Duke Walls
SUMMARY
Over thirty years of IT experience in network administration/design, training, project and personnel management, database design, systems administration, and software development, with exceptional user interface and communication skills.
NETWORKS
Novell (2-5) Cisco routers Win2K3/8/12 Cisco switches 3COM hubs ISDN (64/128)
VOIP MPLS Cabletron hubs Lantastic IBM 3274/3174 CSU/DSUs
LAN Server FOIRL Bay hubs FDDI 16/4 Token Ring F5 Load Balancers
SDLC/SNA T-1s/E1s ARCNET T-3s/DS-3s Frame Relay 10/100/1000Base-T
HARDWARE
Cisco routers: 7507/7513s 3500/3600s 2500/2600s PIX/ASA 525/5520 Local Directors/CSS
Cisco switches: 6000/6500s NX5000/3000 4503/4507s 2900XL/3500XL NetRanger IDS
PCs/Servers: HP servers Various Laptops Dell servers Apple Macs Various PCs
SOFTWARE
NetView Exchange HP OpenView Nessus Nagios ISS Internet Scanner
Veritas Sniffer Pro Win2K3/2K8 CSPM 2/3 MySQL Asterisk
Tivoli ITSM Remedy ARCserve CiscoWorks MS Office Siebel CRM
OPERATING SYSTEMS
Cisco IOS Red Hat Linux NetWare 2-5 vSphere 4/5 Solaris 2.x/8/9/10 CentOS 4/5/6/7
HP-UX Debian Linux Windows 2K3/8 BSD UNIX VMware/ESX 4/5 Apple Mac OS/X
WORK EXPERIENCE
2/20 to 9/22 – Infrastructure Engineer II
ARI Networks/LeadVenture, Cypress, Ca.
6/18 to Present – Consultant
Ellipsis, Yorba Linda, Ca.
Systems engineering and security, DR/BC planning and implementation, user training, and technical writing on a consulting basis for firms in the Los Angeles area and Buffalo, New York
At Acara Solutions/Bureau Veritas/7layers, Inc. in Irvine, Ca.:
10/11 to Present – Consultant
Ellipsis, Yorba Linda, Ca.
Analysis, design, specification, project management, systems engineering and security, DR/BC planning and implementation, user training, and technical writing on a consulting basis for firms in the Los Angeles area and Forth Worth, Texas
At Capital Group Companies/American Funds in Irvine, Ca.:
• Tracked down and remediated obsolete and defunct FTP flows in a complex global security infrastructure.
At Alignment Healthcare/Citizen’s Choice Health Plan in Orange, Ca.:
• Helped build and maintain the company’s physical and VM server infrastructures on Cisco UCS, Nimble Storage, and VMware 5.1/5.5, using tools like Meraki
wireless, Active Directory, SCOM, SolarWinds, SQL Server, and Exchange 2007/2013
• Worked with vendors to find and eliminate network issues, and plan migrations off obsolete equipment and software in favor of newer platforms
At Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) in Torrance, Ca.:
• Helped maintain, update, and improve a 130-plus VM server infrastructure on Cisco UCS, EMC VMX, and VMWare 5.5, using tools like Active Directory, SMS,
Zenoss, SolarWinds, Veeam, SQL Server, and Snort (running on an AD-integrated CentOS 7 Linux server)
• Rebuilt and rebalanced the DAG group on their Exchange 10 on-premise servers in preparation for a hybrid migration to Office 365
At CoreLogic/First American Financial in Santa Ana, California and Dallas, Texas:
• Helped build and manage infrastructure to successfully manage over 14,000 Linux/Unix servers in multiple sites
• Operating systems supported included Solaris 8/9/10, SuSE 9/10/11, Red Hat 3/4/Xen/5/6, and vSphere 3/4 on HP and Dell equipment
• Revamped and consolidated their outmoded documentation, giving an updated, consistent professional look and feel
• Instrumental in two disaster recovery scenarios (NOT drills) and subsequent recovery operations
2/08 to 9/11 – Network Systems Administrator
Specific Media, Inc., Irvine, Ca.
Network/Systems Engineering and vendor management in the Operations group of an Internet-based advertising company
• Helped build the management/build infrastructure to successfully manage over 1,200 CentOS Linux servers worldwide, using tools like Puppet, Asset Tracker (AT), and Subversion with Active Directory integration. Also built JIRA and Confluence servers for global use.
• Monitored servers and infrastructure using Nagios, AlertSite, and Gomez, and successfully interfaced with co-location vendors
• Also built ancillary Windows servers for Tableau, and managed multiple VMware/ESX/vSphere boxes for virtual test/development servers
• Instrumental in move from one hosting vendor to two geographically dispersed vendors with no downtime or lost data
• Managed the OpenVPN and FTP servers, as well as UltraDNS, various wiki devices, and a 110-node Hadoop cluster
10/02 to 2/08 – Consultant
Ellipsis, Yorba Linda, Ca.
Analysis, design, specification, project management, network engineering and security, DR/BC planning and implementation, user training, and technical writing on a consulting basis for several firms in the Los Angeles area and Forth Worth, Texas
At Residential Credit Solutions in Los Angeles and Fort Worth, Texas:
• Modernized and integrated their infrastructure to support VOIP, MPLS, VPNs, VMware, and document imaging, and enabled vendor integration at both sites.
• Introduced open source monitoring tools on Linux servers to cut costs (Snort, Splunk, MRTG, Nessus, Wireshark).
At FEDChex LLC in Irvine:
• Brought their infrastructure and operations into compliance with PCI DSS v1.1 by updating them to Fedora Core 5 Linux, from NT to Windows 2003, performing intrusion testing and monitoring, and writing/implementing over 180 new Policies and Procedures
At Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana:
• Migrated their operations from NT servers and Exchange 5.5 to Windows Server 2003, Exchange 2003, and Ubuntu Linux on existing equipment, saving over $25,000 in upgrades while improving productivity and eliminating security issues throughout the Center
At Cedars/Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles:
• Performed DR/BC planning, intrusion testing and monitoring, Unix/Linux administration, and backup/restoration duties
4/01 to 10/02 – Senior Network Engineer
Action Online Entertainment, Inc., Long Beach, Ca.
Network/Systems Engineering and Project Management in the Operations group of an Internet-based gaming company
• Designed, implemented, and supported a low-latency ultra-secure multi-layer web-based application platform
• Designed/implemented VPN and wireless networks for the home office, Production, Call Center, and regional offices
• Installed CiscoSecure ACS, and modified all routing/switching equipment to authenticate users before providing services
• Monitored for and responded to attacks on our global infrastructure, as reported by PIX firewalls and NetRanger IDS units
• Implemented VLANs and various network monitoring and security tools, including CiscoWorks 2000, CSPM, and MRTG, and monitored vendor implementation of Tivoli Enterprise Console and NetView monitoring suites, and SAMBA on Red Hat Linux
• Helped implement a redundant SAN with Brocade switches, EMC Symmetrix storage, and Veritas backup/volume management
• Installed, configured, and maintained multiple Cisco routers, switches, PIX firewalls, VPN Concentrators, and Content Switches
• Documented networks and tracked changes via Visio drawings, spreadsheets, MS Project, and Word documents
8/98 to 4/01 – Network/Systems Engineer
AdForce, Inc., Costa Mesa, Ca.
Network/Systems Engineering and Project Management in the Operations group of an Internet-based third-party ad serving company
• Installed, configured, and maintained multiple Cisco routers, switches, PIX firewalls, Global Dispatch, and Local Directors
• Worked with Cisco ACLs, VPNs, and PIX security features, and wrote/implemented a corporate security policy
• Upgraded internet infrastructure from 4 to 14 DS3s using BGP4, EIGRP, and ATM protocols/methodologies
• Managed the Internal Systems support group, and expansion/upgrade projects for the Costa Mesa center
• Maintained/upgraded existing and new LAN and WAN links, Northern Telecom voice switches, NT and Unix file servers, workstations, and desktops in the Costa Mesa, Cupertino, Hong Kong, and New York offices
• Instrumental in the installation, maintenance, and upgrade of over 180 Sun UltraSPARC servers (Ultra 5s to 6500s)
• As a backend systems engineer, supported Oracle/Sybase databases, EMC/SAN storage, and Network Appliance NAS
10/97 to 8/98 - Consultant
P. Murphy and Associates, Burbank, Ca.
Network design, implementation, support, modification, monitoring, and upgrade work for Disney Worldwide Services in Anaheim:
3/96 to 10/97 – Network/Systems Engineer
ENGAGE games online, Irvine, Ca.
Implemented and supported multiple Sun web server farms connected via Cisco routers and switches for an online game company
3/95 to 3/96 - Consultant
Farwall Computing, Yorba Linda, Ca.
Network design, implementation, support, modification, help desk/support, and upgrade work for area firms like Frame-n-Lens Optical in Santa Fe Springs, a national optical retailer/manufacturer, and Candle Corporation in Santa Monica, a major third-party software vendor
3/89 to 3/95 – Network Support Engineer
Home Savings of America, Irwindale, Ca.
Increasingly responsible network support and design positions, culminating in the Technology Assessment group and management of a six person Technical Support team responsible for 70-plus Novell servers, 20-plus LAN Server devices, and assorted other systems.
EDUCATION
University of California at Los Angeles
Two years of study towards dual majors in Mass and Interpersonal Communications Studies
Control Data Institute, Anaheim, Ca.
Associate of Science degree in Computer Science
Fullerton College, Fullerton, Ca.
Associate of Arts degree in Radio and Television Broadcasting
SUMMARY
Over thirty years of IT experience in network administration/design, training, project and personnel management, database design, systems administration, and software development, with exceptional user interface and communication skills.
NETWORKS
Novell (2-5) Cisco routers Win2K3/8/12 Cisco switches 3COM hubs ISDN (64/128)
VOIP MPLS Cabletron hubs Lantastic IBM 3274/3174 CSU/DSUs
LAN Server FOIRL Bay hubs FDDI 16/4 Token Ring F5 Load Balancers
SDLC/SNA T-1s/E1s ARCNET T-3s/DS-3s Frame Relay 10/100/1000Base-T
HARDWARE
Cisco routers: 7507/7513s 3500/3600s 2500/2600s PIX/ASA 525/5520 Local Directors/CSS
Cisco switches: 6000/6500s NX5000/3000 4503/4507s 2900XL/3500XL NetRanger IDS
PCs/Servers: HP servers Various Laptops Dell servers Apple Macs Various PCs
SOFTWARE
NetView Exchange HP OpenView Nessus Nagios ISS Internet Scanner
Veritas Sniffer Pro Win2K3/2K8 CSPM 2/3 MySQL Asterisk
Tivoli ITSM Remedy ARCserve CiscoWorks MS Office Siebel CRM
OPERATING SYSTEMS
Cisco IOS Red Hat Linux NetWare 2-5 vSphere 4/5 Solaris 2.x/8/9/10 CentOS 4/5/6/7
HP-UX Debian Linux Windows 2K3/8 BSD UNIX VMware/ESX 4/5 Apple Mac OS/X
WORK EXPERIENCE
2/20 to 9/22 – Infrastructure Engineer II
ARI Networks/LeadVenture, Cypress, Ca.
- Maintained, upgraded, and consolidated their web infrastructure from 7 to 3 regional centers to lower costs
- Updated and standardized Veeam backups at multiple sites across their global network, and implemented AWS cloud backups
- Performed vendor interface and training, including runbooks and other documentation, as well as opening/monitoring vendor support tickets
- Supported operations across 23 acquisitions using tools like Docker, Kubernetes, Elasticsearch, HAProxy, Bash scripting, PowerShell automation, Cockpit, Webmin, Zabbix, MySQL, Postgres, MS SQL Server, WSUS, Bind, WingFTP, Carbon Black, Rapid 7, and Solar Winds
6/18 to Present – Consultant
Ellipsis, Yorba Linda, Ca.
Systems engineering and security, DR/BC planning and implementation, user training, and technical writing on a consulting basis for firms in the Los Angeles area and Buffalo, New York
At Acara Solutions/Bureau Veritas/7layers, Inc. in Irvine, Ca.:
- Remediated and repaired old and failing infrastructure for a standards testing firm. OSes supported included Windows, Linux, Unix, OSX, and Citrix. Replaced LG switches with a modern Cisco stack, and moved their VMs from Hyper-V to VMware running on blades in a Dell VRTX chassis. Updated and upgraded software/hardware as allowed.
- Fixed and updated the company’s physical and VM server infrastructures on HP servers and Ubiquiti wireless access points
- Built a prototype device on the Raspberry Pi platform to transfer, encrypt, and forward data to cloud storage from SSD drives using Python
10/11 to Present – Consultant
Ellipsis, Yorba Linda, Ca.
Analysis, design, specification, project management, systems engineering and security, DR/BC planning and implementation, user training, and technical writing on a consulting basis for firms in the Los Angeles area and Forth Worth, Texas
At Capital Group Companies/American Funds in Irvine, Ca.:
• Tracked down and remediated obsolete and defunct FTP flows in a complex global security infrastructure.
At Alignment Healthcare/Citizen’s Choice Health Plan in Orange, Ca.:
• Helped build and maintain the company’s physical and VM server infrastructures on Cisco UCS, Nimble Storage, and VMware 5.1/5.5, using tools like Meraki
wireless, Active Directory, SCOM, SolarWinds, SQL Server, and Exchange 2007/2013
• Worked with vendors to find and eliminate network issues, and plan migrations off obsolete equipment and software in favor of newer platforms
At Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) in Torrance, Ca.:
• Helped maintain, update, and improve a 130-plus VM server infrastructure on Cisco UCS, EMC VMX, and VMWare 5.5, using tools like Active Directory, SMS,
Zenoss, SolarWinds, Veeam, SQL Server, and Snort (running on an AD-integrated CentOS 7 Linux server)
• Rebuilt and rebalanced the DAG group on their Exchange 10 on-premise servers in preparation for a hybrid migration to Office 365
At CoreLogic/First American Financial in Santa Ana, California and Dallas, Texas:
• Helped build and manage infrastructure to successfully manage over 14,000 Linux/Unix servers in multiple sites
• Operating systems supported included Solaris 8/9/10, SuSE 9/10/11, Red Hat 3/4/Xen/5/6, and vSphere 3/4 on HP and Dell equipment
• Revamped and consolidated their outmoded documentation, giving an updated, consistent professional look and feel
• Instrumental in two disaster recovery scenarios (NOT drills) and subsequent recovery operations
2/08 to 9/11 – Network Systems Administrator
Specific Media, Inc., Irvine, Ca.
Network/Systems Engineering and vendor management in the Operations group of an Internet-based advertising company
• Helped build the management/build infrastructure to successfully manage over 1,200 CentOS Linux servers worldwide, using tools like Puppet, Asset Tracker (AT), and Subversion with Active Directory integration. Also built JIRA and Confluence servers for global use.
• Monitored servers and infrastructure using Nagios, AlertSite, and Gomez, and successfully interfaced with co-location vendors
• Also built ancillary Windows servers for Tableau, and managed multiple VMware/ESX/vSphere boxes for virtual test/development servers
• Instrumental in move from one hosting vendor to two geographically dispersed vendors with no downtime or lost data
• Managed the OpenVPN and FTP servers, as well as UltraDNS, various wiki devices, and a 110-node Hadoop cluster
10/02 to 2/08 – Consultant
Ellipsis, Yorba Linda, Ca.
Analysis, design, specification, project management, network engineering and security, DR/BC planning and implementation, user training, and technical writing on a consulting basis for several firms in the Los Angeles area and Forth Worth, Texas
At Residential Credit Solutions in Los Angeles and Fort Worth, Texas:
• Modernized and integrated their infrastructure to support VOIP, MPLS, VPNs, VMware, and document imaging, and enabled vendor integration at both sites.
• Introduced open source monitoring tools on Linux servers to cut costs (Snort, Splunk, MRTG, Nessus, Wireshark).
At FEDChex LLC in Irvine:
• Brought their infrastructure and operations into compliance with PCI DSS v1.1 by updating them to Fedora Core 5 Linux, from NT to Windows 2003, performing intrusion testing and monitoring, and writing/implementing over 180 new Policies and Procedures
At Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana:
• Migrated their operations from NT servers and Exchange 5.5 to Windows Server 2003, Exchange 2003, and Ubuntu Linux on existing equipment, saving over $25,000 in upgrades while improving productivity and eliminating security issues throughout the Center
At Cedars/Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles:
• Performed DR/BC planning, intrusion testing and monitoring, Unix/Linux administration, and backup/restoration duties
4/01 to 10/02 – Senior Network Engineer
Action Online Entertainment, Inc., Long Beach, Ca.
Network/Systems Engineering and Project Management in the Operations group of an Internet-based gaming company
• Designed, implemented, and supported a low-latency ultra-secure multi-layer web-based application platform
• Designed/implemented VPN and wireless networks for the home office, Production, Call Center, and regional offices
• Installed CiscoSecure ACS, and modified all routing/switching equipment to authenticate users before providing services
• Monitored for and responded to attacks on our global infrastructure, as reported by PIX firewalls and NetRanger IDS units
• Implemented VLANs and various network monitoring and security tools, including CiscoWorks 2000, CSPM, and MRTG, and monitored vendor implementation of Tivoli Enterprise Console and NetView monitoring suites, and SAMBA on Red Hat Linux
• Helped implement a redundant SAN with Brocade switches, EMC Symmetrix storage, and Veritas backup/volume management
• Installed, configured, and maintained multiple Cisco routers, switches, PIX firewalls, VPN Concentrators, and Content Switches
• Documented networks and tracked changes via Visio drawings, spreadsheets, MS Project, and Word documents
8/98 to 4/01 – Network/Systems Engineer
AdForce, Inc., Costa Mesa, Ca.
Network/Systems Engineering and Project Management in the Operations group of an Internet-based third-party ad serving company
• Installed, configured, and maintained multiple Cisco routers, switches, PIX firewalls, Global Dispatch, and Local Directors
• Worked with Cisco ACLs, VPNs, and PIX security features, and wrote/implemented a corporate security policy
• Upgraded internet infrastructure from 4 to 14 DS3s using BGP4, EIGRP, and ATM protocols/methodologies
• Managed the Internal Systems support group, and expansion/upgrade projects for the Costa Mesa center
• Maintained/upgraded existing and new LAN and WAN links, Northern Telecom voice switches, NT and Unix file servers, workstations, and desktops in the Costa Mesa, Cupertino, Hong Kong, and New York offices
• Instrumental in the installation, maintenance, and upgrade of over 180 Sun UltraSPARC servers (Ultra 5s to 6500s)
• As a backend systems engineer, supported Oracle/Sybase databases, EMC/SAN storage, and Network Appliance NAS
10/97 to 8/98 - Consultant
P. Murphy and Associates, Burbank, Ca.
Network design, implementation, support, modification, monitoring, and upgrade work for Disney Worldwide Services in Anaheim:
3/96 to 10/97 – Network/Systems Engineer
ENGAGE games online, Irvine, Ca.
Implemented and supported multiple Sun web server farms connected via Cisco routers and switches for an online game company
3/95 to 3/96 - Consultant
Farwall Computing, Yorba Linda, Ca.
Network design, implementation, support, modification, help desk/support, and upgrade work for area firms like Frame-n-Lens Optical in Santa Fe Springs, a national optical retailer/manufacturer, and Candle Corporation in Santa Monica, a major third-party software vendor
3/89 to 3/95 – Network Support Engineer
Home Savings of America, Irwindale, Ca.
Increasingly responsible network support and design positions, culminating in the Technology Assessment group and management of a six person Technical Support team responsible for 70-plus Novell servers, 20-plus LAN Server devices, and assorted other systems.
EDUCATION
University of California at Los Angeles
Two years of study towards dual majors in Mass and Interpersonal Communications Studies
Control Data Institute, Anaheim, Ca.
Associate of Science degree in Computer Science
Fullerton College, Fullerton, Ca.
Associate of Arts degree in Radio and Television Broadcasting