Working as systems administrator on (> 100) backend (x86-64) servers, in multiple (world-wide) remote Data Centers, running either Solaris or Linux (mostly Debian), supporting the "Cloud Direct" infrastructure, primarily ZFS Storage Appliances & DB (PostgresSQL) / Web (Apache) Servers, that provide Backup as a Service (BaaS) & Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS). Responsibilities include maintaining ZFS storage, operations support (w/rotating on-call), configuration management (via chef), and updating (shell & Perl) scripts (in both git & svn) to simplify the provisioning of new volume space (that front-end systems can then allocate to customers on-demand).

Worked (w/Level 4 Public Trust Security Clearance) on resolution of CVE & other Security findings (SSL Certificates, etc.), via upgrades and/or reconfiguration, for various apps, databases, & other tools, including Apache Cassandra, Tomcat, & Web Server (httpd); Atlassian Bitbucket, Confluence, & Jira; Docker, HAProxy, Java, Jenkins, Jquery, MongoDB, MySQL, nginx, PostgreSQL, Python, Ruby, etc.; mostly on (~100) RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) Servers, but also on some MS Windows Servers. Also involved in configuring (via Ansible) HAProxy and Docker Swarm, as well as monitoring via Prometheus.

Last 5 years w/OEM (Oracle Enterprise Manager) Support, for both (11g) Grid Control & (12cR1 - 13cR4) Cloud Control, as well as Oracle Configuration Manager (OCM) & My Oracle Support (MOS). Issues included Alerts, Credentials, Metrics, Notifications, and Plugins for Cloud, Database, Exadata, Host, Virtualization, & ZFS Storage. Plugins leverage a mix of OS (Bash, ksh, or Power) shell, Perl, & SQL scripts, along with JDBC & REST. Have written 90+ Technical Notes for this area. Prior 4.5 yrs w/Oracle Engineered Systems (ES) Support, primarily for Exadata, but also SuperCluster & ODA (Oracle Database Appliance). Worked w/OEM experts to configure OEM 12c Plugins for ES Discovery & Monitoring, and to trouble-shoot OEM/ES Alerts. Developed several diagnostics scripts for each component (Storage, DB, & InfiniBand Network), as well as a number of Technical Notes. Previous 4 yrs w/Oracle Database Install Support, on all platforms (Windows, Unix, & Linux) except VMS & Z/OS. Developed scripts for totally automating installs on both Windows & *nix OS, and was on Severity 1 sub-team.

Assigned to EMC at Coors Brewery (Golden, CO), on the EDS Datacenter Migration Project (a part of the Molson-Coors merger). This project migrated the existing Datacenters (containing several hundred Unix and Windows servers) of both Coors and Molson, cross-country to a new facility, merging the two operations in the process. Scripted (in sh/awk/sed) the gathering & parsing of EMC "grabs" on all original (Solaris 8/9 & Windows 2000/2003) servers to build a database of current hardware/OS configurations and SAN storage utilization, for use in forecasting EMC storage requirements, both permanent (for the new datacenter) and transient (for the migration process). Researched & wrote a paper detailing & comparing the options for both platform-independent & platform-specific solutions to replication of individual servers on new hardware.

Assigned to Comcast Cable, in the Operational Support Systems (OSS) Maintenance Group, which provides 24x7 coverage for a nation-wide network of 800+ Sun servers that form the infrastructure for Comcast's Cable-TV, Broadband Internet, & VoIP services. Duties included: Software builds of new servers, including OS (Solaris), DB (MySQL), web server (Apache/Tomcat), & various specialized applications for cable modem networks. Scripting (in awk/ksh/perl/SQL) remote monitoring/status reporting of servers. Providing Tier-4 support (including pager rotation) of OSS applications.

Assigned to Dell Enterprise Systems Group, in both the Storage Integration Test Lab and Vendor Partner Lab. Both labs focused on tape hardware, including DDS, DLT,LTO, & Travan form factors. Performed regression tests for functionality & performance of hardware and/or firmware updates to tape drives, autoloaders, & libraries, connected via SCSI or Fibre Channel, to servers running Linux, Netware or Windows. Utilized various backup applications, including CommVault Galaxy, Legato NetWorker, Veritas BackupExec, and Yosemite TapeWare. Setup various servers & tape hardware, installing various OS & Backup software combinations for use by visiting testers from Dell Vendor-Partners to validate new storage products.

Supported a global data center with over 250 servers, NAS appliances & tape libraries, and a 4 TB Fibre SAN. Platforms included HP, Snap, & Guardian NAS, as well as AlphaVMS, HP-UX, Red Hat Linux, SPARC Solaris, & Windows NT/2K/2K3. Responsibilities included backup, email, antivirus, etc. Major projects: Performed emergency recovery of email (MS Exchange) services when both primary (WinNT) servers failed overnight. Restored basic functionality within hours, then built replacement (Win2K) servers within two days. Built new Win2K/SQL Server 2K cluster for remote deployment (offshore manufacturing) to replace local WinNT/SQL Server 7 cluster. Replaced legacy network of 24 analog 3U Keyboard-Video-Mouse (KVM) switches using bulky proprietary cabling with four modern IP-enabled digital 0U KVM switches using CAT-5 cabling. Migrated four Windows FTP servers from different sites to one Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) server, cutting both HW & SW support costs for FTP service by at least 90%. Expanded a local computer-based training system by setting up a distributed network of video servers across five sites with a single web front-end and database back-end, allowing one admin to provide training for all US employees. Assisted in VMware pilot project (using GSX) and rollout (using ESX) of clustered servers hosting dozens of virtual machines. Upgraded backup software (Veritas NetBackup) to major new version for all servers at Colorado site, adding database plug-ins (for Oracle on HP-UX and SQL Server on Win2K), then trained staff at California site in migrating to the same system, standardizing backup across sites.

Reliability Engineer, Firmware Test Development Lab 12/00 – 06/02Served as sysadmin and helped develop low-level SCSI test scripts to validate tape drive firmware. Major projects involved engineering site closure in Massachusetts and travel there to: Transfer support for Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) Certification Testing and Independent Software Vendor (ISV) support to Colorado Springs, and then to Boulder. This consolidated operations while preserving a great deal of corporate engineering knowledge. Recover C++ source code for DLTtools (a suite of SCSI Tape Drive diagnostics utilities), and port it (under version control) to current development & application environments, thus salvaging an important Field Service tool. Systems/Network Administrator, Customer Compatibility Engineering Lab 02/99 – 12/00Assigned to both the CCE Lab and the IS Dept. on a 50-50% time-shared basis, with IS time in turn split between the Systems (Server) and Networks Groups. Major IS projects: Equipped CCE Lab from scratch, starting with 2 empty rooms and ending with a private network (bridged to the company LAN) of several dozen servers and tape libraries testing hundreds of tape drives under every major OS platform. Moved lab to other buildings twice. Successfully tested corporate disaster recovery plan by setting up duplicates (in Colorado) of the servers running global mission-critical 24x7 apps (in California), switching the business operations to the duplicate servers, and then switching back again without disruption. Upgraded network infrastructure for expansion of manufacturing plant in Malaysia by replacing all routers & switches and rewiring all patch panels. Upgrade was completed within three days (60% of the time allocated), including all documentation.

Assigned to MCI in support of their corporate-wide Y2K conversion projects. Installed & configured MS SQL Server and Intersolv’s PVCS tools Version Manager (VM) and Tracker to create & administer source code archives and issue-tracking databases. Developed scripts to automatically base-line application source code in VM for hand-off to Y2K conversion vendors, and create event triggers in associated Tracker databases. Setup and managed FTP sites for all MCI <-> vendor code transfers.

Assigned to the Theatre Battle Management Core System (TBMCS) at Lockheed-Martin, with a Secret security clearance. Installed test labs of Sun and HP UNIX workstations to evaluate various network management tools, including HP OpenView, Bay Networks Optivity, and Cisco CiscoWorks. Developed wrapper scripts for these apps to make their installation/removal conform to Defense Information Infrastructure - Common Operating Environment (DII-COE) requirements.

Assigned to Stanford Telecommunications on the Transponder Access Control System (TACS), a satellite ground station control program. Modified the TACS source code (C and Fortran) on an Alpha VMS system to add support for a new type of monitoring instrument and fix various bugs.

Assigned to a wide range of CSS clients throughout the Pike’s Peak region. Performed both in-shop and field-service trouble-shooting, repairs, upgrades, and new installs of both hardware and software on both stand-alone and networked PCs and peripherals. Installed and repaired both coax and twisted-pair network cables.

Assigned to Quantum Corp., Customer Service Group, as IT support for the SCSI Disk Drive Warranty Repair operations. Installed & maintained all computers and networking, for both office and shop floor, which involved connecting Windows PCs, Macs, and dumb (VT220) terminals to both local VAX/VMS and remote HP-UX systems. Added a Windows NT file/print server and upgraded office PCs to Windows 95. Helped implement 3 client-server process-control programs using Visual Basic and Access.

Assigned to Amoco Research, Applied Mechanics Group. Setup my own development system (a Sun SparcStation IPX with Solaris & SparcWorks) to port 14 engineering analysis programs written in C and Fortran from DOS and VMS to Solaris, converting all graphics output to PostScript and placing all of them under SCCS version control. Added a DAT tape drive to my development SparcStation, joined it to the engineering network, and wrote scripts to schedule daily backups of all of the other engineering workstations.

Joined a small group developing a very high-end project management application (Open Plan), written in dBase, C, & Fortran, which ran on DOS, VMS, UNIX, & Macintosh platforms. Ported the DOS time-analysis & resource-scheduling routines from real to protected mode, increasing capacity by an order of magnitude. Developed a custom CalComp plotter driver, enhanced existing HPGL and PostScript drivers, and wrote FoxPro test scripts for all of the above. Helped upgrade the company network from NetWare 2.15 on ARCnet to NetWare 3.11 on Ethernet. Set up and maintained all of the development tools, including compilers and PVCS version control.

Assigned to Atlas Wireline Division, working on a real-time down-hole acoustic imaging instrument used in exploratory oil well logging and remote-controlled by a surface PC. Responsible for field-testing hardware design changes. Assisted manufacturing in implementing successful changes.

Assigned to Applied ElectroMagnetics Group, Department of Electrical Engineering. Researched computational electromagnetics and field propagation characteristics of microstrip array antennas, using VAXclusters, PCs, Macs, and NeXTstations. Programmed GPIB instruments, taught undergrad EM labs, and administered VMS systems.

Performed Classified (Security Clearance) antenna R & D. Researched electro-magnetic design algorithms for surface-mount millimeter-wave microstrip array antennas. Developed simulation programs (in C and Fortran on VAX/VMS and Unix workstations) to implement and test these algorithms for missile targeting & telemetry antennas.