Cloud, Virtualization & Enterprise Storage Design and Implementation

VMware vSphere architecture, implementation and support for commercial and government clients utilizing best practices for availability, reliability, and performance of compute, network, and storage resources to achieve dense virtualization ratios while maintaining SLAs and surpassing disaster recovery RTO/RPO’s.  Specific experience includes:

• Architecture, design, install, configure VMware Cloud Foundation, ESX, ESXi, within VI3, vSphere 4 and vSphere 5 environments with VirtualCenter management, LabManager, vCloud Director, Consolidated Backup, DRS, HA, DPM, vMotion, NSX, vSAN, vRealize, VMware Aria, VMware Data Recovery, VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM), vCenter Operations Manager, Horizon Workspace, Horizon Mirage, ThinApp and VMware View desktop virtualization infrastructure (VDI).
• Build, configure and deploy VMs and templates. Completed Physical-to-Virtual (P2V), Virtual-to-Virtual (V2V) and Virtual-to-Physical (V2P) migration of Windows NT, 2000, 2003, 2008, and 2012 as well as Linux servers from VMware, Hyper-V, Xen and legacy hardware.
• Architect, Design and implement EMC Clariion (CX, CX3, and CX4) SAN environments to ensure high availability and acceptable performance characteristics for VMware vSphere and SAN-backed applications.  Experience with architecture, implementation and administration of NetApp FAS/V-Series, IBM DS-series, and Dell MD-series storage arrays.
• Hands on experience in iSCSI, NFS, and Fiber Channel protocols, Fiber Channel cabling, switching, and zoning.
• Analyze and troubleshoot on an advanced level, performance of SAN-backed VMware ESX infrastructure to determine proper allocation of resources to a multi-department user population with widely varying needs.
• Customize layer 2 and layer 3 networking between VMware, networking components and storage for high availability and maximum performance.
• Develop, test, and maintain a disaster recovery plan for critical VMs and application data.
• Experience with 3^rd party solutions in VMware environments including Veeam, Zerto, EMC Replication Manager, Symantec, TrendMicro, Liquidware Labs, and Cisco.
• Design and deploy Amazon Web Services, including EC2, S3, CloudFront, Glacier, Auto Scaling, CloudWatch, SES, RDS, Route 53, IAM, and ElastiCache.
• Experienced with Azure, Microsoft 365, and Office 365 architecture, deployment, configuration, and support.

Network Infrastructure Design and Maintenance

Responsible for maintaining IT infrastructure including server hardware, VMware environment, data storage, switching and routing, backups, email, firewall, spam filtering, AV, VPN, mobile devices, VOIP systems, network monitoring, and all Microsoft technologies.

Identified need for and managed data center expansion, including procurement, implementation, and rollout of new physical plant utilizing APC In-Row Cooling; APC Power Distribution (PDU); APC Symmetra UPS; APC InfraStruXure Central; NetBotz environmental monitoring modules.

Server performance analysis and performance tuning, including SQL server workloads running both transactional and analytical data warehouses in an enterprise environment.

Lead design, deployment, and maintenance of a broad range of Microsoft technologies including: Windows Server 2000, 2003, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2016, 2019; Exchange Server 2003 & 2007; SharePoint Server 2003, 2007, 2010; Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004, 2006; SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2008; Windows Server Update Services (WSUS); DNS; WINS; DHCP; Active Directory; Group Policy Design and Implementation; IIS; and Terminal Services Gateway, Remote Desktop Services.

Responsible for design, implementation and maintenance of Dell & HP servers and storage hardware, IBM BladeCenter servers, Cisco routing and Catalyst switching, Cisco PIX & ASA firewalls, Cisco VPN, Symantec Backup Exec, Symantec AntiVirus, Spam and AV filtering, Blackberry Enterprise Server, GFI FaxMaker, SalesForce.com.  Dell Open Manage, HP Insight Manager, What’s Up Gold Network Monitor, ADSIedit, Replmon, Repadmin, DCDiag, NetDiag; Active Directory Sites and Services, Active Directory Users and Computers, Ethereal,  WireShark, PRTG, MRTG, Nagios, Cacti, LANSweeper; SolarWinds IPMonitor; OpManager, Cisco IOS, Cisco PDM/ASDM, Remote Desktop Connection, VNC, ping, tracert, telnet.  Hands on experience with DSL, T1, PRI, POTS, Metro Ethernet, Cisco Unified Communications/Call Manager Business Edition, Avaya IP Office, Fax, & VoIP.

Manage PC and laptop support, implement service desk best practices.  Optimize Windows desktop deployment by leveraging the latest deployment automation technologies from Microsoft.

IT MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE

Restructured geographically diverse IT groups into a global team to increase efficiency and improve customer satisfaction.  Rebuilt team from ground-up, hiring and equipping personnel for the challenges of a rapidly growing infrastructure and increased demands from multiple business units.  Completed interviews, personnel reviews, and salary reviews.

Standardized network management and monitoring tools across the organization to provide real-time alerting leading to greater uptime and increased security.   Drafted and implemented policies and procedures regarding network equipment, maintenance, and monitoring.

Reduced corporate communications costs by 40% through effective vendor management, contract negotiations and convergence of technical solutions.

Developed and managed a $ 1 million budget for global IT department.

Personally led the conversion of an unstructured helpdesk to a global service desk through the implementation of a ticketing system and industry best practices, resulting in increased service levels, reduced resolution time, and tracking of key metrics.  Analyzed metrics to increase service offerings and automate recurring tasks.

Increased security, stability, and recoverability of the corporate network through implementation and ownership of all IT policies including security, backup, disaster recovery planning and compliance.  Served as an advisor to executive staff on information security practices and procedures.

Estimated project costs, prepared project plans and status reports.  Led the development of requisitions, bids, and specifications, and the negotiation, administration, and evaluation of contracts for equipment and services.