OBJECTIVES

Interested in adding value to your entire IT infrastructure.

SKILLS

Note: Skills ranking legend: Ranking 1=Beginner level, Ranking 10=Expert level

EXPERIENCE

Arabic Computer Systems, Dhahran/Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia (Aug 2008 to Date)

Linux Support Engineer for High Performance Compute Clusters at Saudi Aramco

• Working in Saudi Aramco as Team Lead for Linux High Performance Computing Cluster Support team from ACS, working in-turn with Aramco's HPCC team, formally known as ENOD.

• Responsible for providing support to Fourteen, 128 nodes Linux HPC clusters, and Two 512 nodes HPC cluster (based on Infiniband), with compute powers in excess of 41 Tera Flops. The 512 nodes clusters are the largest in Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) region.

• Work in close co-ordination with Saudi Aramco HPCC / ECC / ENOD teams and Platform Manage (Formerly Scali Manage), Cluster Vision, Dell and RedHat for HPCC clusters related issues and solutions.

Ora-Tech Systems , Islamabad (Jan 2005 to Nov 2007)

Consultant Databases, Networks and Open-Source Technologies (Last position) June 2006 to date

• Provide consultancy for various on going projects at various clients' sites, on Oracle Database design and implementations, human resource management, and implementation and customization of any Open-Source technology, including, but not limited to: RedHat Enterprise Linux.

• Report to Executive Vice-President for all issues and suggestions.

• Collaborate with branch managers and vice presidents from various departments and suggest and involve in new business opportunities.

• Discuss, and propose methods to administration to improve quality of service and revenue generation.

[Promotion] Assistant Technical Support Manager July 2005 to February 2006

Previous responsibilities added up with the following:

• Guiding and helping the technical support people in deployment of various Oracle and Linux based technologies

• Deployment of technical support resources to various in-house and client side problems

• Conflict resolution at peer and lower / sub-ordinate level

• Collaboration between higher level management and technical support department

• Help design and discuss mile-stones for the organization’s revenue generating strategies.

• Discuss ideas and solutions with clients

• Manage various human and technical resources at clients' side

• Provide consulting and counseling services to junior employees, internees and management trainees.

• Assist in conducting technical interviews for new inductions in the company.

• Report to Technical Support Manager for all issues

Oracle DBA January 2005 to June 2005

Responsible :

• To install configure and tune, various Oracle products for both client side deployments and in-house testing, including, but not limited to: Oracle Databases, Oracle Collaboration Suite, etc.

• To manage various RedHat Enterprise Linux servers running Oracle Databases and provide technical support and training for the same.

• To provide suggestions and solutions in terms of Network, Security and Operating systems, involved in solving clients' problems.

• Provide / conduct Oracle and Linux training when-ever and where-ever required, either in-house or clients' side.

• To implement SonicWall firewalls and deliver training for the same.

• Report to Assistant Technical Support Manager.

PakCyber, Rawalpindi (Aug 2003 to Date)

Remote Linux System Administration (Informal, External Consultant)

• Provide consultancy and remote administration services to design and implement Linux based server solutions for PakCyber, and their clients in Pakistan and USA.

NCR Education Center, Islamabad Jul 2004 to Jul 2005

Trainer: Linux System Administration (Evening)

• Responsible for conducting Linux system administration training to government officials as per announced by Pakistan Computer Bureau (PCB)

K.B. Computers, Islamabad (Morning) June 1995 to Jan 2005

Technical Manager (Last position) January 2003 to January 2005

Responsible for :

• Maintaining Linux based computer network setup in the office. Various services provided by this network are: web services using Apache, Email collaboration through Qmail, Web caching and content control through SQUID, Traffic / bandwidth control using "iptables" firewall, PostgreSQL and MySQL database servers, FTP server, File sharing and printing using Samba.

• Consultancy services for open-source software, particularly RedHat Linux, PERL, Apache, PostgreSQL, SQUID and Network Security and Firewalls.

• Development of open-source software mainly in PERL , PERL (CGI).

• Deployment and management of open-source databases: PostgreSQL and MySQL on Linux platforms.

• Place various technical resources to clients' sites, as needed.

• Attend meetings with clients and resolve any technical queries and issues.

• Look after the company's Linux based computer network.

• Promote Linux and related Open-Source Technologies to clients and assist them in adopting the Linux / Open-source office automation model for their respective offices and IT departments.

• Help programmers and DBAs in software development.

[Promotion] Assistant Technical Manager January 2001 to December 2002

Responsible for :

• Design and implement networks as per customers' requirements.

• Supervise network technicians for correctly and properly implement the solutions to customers' networking requirements.

• Help determine networking equipment for customers' networking needs.

• Assist customers in their database design and software connectivity with their Oracle databases over the network.

[Promotion] Technical Supervisor January 1998 to Dec 2000

Responsible for :

• Supervise the technical staff to perform day to day operations.

• Lead the computer technicians in assembling the computer systems, install required Operating System and supporting software.

• Lead the up-gradation activities of customers' computers.

• Assist network technicians in network cables layout, connector attachments, etc.

• Assist network technicians in installation and configuration of Microsoft Windows NT Server and Workstation operating systems and their various TCP/IP settings.

Hardware and Software Technician June 1995 to December 1997

Responsible for :

• Assemble various components of a PC together.

• Install and configure MS-DOS operating system and Windows environment on PCs.

• Install drivers for various hardware components and peripherals in the PC, e.g. Sound Cards, Modems, Scanners and Printers, etc.

• Trouble-shoot hardware and software issues of customer's PCs, including data recovery operations.

• Train junior resources to be able to perform the same activities outlined above.

Petroman Training Institute, Islamabad Jan 2004 to Apr 2004

Instructor: Software Engineering, Data Communications, RDBMS as visiting faculty member (evening)

Responsible for :

• Delivering lectures and presentations to B.Sc. Computer Science students on Software Engineering, Data Communications, and RDBMS.

• Project assignments and supervision of B.Sc. Computer Science students.

COMWAVE Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad Jul 2002 to May 2004

Trainer: Linux system Administration as part time (evening)

• Responsible for giving training of various Linux System Administration courses to computer professionals.

• Responsible for delivering lectures / conducting labs on “Linux System Administration” to MCS students, for Sarhad University.

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad Aug 2002 to Aug 2003

Trainer as part time / on call (evening)

• Responsible for giving training of “ISP setup with RedHat Linux” to computer professionals.

Preston University, Islamabad, Pakistan Campus Sep 2000 to May 2001

Oracle8 Trainer as visiting faculty member (evening)

• Responsible for giving accelerated Oracle8 Curriculum Training to Executive MS and Executive MBA students using Oracle Developer 2000.

• Responsible for delivering lectures to B.Sc. Computer Science students in Data Structures using C++ implementation.

Petroman Training Institute, Islamabad Aug 2000 to Jan 2001

Oracle8, Visual Basic, C++ Trainer as visiting faculty member (evening)

• Responsible for setting up and maintaining Oracle8 labs following Oracle8 instructor-led lessons.

• Responsible for delivering lectures and presentations to B.Sc. Computer Science students on Oracle8, Data structures with C++ implementation and Visual Basic.

• Also responsible for project assignments and supervision of B.Sc. Computer Science students.

PROJECTS (Latest to oldest)

(The following is the list of five most recent projects I have done. For full list, please check the detailed CV, here)

Project (Migration of a live Shared-Hosting server from Plesk to ISPConfig on a XEN powered Virtual Server, for PakCyber):

• Setup XEN Para-Virtualization VM hosting on one of the newly acquired servers. Created a 64 bit Para-Virtual machine and migrated the hosting services from Plesk to ISPConfig on this new VM. An excellent enterprise-ready option to make the hosting servers / services, highly available.

Hardware: Intel Core 2 Duo servers.

Software: CENTOS 5 as base OS on the servers. XEN. ISPConfig-3 as Hosting Control Panel. Various services running on top of this setup: DNS (BIND), FTP (PureFTPd), Web (Apache), Mail server/SMTP (Postfix), Anti-Spam (SPAM Assassin), Anti-Virus (ClamAV), POP and IMAP (Courier), Database (MySQL), Firewall (IPTables, CSF), etc.

Project (Co-Author and Co-Trainer of HPCC training for Saudi ARAMCO):

• Developed a complete HPCC training material for Aramco HPCC/UNIX/CSYS team members' training, based on real life situations we face at Aramco. Author of about 2/3^rd part of the training material.

• Took part in delivering the training for the training material, mentioned above, to Saudi Aramco HPCC/UNIX/CSYS members.

Hardware: DELL PowerEdge 1950, M600 and M610 Servers, Infiniband, Gbit Ethernet.

Software: RHEL 4.x/5.x, Scali (Platform Manage), Cluster Vision OS, PBS (Portable Batch System), Various cluster tools such as xcat, pdsh, etc.

Project (Platform Manage/Scali training videos for Saudi ARAMCO):

• Created Training Videos about installation and configuration of Platform Manage/Scali on clusters, particularly Dell M600 and M610 blade servers. The training videos are for ACS and Aramco HPCC team's internal training and reference.

Hardware: DELL PowerEdge 1950, M600 and M610 Servers, Infiniband, Gbit Ethernet.

Software: RHEL 4.x/5.x, Scali (Platform Manage), Cluster Vision OS, PBS (Portable Batch System), Various cluster tools such as xcat, pdsh, etc.

Project (High Performance Computing Cluster setup and technical support at Saudi ARAMCO):

• Took part, as lead software engineer, in installation of various Dell-HPC Clusters at Aramco, ranging from 128 nodes to 512 nodes.

• Developed a complete HPCC training material for Aramco HPCC team members' training, based on real life situations we face at Aramco.

• Taking part in a project to centralize entire documentation of all Aramco HPC Clusters into single Wiki style repository.

• Created Training Videos about installation and configuration of Platform Manage/Scali on clusters, particularly Dell M600 and M610 blade servers. The training videos are for Aramco HPCC team's internal training and reference.

• Performed documentation verification / testing of documentation for the latest 512 Infiniband cluster.

Hardware: DELL PowerEdge 1950, M600 and M610 Servers, Infiniband, Gbit Ethernet.

Software: RHEL 4.x/5.x, Scali (Platform Manage), Cluster Vision OS, PBS (Portable Batch System), Various cluster tools such as xcat, pdsh, etc.

Project (High Availability setup in USA):

• Setup a High Availability setup for www.yellowzip.com, in USA, through PakCyber, Rawalpindi. The setup consists of four (4) servers connected to each other over the network in High Availability configuration, and various telecommunications and networking equipment.

Hardware: Dual and Quad-processor Xeon servers

Software: CENTOS 4 as base OS on these servers. Various Linux High Availability technologies : Linux Load Balancers using ldirectord, IPVSadm, Heartbeat, DRBD, etc. The various services running on top of this HA setup: DNS (BIND) running in master/slave mode, FTP (ProFTPd) running in cluster formation, Web (Apache) running in cluster formation, Mail server/SMTP (Qmail) running in cluster formation, Anti-Spam (SPAM Assassin), Anti-Virus (ClamAV), POP and IMAP (Courier) running in cluster formation, Database (MySQL) running in fail-over mode over DRBD, NFS, Firewall (IP Tables), etc.

Project (High Availability Data Center setup in UK):

• Reconfigured the entire High Availability Data Center setup, when it moved from Pakistan to UK, previously running under the name of Smart Communications, now running under the name (and) ownership of Autogateway.co.uk . The setup consists of fourteen (14) servers connected to each other over the network in High Availability configuration, and various telecommunications and networking equipment.

Hardware: Various Dell and Acer servers

Software: CENTOS 4 as base OS on the servers. Various Linux High Availability technologies : Linux Load Balancers using ldirectord, IPVSadm, Heartbeat, DRBD, etc. The various services running on top of this HA setup: DNS (BIND) running in master/slave mode, FTP (ProFTPd), Web (Apache) running in cluster formation, Mail server/SMTP (Qmail) running in cluster formation, Anti-Spam (SPAM Assassin), Anti-Virus (ClamAV), POP and IMAP (Courier) running in cluster formation, Database (MySQL) running in master/slave mode, NFS, Firewall (IP Tables), etc.

PUBLICATIONS AND CBTs

Publication 1:

Authored the book: “Linux Pocket Reference for System Administrators”, which is download-able free of charge, from my website: (http://www.wbitt.com) . First edition went on-line in Oct/Nov 2002. Currently 5th edition is available. Translated in Spanish by Gerardo Diaz from Buenos-Aires, Argentina, and in Portuguese by Rui Correia.

A widely used and appreciated Linux reference book all over the world.

Publication 2:

Developed Pakistan's first (and World's first) free Linux System Administration CBTs in Urdu language. (The mode of communication is in Urdu and the computer interface is in English). An internationally known set of CBTs, popular in the world where-ever Urdu and its dialects are spoken and understood. eg. India, Indian and Pakistani communities in USA, UK, KSA, Canada, Africa, etc.

Best ranking hits on Google, when searched with “linux urdu cbts”.

The CBTs cover: Qmail with AntiSpam and AntiVirus, DNS, Apache, FTP with virtual hosting, Samba, Squid, SquidGuard, MRTG, DHCPD, System troubleshooting, etc.

Other publications, available on-line on my website (http://www.wbitt.com):

• Installing and configuring Oracle 10g R1 and R2 on RedHat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4

• OCS R2 installation and configuration on RedHat Enterprise Linux

• Two node Oracle RAC implementation with Oracle 10g R2 on RedHat Enterprise Linux and IPSAN / ISCSI.

• FreeRadius, PostgreSQL, Windows RAS. A complete proof of concept for an ISP.

• Qmail .... and many others

Publication 3:

Developed World's first free HPCC CBTS in English language, under the title of: "A super computer on every desk!". An internationally known set of CBTs, popular in the world where-ever Beowulf / HPCC /Super-Computers are being setup by professionals and non professionals. (http://www.wbitt.com)

The CBTs cover: Installing an HPCC / Beowulf Cluster on your desktop, using Open-Source Tools, such as Linux, MPI, HPL, etc.

Best ranking hits on Google, when searched with “hpcc cbts”.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION