Search this site
Resume of Bryan Venable

bvenable@spif.com

Word document


Skills
  • Over 12 years designing, building and managing a variety of mission-critical production, staging and development systems in hosted and internal environments.
  • Operating systems: Linux (Red Hat 6.x, 7.x, 8.0, 9, RHEL 2.1, 3 and 4), Solaris (2.5.1, 2.6, 7, 8 and 9), VMware ESX 2.5.x, Windows (NT 4.0, 2000 and 2003), HP-UX, AIX, IRIX and OpenBSD
  • Servers
    • Sun Enterprise and Sun Fire
    • HP/Compaq DL series
    • Dell PowerEdge series
    • VMware ESX virtual machines
  • Storage
    • Sun StorEdge 3310, 3510, A5200, A1000, D1000
    • HP/Compaq (including Smart Array Cluster Storage, MSA1000 and EVA5000)
    • EMC Symmetrix 5 series, DMX800, CX200, CX600, FC4500, FC4700, IP4700
    • McDATA Fibre Channel switches from EMC and HP
    • Emulex and JNI HBAs
  • Backups
    • Veritas NetBackup and IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
    • Global distributed environment with hundreds of clients
    • Master and media server platforms: Solaris, Linux and Windows
    • Libraries: SpectraLogic AIT (12k and 64k), Quantum and HP DLT
    • SAN- and direct-attached environments, SCSI and Fibre Channel
    • Shared Storage Option in a multiplatform environment
    • Oracle, MSSQL and Exchange hot backup agent configuration
  • Clustering
    • Veritas
    • Sun
    • Red Hat
  • Databases
    • Oracle versions 10, 9 and 8
    • MySQL 4.x and 5.x
    • Sybase
    • DB2 UDB EEE
    • Standalone and clustered instances, including RAC
  • Application servers: BEA WebLogic, JBoss and Tomcat
  • Web servers: Apache, Sun ONE (iPlanet)
  • Security tools: Tripwire, Entercept, netfilter/iptables, snort, OpenBSD pf
  • Scripting: Bourne (bash/sh), Perl
  • Developer support: GNU gcc, Sun ONE Studio, RCS/CVS, rdist/rsync
  • Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio.



Employment History

Performance Engineer
Applications Engineer
OpSource, 06/07 to present

Analyzing customer applications for performance, scalability and functional issues.

Providing solutions for customer application issues.

Writing findings and recommendations documents.  These include a technical overview of the customer application, suggestions for configuration and code changes based on best practices, a test plan and a future scalability plan.

Working with any languages, frameworks, databases or tools needed, including J2EE Java, .NET C#, ASP, Perl, PHP, JBoss, Tomcat, BEA WebLogic,Oracle, MS SQL, MySQL, JProfiler, Toad,  ANTS Profiler and dotTrace.

Collaborating with other teams to get a full picture of the application environment and any bottlenecks or issues in that environment, including networking (firewalls, load balancers, routers), storage (NAS and SAN), VM administrators and systems administrators.


Linux Team Lead
Purkinje - 08/06 to 06/07

Managing Linux systems administration staff and projects. Assigning responsibilities, developing personnel, training and managing situation response.

Designing, implementing, testing and supporting production application and corporate IT infrastructure.

Working with systems including Dell PowerEdge servers running Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS Linux, EMC Celerra NAS, CLARiiON storage array, Dell AX100 storage array and Sun Netra running Solaris 9.

Managing software such as Oracle database, Apache Tomcat application server, Apache httpd web server, JBoss application server, SupplyScape ePedigree, Postfix mail server, ISC BIND DNS server, VMware Server virtual machine layer, CUPS print server, Chameleon HL7 interface, Cloverleaf interface, SugarCRM, Fedora Directory Server (LDAP), OpenVPN and CIPE VPN.

Integrating and troubleshooting Cisco 6500 and 3750 series switch/routers, Cisco CSS load balancer and SSL accelerators, PIX firewalls and NetScreen firewall/VPN.

Creating disaster recovery plan.

Designing and supporting solutions using Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, IIS and ASP.NET.


Technical Specialist (Unix Systems Administrator)
A.G. Edwards - 11/04 to 08/06

Building and maintaining production server environments, using a variety of software including Red Hat Enterprise Linux, VMware ESX, Solaris, Oracle, Sybase, Informix, Documentum, BEA WebLogic, Tomcat, Apache, Samba, GIM2000, DSTS and Tibco.

Supporting an enterprise test lab, which encompasses research, development, integration and user acceptance environments across a wide range of systems and applications.

Contributing to the research and design phase of a project to expand the enterprise test lab.

Providing support for mission-critical trading system projects, in the form of analysis and troubleshooting.

Supporting enterprise storage optimization project by producing storage allocation and system status reports, managing large software deployments and assisting in the troubleshooting of SAN issues.

Training and mentoring junior systems administrators and helping to promote enhanced teamwork.


Unix Administrator
Wellinx - 03/04 to 11/04

Managing a mixed Linux and Solaris server environment for a medical ASP. Applications include Oracle, Apache, Tomcat, VSI-FAX, CUPS and Java servlets.

Performing upgrade/rebuild of environment while maintaining application availability. Designing new new network topography and application tier configuration. Installing hardware and developing tools and procedures for automated OS and software installation. Working with developers and QA testers to ensure readiness of new systems.

Performing review of systems redundancy and monitoring requirements. Implementing new monitoring system to enhance troubleshooting capabilities and improve uptime.

Designing and implementing new e-mail and groupware system to improve collaboration, provide enhanced remote access and augment content filtering capabilities.

Assisting with network troubleshooting on Cisco equipment.


Systems Engineer
SAVVIS Communications - 03/99 to 03/04

Designing, building and managing mission-critical production, staging and development systems in hosted and internal environments utilizing a wide variety of enterprise-class hardware and software from Sun, HP/Compaq, Veritas, SpectraLogic, BEA, Oracle, IBM, Sybase, Microsoft and many other vendors.

Assisting with the development and implementation of a formal change management process for managed hosting environments.

Training and supervising junior systems engineers and operations personnel.

Design, maintenance, performance analysis, tuning and training related to the IP infrastructure services SAVVIS provides to its customers, such as DNS, SMTP and NNTP. This includes writing scripts, working with internal developers, training customer service and NOC personnel, estimating future resource utilization and both designing and redesigning systems to increase performance and availability.

Working with storage specialists to design and implement storage solutions for internal and customer use. Creating volumes on EMC Symmetrix and

CX arrays and configuring host access to LUNs. Creating fibre channel zones on EMC Connectrix (Brocade) switches. Attaching to LUNs from Linux, Solaris and Windows hosts. Using volume management software to partition space. Creating, growing, shrinking and repairing filesystems on EMC storage. Assisting with EMC hardware failure analysis and vendor management.

Designing, testing and implementing solutions to handle a variety of internal communications and network monitoring tasks.

Communicating with vendors, obtaining quotes, recommending software, hardware and solutions. Writing purchase requests. Obtaining hardware and software for evaluation.

Evaluating server hardware and software as well as network devices including IP load balancers and carrier-grade Ethernet switches.

Training and consulting on DNS, UNIX, TCP/IP networking, Windows and a wide variety of software packages.

Researching, evaluating, recommending and installing DWDM/SONET optical equipment including Nortel and Astral Point systems. Designing and implementing both metropolitan-area and wide-area optical networking solutions.


Director of Technology
Virtual Online University - 06/96 to 03/99

Administrating a Linux server running a MOO communications environment, web sites, a MySQL database backend for web sites, e-mail services and an FTP archive.

Acting as a consultant to the VOU Board of Directors and other VOU faculty and staff on technical matters.

Researching technologies and methods that VOU used to further its online education and training mission.




Consultant/Systems Administrator
The Main Quad/Student Advantage - 06/97 to 03/99

Administrating SGI Challenge S web server. Included performing backups, monitoring system security and performance, updating system and application software, fixing bugs in CGI scripts and programs, managing a small number of user accounts, answering questions about software and hardware, and obtaining quotes for backup media and software.

Managing Linux 1.2.x mail server. Included managing several user accounts, updating system and application software, monitoring system security and performance, answering questions about software and hardware, and improving system reliability and performance by replacing sendmail with qmail.

Obtained quotes for new hardware to further improve reliability and performance.


Consultant/Systems Administrator
Ferrellgas - 12/96 to 06/97

Creating an upgrade package to allow non-technical personnel to install SCO OpenServer 5, custom scripts and applications on one of four different hardware configurations used as point-of-sale database systems.

Key issues in this upgrade included prevening data loss, increasing backup reliability and fixing problems with the menu system that was written in Bourne shell script. BRU was selected a replacement for the existing backup package; this along with poorly written legacy code necessitated extensive rewrites and testing of new backup scripts. Of key importance was making the backup procedure as simple as possible to allow non-technical personnel to perform backups while preventing loss of important customer and sales information.

Problems resulting from differences between SCO OpenServer 5 and the previous version of SCO, incompability between SCO's program for creating and installing duplicate systems from tape, problems with the various old and unreliable tape drives used and other issues required creative solutions. Poor quality of legacy shell script code required extensive debugging and testing.

Creating multiple test systems, including final template systems from which upgrade tape and floppy sets were created.

Traveling to four remote locations to install test version of upgrade. Supporting upgrade and performing on-site hardware and software troubleshooting.

Technical writing of documentation for non-technical personnel to use in performing system upgrades at remote sales locations. Writing a shell script to poll all systems and determine their exact hardware configuration, then creating an MS Access database to manage the information gathered and enable matching of the correct tape format to each site's tape drive type. Generating hundreds of custom floppy and tape labels for upgrade sets using this Access database and the MS Word merge function.

Post-upgrade support: fixing reported bugs in backup and menu scripts, solving problems related to system settings.

Supervising and training the technical support staff. Reviewing problem reports in trouble ticket system and assisting with troubleshooting.


Assistant Systems Administrator
The National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting and Investigative Reporters and Editors, Missouri School of Journalism, University of
Missouri - Columbia - 10/95 to 6/96.

Researching and recommending servers, training laptops, computer-related equipment and software. Obtaining price quotes from various vendors, comparing features and keeping up-to-date on vendor reliability and product quality.

Installing software and hardware for use in the IRE/NICAR offices and for on-the-road training in computer-assisted reporting. Included preparing disk sets with sample data for use in training where the client organization provided workstations and software.

Maintaining relationships with vendors, including arranging licensing agreements for software used in training.

Assisting IRE and NICAR staff in the use of computer and network resources. This included training staff in the use of various operating systems and applications.

Maintaining relationship with the Missouri School of Journalism's J-NET computer and network support staff.

Assisting IRE/NICAR webmaster in the maintenance of the IRE and NICAR Web sites. Also helping to develop new sites for organizations that contracted with NICAR for Web design services, including the New York Association of Black Journalists and the Asian American Journalists Association.

Serving as a consultant to NICAR director Brant Houston in matters related to PC and Macintosh systems, networking and computing in general.


Consultant/Tutor Online Writery, Writing Lab, Learning Center, University of Missouri - Columbia - 01/95 to 01/96.

Administration of the Online Writery's MOO Project, also known as ZooMOO - a networked, text-based virtual reality for educational use.

Creating Web pages for various projects, including ZooMOO and the Writing Lab newsletter.

Tutoring students in composition and providing commentary on drafts sent to the Online Writery e-mail list.

Assisting students with Web authoring and browsing as well as utilizing UNIX, Windows and Macintosh systems, Internet and word processing applications, the ZooMOO system and other information technologies.

Acting in an advisory capacity and assisting with the administration of a new Linux server which houses ZooMOO.


Lab Assistant
Computing Staff, Residential Life, University of Missouri - Columbia - 08/94 to 01/95.

Maintenance of residence hall computer lab on the MU campus consisting of six IBM and six Macintosh workstations, laser printer, NetWare file server and Ethernet LAN with fiber optic connection to the campus backbone.

Assisting students with the use of MacOS, Windows 3.11, DOS, UNIX, word processing and internal applications.

Monitoring student use of workstations.


Educational background:

Attended University of Missouri - Columbia, 1994-1995 majoring in Computer Science

Graduated from Hazelwood East High School, St. Louis County, MO, 1994