Built web hosting infrastructure, including installation and
configuration of network devices and Dell Linux systems, for
Clever Systems LLC, a subsidiary of Jettis, Inc. [2002]
Managed internal systems for Jettis, Inc., including the
primary Oracle database system running Solaris 7 on a Sun
Enterprise 450 server. Designed specifications for 2 SunFire
V880 servers running Solaris 8 which replaced the Enterprise
450 server. Involved in vendor selection of consultant who
performed installation and integration of my specifications.
This system was responsible for processing an estimated $1M+
(US) in credit card transactions daily. [2002]
Performed initial systems and network design for movietickets.com.
[GlobalCenter 2000]
Coordinated initial installation of approximately 1000 1U servers
into the GlobalCenter MDC in Herndon, VA for Google. [2000]
Managed ftp.zdnet.com site generating 300+ Mbps sustained traffic
across redundant F5 BIG-IP load balancers. Managed the 15 custom
Linux servers and 2 NetApp F740 filers comprising the site.
[GlobalCenter 1999-2000]
Managed web site infrastructure, including consulting on system
performance and other aspects, for Nike, Thomson Investor's Network
(a unit of Thomson Financial), TWA, CCH, Ford, ZDNet, Electronic
Arts, eToys, Amtrak, Dole Food Company, Lipton and other enterprise
customers. [Digex/GlobalCenter 1998-2000]
Responsible for performing daily maintenance activities on Digex customer
servers running Solaris 2.6/7/8/9 running on Sun Enterprise/SunFire
hardware and RedHat Advanced Server 2.1 on Compaq hardware. These activities
generally include hardware and software fault resolution (CPU/memory/disk
replacement and reconfiguration within the given volume manager); assorted
scheduled maintenance activities; SSL certificate registration and
installation under Apache or Netscape/iPlanet/SunONE web servers; and other
duties as required. Part of a team responsible for managing Digex internal
systems operations including HR, CRM and database systems running
packaged applications. Responsible for assisting Client Executives
and Technologists in providing support to their customers by providing
customer-specific solutions on issues ranging from disk utilization
to server sizing. Wrote a Perl script
to back out Digex Recommended Patch Clusters in exact reverse order.
Reporting to the Director of CLDC, responsible for managing a student
workforce varying in size from 10 - 30 students across multiple educational
disciplines (computer science, electrical/mechanical/chemical engineering,
electronic studio art, chemistry). Responsible for administrative decisions
and recommendations, including hires/fires and compensation issues. Responsible
for scheduling of students to work in the primary student run lab (consisting
of 20 Dell workstations running Windows XP supported by 2 Dell servers running
Windows Server 2003) as well as assigning students to projects to support the
initiatives of the CLDC. Deployed the in-house NTP/SMTP/DNS server on a Dell
1650 running FreeBSD 4.9 using BIND 9, Exim 4 and NTP 3. Built
the IP Filter firewall
system running on FreeBSD 4.9. Managed network reconfiguration during
spring break 2004 which resulted in a completely segmented network behind the
aforementioned firewall, dividing the internal network into 3
RFC 1918 broadcast domains, increasing the flexibility of the network to
external reconfiguration while not requiring internal reconfiguration.
Responsible for recommendations for hardware and software acquisitions.
Managing the buildout of a 17 node mixed architecture (Pentium 4 and Athlon)
Linux cluster designed to be used to support research in computational fluid
dynamics, computational chemistry and other faculty research interests.
Additionally, installed Solaris 9 and the Sun Studio 11 compiler suite
on a 10-way Sun Enterprise 4500 for use in research activities by the
CLDC Director. Compiled and installed customized builds of
MPICH 1.2.7p1 and
LAM-MPI 7.1.2 using
both the Studio 11 compilers and
GCC 3.4.2 for
use with the Director's applications.
January 2005 - Present: Consultant,
Atmospheric Physics Research Group, Howard University
Responsible for maintaining a Sun V880, a SunBlade 2000 and Ultra 10
workstation, which represent the core computing infrastructure for the
group. Duties include regular preventative maintenance; technical advisory
services; and backup administation of Solstice Backup 6.1.4 Build 562 with
a Sun StorEDGE L9 DLT tape library, including adding tapes to the library,
tape rotation, backup scheduling and other software configuration as
necessary.
Summer 2005 - Present: Technical Advisor, Flux Research Group,
Howard University
Helping the Principal Investigator of the Flux Research Group to
migrate from an aging DEC Alpha workstation to a Dual PowerMac G5.
This includes migration of "mbox" formatted mail files and other
significant applications. Installed an Atto Technology SCSI
interface card into the dual G5 system, which I then connected to
a DEC TZ88 tape drive, using EMC Dantz Retrospect 6.1 to perform
scheduled backups. Compiled, installed and configured Exim 4.60 as
the MTA replacement for Postfix, including reconfiguring the run
control system to take the MTA out from the control of launchd(8).
July 2002-November 2002: Sr. System Engineer,
Jettis, Inc.
Responsible for daily maintenance duties on assorted RedHat Linux 7.{0,1,2,3}
systems. This included web server log file configuration, load balancer
maintenance (load balancers were using IPVS for load balancing and heartbeat
for failover running on custom configured RedHat 7.0 systems), and firewall
management. Also responsible for management of a Sun E450 running Solaris 7
which served as the production database server for Jettis' transaction
processing operations. Responsibilities included server sizing and
developing server specifications, mentoring other members of the team, and
on-call work as required. Managed the monitoring system built around
mon as well as performing
the initial implementation of the new monitoring system based on
NetSaint. Developed specifications
for two Sun V880 servers (including disk layouts and Solaris OS configuration)
which, when implemented, would take over production Oracle database server
duties.
Also involved in the development of a web hosting company (Clever Systems,
LLC) to which Jettis served as the parent company. In this capacity, my
responsibilities included physical installation, system configuration and
maintenance of the hosting infrastructure. Managed DNS services for Larry
Flynt Productions, among other customers. Handled ASN application and
management with the American Registry for
Internet Numbers (ARIN). Built RPMs to allow easier installation and
configuration management for custom configured software packages.
Maintained internal services including DHCP (ISC DHCP), E-mail (Postfix),
DNS (BIND 9), IMAP+SSL (Courier IMAP), Samba, and NFS.
Responsible for shared system administration duties on various RedHat Linux
(6.x,7.x) systems and Sun Ultra 5s and a Sun E450 server running Solaris 2.6,
7 and 8. Also responsible for generating custom Linux kernels from the Linux
kernel sources located at
http://www.kernel.org as required by the Engineering group. As part of
the system administration group, part of an emergency pager rotation schedule.
Building custom software packages for software distribution, primarily RPMs
on RedHat Linux for internal software distribution and use. Designed and
originally implemented the
RedHat Kickstart
system used for automated Linux desktop and server builds. Kickstarted hosts
network boot using a system built upon a combination of TFTP file delivery,
Intel's Preboot
Execution Environment (PXE), and H. Peter Anvin's
PXElinux
bootloader. Implemented and maintained the RDist infrastructure for
approximately 29 Linux and Solaris servers. Developed a custom Linux 2.4.16
kernel based on Sun Cobalt's
2.4.16C5_V kernel. Our software has been developed with emphasis on, and will
be shipped on, Cobalt RAQ XTR systems. Responsible for initial integration work
between Cobalt's Linux distribution and Avamar's custom kernel.
Performed various system administration duties including capacity planning and
performance tuning of server systems (RedHat Linux 7.1 and Solaris 7);
recommending and specifying hardware for internal operations use; vendor
relations with network equipment and network services vendors; documentation
of operational processes; and hardware upgrades as required. Assisted with or
consulted on network implementation projects as needed. Led successful effort
to migrate external DNS and e-mail servers from Exodus to our in-house network.
Led successful effort to migrate network access service from a GlobalCrossing
T-1 circuit to a Broadwing T-1 circuit, including vendor selection.
As a member of the QA group, responsible for writing tests within our Perl-based
testing framework to automate functional tests of our CLI based software
products.
Configured a beige box PC as an Internet router to simulate WAN links between
multiple modules of our product. Configured T-1 and DS-3 point-to-point WAN
connections using FreeBSD 4.x's
dummynet(4) capability to achieve this simulation.
September 1999-November 2000: Implementation Engineer,
GlobalCenter Inc.
As an Implementation Engineer in the Network Engineering group, I was
responsible for ordering, installing and initially configuring Cisco switches
(Catalyst 6509) and routers (12016 GSR) for new MDC builds as well as
performing upgrades of network devices in existing MDCs. Participated in
weekly change management meetings, as necessary, in preparation for network
maintenance activities.
As a team lead, I was responsible for managing 3 TAMs/Sr. TAMs in the course
of their daily duties, including assigning TAMs to new accounts, problem
escalation, and administrative tasks. Performed training in GlobalCenter
process as required. Responsible for participating in MDC design and
construction meetings groups to integrate TAM requirements into new MDC
buildouts.
Also spent 2.5 weeks in London assisting with the turnup of the new TSA
(Technical Service Associate) Group in London. Responsibilities included
training new TSAs on GlobalCenter process and tools, performing pre-sales
consulting and design services, recommending hardware for a training lab and
performing technical interviews for new TSA candidates.
As a Senior Technical Account Manager (TAM), I was responsible for maintaining
client relationships as primary technical contact for 15+ client accounts
serviced by a team of 4 TAMs/Senior TAMs. Responsible for various levels of
support to client systems infrastructure colocated in the GlobalCenter Media
Distribution Center (MDC) in Northern Virginia, ranging from fully managed
solutions to basic colocation services. Responsibilities also include providing
pre-sales support to Account Executives as required; client meetings (including
travel); research and design of technical solutions to client technical
problems; mentoring new TAMs; maintaining relationships and communication with
hardware and software vendors such as F5 Networks, Inc., Alteon WebSystems, and
ArrowPoint Communications. Volunteered to serve on Year 2000 readiness duty for
GlobalCenter Herndon as a member of 4 on-duty TAMs during the Year 2000
rollover. Supported customers with aggregate sustained network egress
throughput of 200-300 Mbps (ZDNet). My customers included
ZDNet,
Google, and
ORIGIN.
Also spent 2.5 months in Anaheim, CA as 1 of 2 TAMs working to light up the new
GlobalCenter MDC in Anaheim. Duties included pre-sales meetings with customers,
design of systems and network architecture for customer sites, creating hardware
and software specifications, and training new TAMs. Installed DHCP and mail
servers for the Anaheim TAM group.
February 1998-September 1999: Technical Account Manager,
Cross-Platform/UNIX Strategic Account Team,
Digex, Inc.
As the Unix Technical Account Manager (TAM) on the Cross Platform Strategic
Account Team (SAT), I was responsible for performing most technical duties on
SAT customer servers as well as developing specifications for new customer
servers as required. Responsible for opening and closing trouble tickets on
dedicated customer technical problems and being the main contact for those
issues. Responsible for interacting with other groups within the company,
including Leased Line Customer Support, UNIX Technical Operations, and
Security Operations to resolve customer issues as needed. Performed customer
site visits and in 24 hour on call pager duties. Responsible for helping to
provide the highest levels of dedicated support to the top revenue generating
customers. Responsible for interviewing candidates for the positions of
Technical Account Manager and Engineering Project Manager. Performed Kerberos
administration duties for the entire Strategic Accounts group (3 groups of
approximately 2 TAMs, 2 Engineering Project Managers, 2 Project Managers and
1 Manager each). My customers included
Thomson Investor's Network and Ford.
As a Platinum Account Engineer from October 1998 until May 1999, I was
responsible for supporting UNIX Platinum customers with all aspects of their
web/e-commerce site management, including capacity planning, performance tuning,
hardware/software upgrades, and aligning information technology resources with
business objectives. Consulted with customers and their developers regarding
the design, installation and maintenance of the customer's Internet presence.
My customers included Nike,
TWA,
Standard & Poors,
Hallmark, and
Anheuser-Busch.
As a Senior UNIX ISA from July 1998 until October 1998, I was responsible for
all the duties of UNIX Internet System Administrators, including
troubleshooting, performance tuning, and proactive maintenance. Paired with
another Senior UNIX Internet System Administrator to service Platinum customers
as dedicated account engineers. In that regard, duties include developing a
personalized knowledge of the customer's hardware/software configuration and
servicing specific customer requests as quickly as possible with the goal of
minimizing server downtime and increasing server efficiency.
As a UNIX Internet System Administrator (ISA) from February 1998 until July
1998, I performed level 2 customer support and troubleshooting on a 450+ system
SunOS/Solaris web server farm. Built customer web servers on Sun Sparc 5,
Ultra Enterprise 1 & 2 and Enterprise x500 server systems. Duties included
server monitoring, proactive troubleshooting and performance tuning.
Available on pager call 24/7/365.