Carl Johnston Email & Phone Number

London, United Kingdom

A fully remote contract role, helping the Infrastructure Services team steer through the current COVID-19 crisis.

London, United Kingdom

iCardi Ltd offers AWS and VMware certified IT services, with over 20 years of experience planning, implementing and supporting business critical infrastructure and applications for major public and private sector clients. Core specialities include Cloud Architecture, VMware Virtualisation, Windows and Linux Server OS, Active Directory and SAN storage technology.

Knarseborough

Short term consultancy with a remit to accelerate business change and drive audit compliance.Skills and technologies used and developed in this position:• Implementation, documentation and support of Azure AD certificate based secure key authentication• Formulation of Microsoft Intune device compliance and configuration policies• Support of Microsoft Azure, including Virtual Machines, Networking, Storage Accounts and Azure Active Directory• Support and configuration of Azure AD Connect• Management, troubleshooting and maintenance of VMware vSphere v6.7, Veeam backup and replication and Cisco HyperFlex infrastructure• Migration of Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controllers to Windows Server 2019, including Domain and Forest functional level upgrade• Migration of remaining Windows 2008 and SQL 2008 servers to Windows Server 2019• POC implementation of Solarwinds Patch Manager, the strength of which led to a 500 node purchase

London, United Kingdom

Project delivery, change management and BAU provision for a global asset management company. Skills and technologies used and developed in this position:• Management, troubleshooting and maintenance of VMware vSphere v6.5 infrastructure, incorporating Development, Pre-Production, Production and DMZ environments• HP BladeSystem c7000 G3 enclosure configuration and management• HP DL and BL Gen9 / Gen10 server hardware configuration, management and SPP maintenance• HP SIM and HP OneView alerting, configuration and reporting• Windows Server 2016 Operating System Deployment using WDS and VMware templates• Microsoft Active Directory administration and maintenance, including Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, DFS and ADFS• RedHat Enterprise Linux 7.6 installation, management and maintenance• Widows Server patching via SCCM• Quest Recovery Manager• Insight Issuing CA management (SHA2)• FSMLabs TimeKeeper installation and maintenance (high accuracy time synchronisation for MiFID II LFT compliance)• Qualys vulnerability management• Varonis data analysis, management and security• LogRhythm Security Information and Event Management• Lead analyst for McAfee ePO Endpoint Protection• Team project lead for Windows 2008 and SQL Server 2008 decommissioning• Responsible for high level daily infrastructure checks

London, United Kingdom

Specialist project delivery and change management for a multi-national provider of online trading services.Skills and technologies used and developed in this position:• VMware vSphere v5.5 / v6.5, vCenter Server and Orchestrator Workflows• VMWare vROPS for monitoring, troubleshooting and capacity planning• AWS best practice architectural design, implementation and support – working alongside DevOps to implement CI/CD Infrastructure provisioning and improve agile DevOps culture• P2V / V2V migrations, mainly utilising VMware Converter• HP 3PAR StoreServ 7400c / 8450 SAN support, including Host Management, Storage Provisioning, Remote Copy, Adaptive Optimisation, QoS and performance analysis via HP System Reporter• HP BladeSystem c7000 G3 enclosures with Virtual Connect FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Modules and DDR2 OA• HP DL and BL Gen9 server hardware• HP Cluster Extension Software (CLX) and HP Peer Persistence configurations• Cisco MDS 9000 SAN Fabric Switches• Brocade 6520 SAN Fabric Switches• Microsoft Active Directory, including Group Policy, DNS, DHCP and DFS• Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, with Skype integration• Email security and filtering using Mimecast and Cisco IronPort (C170) Security Appliances• Office 365 / Azure, with AD synchronisation• AWS architectural design, implementation and support• Windows Server Operating System Deployment using PXE and SCCM 2012• Linux CentOS 7 with Ansible automated configuration• Citrix XenDesktop 7.7, including gold image maintenance, PVS and VMware App Volumes• HP DataProtector Backup• HP SIM and Solarwinds Infrastructure Monitoring• Cylance Endpoint Protection• Kanban / Jira Release Management and Sprint Planning

London, United Kingdom

Specialist consultancy provision during an extensive IP renumbering project, across several geographic locations. The project scope included information gathering, planning, change management, implementation and testing considerations and required expertise in the following areas of technology:• VMware vSphere 5.1 (including Veeam 7 / 8)• EMC VNX 5500 SAN Storage• NetApp FAS3040 Filer SAN Storage• HP c7000 G2 Blade Enclosures and ProLiant Server Blades• HP ProLiant DL Series Servers• Citrix XenDesktop 7.0• Microsoft App-V v5• Novell ZENworks• Symantec Netbackup 7.7• Windows Server 2008 and 2012 OS (plus decommissioning of legacy server OS)• SLES, CentOS and RHEL Linux OS• Microsoft Active Directory, DNS and DHCP• Microsoft Exchange Server 2010• BlackBerry Enterprise Server 10• Cherwell CSM

London, United Kingdom

Third line consultancy and project delivery for a London based FTSE 100 Investment Management Company.Skills and technologies used and developed in this position:• Management and support of Exchange Server 2010, including Lync Server 2010, Symantec Enterprise Vault 10, Symantec Email.cloud security (formerly MessageLabs) and associated Active Directory domain• Installation, management and support of Production Citrix XenApp 4.5 / 5.0 / 6.0 infrastructure, including published applications and desktops, hosted by physical servers and VMware / XenServer virtual server environments• Working alongside a Citrix consultant, I assisted in a complete review of the XenApp 5.0 and 6.0 farm environments and implemented recommended updates and enhancements under strict change control procedures• Involvement in the proof of concept build, deployment and testing of Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and Microsoft App-V, utilising Wyse and HP thin clients• Support of Citrix delivered business critical applications such as Charles River and Code Red• Full migration from Symantec Endpoint Protection 11 to Symantec Endpoint Protection 12• Production of technical architecture diagrams and infrastructure documentation

Leeds, United Kingdom

Contract to provide project driven support, maintenance and development of production infrastructure, requiring 24 hour availability.Skills and technologies used and developed in this position:• Support and maintenance of VCE Vblock System 320 infrastructure• Enterprise level planning, procurement and implementation of Symantec NetBackup 7.5, consisting of four NetBackup 5220 appliances with 80TB of storage• Planning and implementation of 2 x two node Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover SQL Clusters, with FC attached DAS storage• Implementation of two IBM N3300 NAS Filers (Data ONTAP) and migration of existing windows based NAS data, with zero business impact• Maintenance of two IBM DS4800 SANs, located at separate data centres, including a critical firmware update project performed under tight change management guidelines.• SAN LUN presentation via Brocade 2498-24E fibre channel switches.• Review, provide recommendations and implement changes to existing BlackBerry Enterprise Servers, including automated failover and policy management.• Provide recommendations and implement a regular patch schedule for VMware ESX / ESXi hosts.• Provide management information for the entire VMware estate via automated Powershell / PowerCLI scripts.• Production of infrastructure diagrams and policy documentation.

Leeds, United Kingdom

Short term contract to provide third line server and specialist application support. Skills and technologies used and developed in this position: • Compilation and linking of Informix 4GL code using Kornshell, to enable the application of hot fixes for the Elite billing system. • Support, monitoring and maintenance of an Enterprise Server environment, incorporating Development, Test, Training, DR and Live platforms. • Installation and upgrade of applications hosted by Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 FP1.

Manchester, United Kingdom

The provision of short term operational cover for the Global Network Architect and Systems Administrator, during a US company acquisition.Skills and technologies used and developed in this position:• Management and support of the network, server and storage infrastructure, in a Cisco\HP environment, set within an ITIL framework.• Administration of SCOM, SCCM, SCSM, SCVMM, Active Directory, Exchange, OCS and BlackBerry Enterprise Server.• Maintenance and support of a Hyper-V based virtual environment utilising LeftHand SAN storage.

A six month contract role involving the planning, implementation and documentation of several business critical projects.Skills and technologies used and developed in this position:• BlackBerry Enterprise Server v5.0.3 implementation; including BAS single sign-on, user migration, policy management, Microsoft Lync (Enterprise IM) integration, remote file access, application deployment and Web Desktop• Implementation of WSUS 3.0 SP2, including several downstream servers for local update deployment at remote sites and with automated reporting capabilities• Full review of the existing Symantec Endpoint Protection product suite, comparing solutions by other vendors, including pure whitelisting products and which culminated in the upgrade of Symantec Endpoint Protection 11 to version 12.1. Automated client deployment and upgrade via Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager and Active Directory Group Policy• Administration and deployment of virtual machines in a 13 node VMware 4.x environment, including Management Information Systems which have introduced better analysis, reporting and cost saving capabilities for the business• Management of HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosures via HP Onboard Administrator, plus installation, configuration and management of HP Proliant BL series server blades and DL series servers, including Windows Server 2008 R2 physical servers and VMWare ESXi 4.1 virtual hosts• Maintenance of HP StorageWorks EVA 6000 and Hitachi AMS2100 SANs, including storage presentation and data protection via FalconStor IPStor NSS

Leeds, United Kingdom

The planning, procurement, implementation, maintenance and support of a large Windows Server environment, based at multiple geographical locations. This included four separate Active Directory Domains, a mixture of physical and virtual Windows installations, SAN, DAS and NAS storage solutions and a comprehensive range of server applications, including SQL Server, ISS, SharePoint, Terminal Server, WSUS, McAfee ePO and Symantec Backup Exec.Skills and technologies used and developed in this position:• Administration of a 4 node VMware vSphere DRS Cluster used as a production environment• Administration of a 5 node VMware vSphere DRS Cluster used as a development environment• Deployment and support of x86 and x64, physical and virtual Windows Server environments• Management of a fully resilient Cisco Network Infrastructure, incorporating experience of VLANs, Routing and Spanning Tree technologies• Management of a segregated Cisco based iSCSI fabric network, dedicated to SAN storage traffic• Administration of two EMC CX4-120 SANs separated for use in each of the production and development environments• Configuration and management of four separate Active Directory Domains, including NTFS permissions, file services, DNS and Group Policy (incorporating Visual Basic for scripting), with approximately 6,000 user objects and groups• Management and support of a development “Pilot” system for SharePoint 2007 application testing, using Hyper-V technology on a Windows Server 2008 platform• Maintenance of Cisco ASA-5510 adaptive security appliances for network security• Management of remote access provision via Juniper secure access SSL VPN appliances and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services (formerly Terminal Services)• Providing second line support assistance to the Desktop Administrators where necessary, including small projects, voice and data patching etc

The Department of Heath formed the UKCRN in early 2005 and I was recruited to develop the requirement for self sufficient network authentication, file storage, backup, database and web services. I also provided technical assistance to all members of staff and managed the purchase and support of all hardware, software and peripheral devices.Skills and technologies used and developed in this position:• Design and implementation of a single Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Domain and File Server• Migration of data and permissions from Novell Netware 4.11 file storage to the new environment• Active Directory Domain user and group management, including login scripts and NTFS permissions• Design and implementation of a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery plan, using Veritas Backup Exec software• Implementation, support and maintenance of a multi-server platform to host the organisation’s Clinical Research Portfolio and Accrual system and its public facing website, incorporating hardware firewall and UPS technologies• Implementation and management of McAfee ePO server and WSUS• First, second and third line support of all server, desktop, laptop, printer and peripheral hardware and software, including voice and data networks and patch management• Project management of two organisational moves to new premises, both of which were fully completed over a single weekend

Technical support and development of a dynamic Clinical Research and Medical Oncology environment.Skills and technologies used and developed in this position:• Management and support of Novell Netware 3.12 and 4.11 environments• Management and support of Windows NT 4.0 server and Windows Server 2000, which hosted business critical clinical applications such as Chemotherapy prescribing and patient notes• The design, implementation, maintenance and support of a Microsoft Word based Medical Secretary System• Server, desktop, laptop and peripheral hardware development, upgrade, fault diagnosis and problem resolution• Desktop software support of a Windows XP environment, including applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook in an Exchange environment and Internet browser technologies

As above, prior to internal promotion.

First and second line IM&T support duties, including Windows desktop operating systems and applications such as Microsoft Office.

Hnc, Computing

HNC Computing

Hnd, Business And Finance

BTEC National Diploma in Business and Finance