Please answer each question in your own words, using your own experience:

1. A user has installed Ubuntu and is experiencing issues with their audio. They are able to get audio through their USB headset, however not through built-in speakers, and their microphone is not working. What troubleshooting steps would you recommend? Write out your answers as if sharing them with a non-technical user.

2. A user is experiencing a kernel panic. Your job while handling the case is:
   1. Explain to the user what a kernel panic is and what are the most common causes of kernel panics.
   2. Provide the user with steps to debug/collect data for further debugging in such an event. You expect the user to send back the data you requested so you can analyze it and provide feedback.
   3. Bonus question: Is it possible to trigger a kernel panic on purpose? Why would you do so?

3. A user is looking to install Ubuntu for the first time, and would like to dual-boot Ubuntu on their Windows laptop:
   1. Provide the user with steps to complete the operation from start to finish (assume no prior Linux or extensive technical experience).
   2. How would you assist them remotely if they experienced issues?

4. A non-technical user is looking to learn more about Kubernetes to assist in their sales or marketing role, however they do not have Ubuntu installed on their laptop and are using a Mac.
   1. Provide the user with a brief introduction to Kubernetes to answer their basic questions.
   2. Walk them through the steps of installing Multipass on their Mac, and installing MicroK8s.

5. A user is temporarily in a cast and has little to no mobility within their right hand.
   1. What accessibility features are available within Ubuntu that might assist them with typing during this time?
   2. How would you enable them?
   3. What instructions would you provide for the user on utilizing these tools?

6. Using command line tools in Ubuntu, describe the steps and commands you would use to troubleshoot the following scenarios.
   1. A user has recently moved from London UK to Austin TX, and they would like to update the timezone on their Ubuntu server. What command(s) would you use to set current timezone to Central Standard time?
   2. A user is experiencing frequent freezes on their laptop and is uncertain of the cause. What command(s) would you use to investigate the CPU and RAM utilization to narrow down potential causes?
   3. A user is wondering what printers are available for printing from their workstation. Which command and option could be used to determine this?
   4. A user is having difficulty accessing the local wifi, what command(s) can be used to list the network adapters present in the system? What command(s) might you use to get more information about the wireless interface?
      1. It turns out that the wireless adapter had been disabled either by the user or the operating system. How can this be re-enabled via the command line?
   5. How would you scan for available wifi networks using Network Manager command line?
      1. How would you connect to one of these networks?
   6. To troubleshoot a DNS issue, what command would you run to see details about the uplink DNS servers currently in use?

7. In Ubuntu, within which directory(s) would you find the following requested information?
   1. Configuration files for network printers
   2. Configuration files for SSH clients
   3. Error logs for activities related to cron jobs, failed login attempts, and other authentication processes.
   4. The X server configuration files
   5. DNS configuration (specify file as well as directory)