Lynette Wood Email & Phone Number

Cape Town

I am currently spending the majority of my time mentoring individuals working in the service support centre at TENET where we support the SA NREN network from a technical point of view. Remediation of backbone and last mile client link connectivity issues form the basis of most of the troubleshooting taking place. Quick response to any issue, ensures that the network and our clients have the best possible user experience across all applications. Typical link types are dark and managed fibre, with capacity ranges from 1Gb to 100Gb. These links form the IP/MPLS backbone which is deployed on vendor equipment such as Cisco, Juniper and Alcatel. The backbone extends from South Africa to London and Amsterdam with a wide range of peering and transit interconnection points at various locations, allowing the optimal exchange of data with the greater internet. In addition to the technical aspects, individuals are mentored to provide excellent client service at all times through paying careful attention to the issue/request at hand and providing clear, concise and regular feedback. In addition to leading the service support team, amongst other activities, I am involved in the continual documentation of the network which aids in administration, troubleshooting and planning activities as well as in depth design projects for client connectivity to the network.

Cape Town

This timeframe was spent working as a Senior Network Engineer at TENET on the South African National Research and Education Network (SA NREN), which was created to support the needs of the research and education communities within South Africa, providing clients with connectivity to the world’s research networks as well as commodity internet access. TENET operates the SA NREN Network under the terms of a Collaboration Agreement with the CSIR.Aspects of the position included design, installation, optimization and troubleshooting of the IP/MPLS network, from client last mile to core connectivity, peering and transit, from both a national and international point of view, with a particular passion being network documentation.My tenure in this position also involved the operation of the UbuntuNET Alliance network located throughout Eastern and Southern Africa, who provides connectivity and services in line with those which are provided for SA NREN clients in South Africa.Moreover, I was also involved in the initial design and set up of the initial sites for the SABEN network, which is a non-profit company focused on ending bandwidth poverty among South Africa’s schools and colleges. The SABEN network is built as an overlay on the SA NREN IP/MPLS infrastructure and procures bandwidth and internet services from TENET to provide improved capacity bandwidth for schools, networks and colleges.

Cape Town

Provided network engineering installation, optimization, troubleshooting and design skills on the I.S. IP/MPLS core network as well as support and design escalation services to I.S. MPLS VPN customer engineers and solutions architects. o Ensure 100% availability for all services relying on the IS core infrastructure.o Provide final level of escalation for network related issues. Respond to major network incidents, perform remedial action and implement workarounds/permanent solutions where required. o Manage 3rd level core, client and IS vendor escalations swiftly and professionally.o Manage delivery projects and conduct studies related to the IS core network upgrades, expansion, re-design, standards alignment or improvement plans as and when required.o Create and review key network documents and processes. Work as part of the infrastructure team and ensure IS defined standards are adhered to, as well as, ensure documentation and project related work is kept up to date. When required, provide/request feedback from fellow engineers on project related work and adds/moves and changes to IS core infrastructure.o Work with IS top tier clients to ensure successful delivery of complex network related requirements as and when required.o Keep abreast of latest technologies in the Service Provider space relevant to the Infrastructure teams’ delivery to the IS business.

Cape Town

Assisted in a Senior Network Engineering capacity to initiate a Rapid Response support desk allowing specialized / differentiated service to the I.S. Cape Town top tier client base. The role involved providing lead engineering skills in the areas of complex MPLS L3 VPN BGP design, setup and support / Voice over IS [VoIS] rollouts and general client day-to-day support.

Cape Town

Worked as a MPLS L3 VPN Client Installation Engineer in the IS Cape Town Operations Department. The position involved the design, deployment and the initial support phases for various small and large client VPN networks.

Johannesburg

The position encompassed working for IBM in their Network Connectivity Business Unit with a focus on specializing in Cisco routing and switching solutions for clients. This required attending and completing several Cisco courses and exams, in keeping with IBM’s endeavours to become a Cisco Gold Partner, as part of a wider plan to attract and grow the IBM networking business. Duties in this position included:o Client product and services proposal preparation [including RFP/Tender response]o Developing and presenting solutions to clientso Analysing client requirements and estimating scopes of efforto Product support and installationo Interfacing with client staff/executives, subcontractors and vendorso Providing project documentationo Providing technical guidance to project team members, clients and sales teams in the areas of routing and switching, IP Telephony and wirelesso Assisting with closing/supporting the sale from a technology point of view