John Beno, BS, MCSE, MCP+I, CUA

Little Elm, Texas * johnbeno@msn.com * 214-450-1689

MCP Number: 457561

LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbeno

Professional Objective

Solution oriented problem solver experienced as both a technical and development resource with a BS in Information Technology, multiple industry certifications (MCSE, MCP+I, and CUA), and over fifteen years as an IT professional providing implementation, integration, and migration solutions; network and systems security; application development and scripting using HTML, VBScript, and Visual Basic .NET; process improvement; network, system, and application design; network and systems administration; long-term planning, business cases, and business continuity; project management; leadership and supervisor skills; and ability to tackle and analyze complex problems regardless of the technology and platform and able to render assistance in providing solutions and troubleshooting; is seeking new challenges, new responsibilities, and a firm to provide the challenges to grow my professional career to the next level.

Technical Skills

· Microsoft: Windows 3.1x/9x/ME/XP, Windows NT 4.0/2000/2003 Server; Active Directory; Group Policies; Exchange 4.0/5.0/5.5/2000 Server; SQL 6.5/7.0/2000/2005 Server; SMS 2.0 Server; SharePoint Portal; Windows Management Interface; DHCP; WINS; DNS; Remote Access; Routing and Remote Access Server; SMTP; Visual Studio 2000/2003/2005/2008; Visual Source Safe; Office 97/2000/XP/2003/2007; Visio 5.0/2000/XP/2003; Project 97/2000/XP/2003; FrontPage 98/2000/XP/2003

· Programming: VBScript, Visual Basic 6; Visual Basic .NET, Visual Basic for Applications, DOS Batch, HTML, JavaScript, Java, Pascal

· Web Engines: IIS 3.0/4.0/5.0/6.0 Server, Apache 2.x, Tomcat 5.x, JBoss 4.x

· Protocols: TCP/IP, NetBIOS, IPX/SPX, ARP, LDAP, LPR, POP3, SFTP, FTP, SSH, SSL, HTTP/HTTPS

· Monitoring Software: Computer Associates Unicenter 2.1/2.2/2.4/3.0; Solarwinds; What’s Up; Network Monitor; Network Associates SnifferPro;

· Firewalls: Checkpoint, CISCO PIX, Axent Raptor

· Network Technologies: Port Blocking, Port Redirection, Port Filtering, IP Routing, IP Forwarding, MAC Routing, Virtual Private Networking, Network Address Translation, Modulation/Demodulation, Proxy and Reverse Proxy, Load-Balancing, High Availability, IPSEC

· Other Software: IBM Client Access, iSeries OS/400, DNS Bind 9, ArcServe, IBM MQSeries, IBM Websphere MQ, Onyx Customer Center

· Technologies: .NET Framework; Advanced Troubleshooting; Application Architecture, Design, and Development; Automation; Business Analysis; Client/Server Architecture; Conceptual Design; Desktop Management; Disaster Recovery; Distributed System Design; Implementation and Administration; Internet Technologies; Java Virtual Machine; Modular Program Design; Multi-Tiered Application Architecture; Network and System Design and Security; Network Attached Storage; Network and System Management; Object Oriented Programming; Project Management; Scripting Technologies; SDLC Processes; Solution Lead; Storage Area Networks; System Architect; Team Lead; Technical Writing; Virtualization; Web Design; Web Server Farms; Web Server Management; Web Services

Publications

'Relocating Your IIS Default Installation Folders,' Windows Web Solutions Magazine, September 2002

Professional Experience

TEKSystems (September 2009 – October 2009)

Consultant

• Provided technical assistance in the move of their current production web sites from one data provider to another which consisted of:
• Moving several databases between SQL 2003 and SQL 2005 to include migrating SQL user accounts, data base permissions, and all data to the production cluster SQL solution and the new staging server
• Moving the .NET framework configuration from the old web server to the new web servers and configuring the systems for the load-balancer
• Moving over 7 sites from the existing system to the two new production servers web servers and the staging server
• Configuration of IIS and the application pools for all the sites in addition to the modification of the site IP scheme, DNS settings, and site topology from a single web server setup to a load-balanced multiple server configuration
• Transfer for all the associated applications, security settings, and system certificates
• Provided explicit setup instructions for the load-balancer configuration that the new provider was implementing as well as specific DNS settings necessary to ensure that it would function correctly
• Performed an upgrade of the operating system on the production Team Foundation Server in order to resolve an issue that would impact production
• Researched and planned the necessary tasks and steps necessary to split the Team Foundation Server from a single server configuration to a multiple server setup with the database residing on a different system

Vertex Business Services (formerly Alliance Data Utility Services) (July 2007 – August 2009)

Systems Engineer

• Working in the capacity of a solutions architect, prepared a business case that evaluated the costs between outsourcing company email versus bring the solution in-house and found that the company would save $150,000 over five years by implementing an internal Microsoft Exchange 2007 setup using SAN plus the solution would provide encryption, a PCI compliance requirement, and provide expandability in the future for integration into SharePoint Server, Project Server, and VOIP system
• Under extremely short delivery coordinated the efforts of the VMWare, Backup, Monitoring, Network Engineering, and Change Management Teams to decommission 21 virtual servers in less than three days
• Coordinated with business continuity team to identify key components for client disaster recovery tests including identifying gaps, providing detailed instructions for key systems, and process flow charts for event management and performed a successful disaster recovery scenario with less than 30 days notice
• Identified a key migration path for all of the Active Directory components and systems that would enable the company to move their systems from one Active Directory domain to another and from one Data Center to another without impacting the systems and clients thus saving hundreds of hours of programming, configuration, and setup that would have occurred otherwise
• Created a VBScript that connected to remote systems to gather specific software installation information and pull it back into a text document that could then be parsed into an Excel Spreadsheet to correctly identify all installed software on all servers as part of an internal audit
• Created a VBScript that gathered all of the system information regarding hardware resources on remote systems as part of an audit of physical systems identified to transfer as part of the sale

Alliance Data Systems (formerly Orcom Solutions) (July 2004 – July 2007)

Web Server Administrator, Senior Analyst

• As the primary web engineer for the Utilities Services Division, provided advice, technical guidance, and project leadership for all web projects including projects where there was another resource
• Due to the nature of the Utilities Service Division it was often necessary to implement new software without prior training or experience as was the case with the GNG project and the use of JBoss in a multiple tier web application
• Often assisted developers with troubleshooting applications as was the case with the First Choice Power application where the allocation of resources caused performance issues with the site in which a temporary solution was used for over a year before the issue could be resolved and resources allocated
• Assume the technical leadership of the First Choice Power project at a time when the project deadline was expected to be missed and heavy financial penalties would have been assessed against the company and managed to complete 90% of the project on time enabling the business and client to meet the designated date
• Implemented the Direct Energy phase one web-based Peace solution on time and exceeding expectations while facing tremendous barriers to completion due to application and project issues and was able to exceed the deliverables by adding a disaster recovery site
• Implemented the new Online Custom Care application for Georgia Natural Gas within 45 days complete with hot-swap and disaster recovery server despite numerous issues meeting the clients go-live date
• Was able to handle all of the projects and day-to-day tasks, along with all of the various emergencies and long work weeks and work hours while still attending night school and completing both my Associates Degree and Bachelor’s Degree with a 3.57 and 3.63 GPA respectfully during this time in just three years
• Standardization is important to any organization and as such implementing standards was part of my duties, including doing:
• Worked with other engineers to design and develop a standard folder structure for log files, source code, and web sites that worked for each division regardless of client or business function
• Worked with management and the division to design, present, and implement the new multiple server, high available multi-tiered ecommerce configuration for web services and distributed web applications that is in use for by four different clients
• Defined new standards for system documentation regarding new system and application implementations that doubled as disaster recovery documentation and well as troubleshooting tips for support engineers
• Designed a new staging folder structure and a series of batch files that reduces the code deployment time from four hours to 30 minutes for each of the site which is currently implemented for four different clients covering a total of 11 web sites and 26 web services on 23 servers averaging out as a savings of 14 hours worth of support or professional services costs using a rate of 1 deployment per site per month per client
• Implemented new a security process that allowed the business unit to control security access to web server log files through the current Active Directory change process rather than creating another process
• Implemented the changes to the build scripts to prompt engineers for more information thus enabling the script to add some basic intelligence that reduced the time involved with system builds Started a process for the submission of projects for the improving the infrastructure, the processes, and the environments within ADS from an individual applications to companywide systems
• While in the role of web server administrator, also performed the duties of a solution architect providing technical expertise to the business unit including:
• Provided the Enterprise Architecture team with detailed network diagrams representing the actual implementation method
• Provided detailed feedback to the Enterprise Architecture group regarding the Orcom solutions purchase and the network and systems configurations that did not have documentation
• Exposure to the various systems and processes as well as various group interactions allowed for the identification of areas that could be improved or automated such as:
• Designed and built a Microsoft Access Database to track the configuration information for the network Cisco CSS devices
• Developed VBScripts to push web log files from remote systems to the DMZ using a nightly schedule
• Developed specialized Macros within Excel to automatically pull information from remote systems to populate the tracking of these systems hardware configurations with just a spreadsheet using VBScript, VBA, and WMI
• Stepped outside normal job functions to implemented a centralized Visual SourceSafe for the IESS Development group in order to provide a secure and safe location

Orcom Solutions (July 1998 – July 2004)

Senior Network Engineer

• Designed and coordinated a new corporate wide DNS system for management of external DNS names using Linux and DNS Bind 9 allowing the company to manage their own DNS zones which saved the company the cost of paying an external provider
• Assisted in the design and planning for deployment of Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 for two other sites
• As system administrator and project lead, planned, coordinated, and implemented an Onyx Customer Care server to include the replacing of over 60 PCs, setup and configuration of the Microsoft SQL 6.5 server and providing assistance for troubleshooting
• As network engineer and project lead, planned, coordinated, and implemented a WAN connection to provide a temporary client solution for Montana Power access to the ECIS application within a one month window to include installation of a new frame connection, firewall installation, and connectivity testing
• Technical lead for the Montana Power project which consisted of designing and implementing a redundant network connection, multiple firewalls, ftp and print server systems, multiple physical locations, and over 200 CSR desktops accessing the Orcom ECIS application which was completed on time and under the technical budget
• Architected and coordinated the implementation of a secure file transfer solution using Linux, SSH, and internal FTP servers combined with scripts to automate the entire process
• Designed and implemented email connectivity and calendar sharing between the corporate Lotus Notes system and the Call Center Microsoft Exchange servers allowing for the scheduling of meetings and address book sharing internally without using special desktop clients
• Designed, coordinated and executed a migration solution from Microsoft Exchange 4.0 to Microsoft Exchange 5.5 separating a satellite office from the parent organization with minimum down time and little loss of functionality
• Designed, implemented, and managed a new PDC and Windows NT domain name change on a production network during the course of two weekends in a three month window with no loss of functionality
• Technical and Project lead for the Scottsbluff Integration Project with Orcom Solutions to merge the center with the Orcom network which consisted of designing, planning, and migrating 9 servers, 300 personal computers, 2 AS/400s, 300 Exchange mailboxes, and internet and frame firewalls which was accomplished in 48 hours by a team of 6 people without shutting down the call center
• Technical lead for the Nova Scotia Power project which consisted of designing and implementing the Online Customer Care application in a hosted environment within the Orcom Data center but with the back end system residing in Canada
• Technical lead for the Truckee Meadows project which consisted of designing and implementing a redundant network connection, multiple firewalls, ftp and print server systems, multiple physical offices and over 50 desktops accessing the Orcom ECIS application which was completed on time and under the technical budget
• Selected as the technical participant in the company’s project review board that evaluated all inbound projects to determine if the company could perform the task which resulted in several projects being rejected due to technical issues and others being accepted using a different methodology in order to satisfy the client’s needs
• In this role developed several programs and scripts such as:
• Designed and wrote a windows application to process reports for DCWasa using VB.Net to allow the application to automatically generate Excel reports based on text files received on a server which were then emailed to either predefined or dynamic email addresses which has now been in production for over five years
• Developed several scripts to automate the management and administration of Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 servers reducing management time and effort
• Wrote and implemented VBScripts to archive meter read files for Truckee meadows to ensure that there was a history of files being maintained
• Wrote and Implemented monitoring VBScripts that sent out notifications for Truckee Meadows and Sierra Pacific upon the receipt of a set of particular files
• Designed a dynamic ASP page that used VBScript and WMI to calculate and present system uptime information for Nova Scotia in relation to the two web servers hosting their application
• Responsible for the management and maintenance of over 20 systems with a 100% up time for 2004 exceeding the companies required SLAs of 98%

Software Spectrum (April 1997 – June 1998)

Microsoft Exchange Premier Support Specialist

• Designed, developed and maintained the intranet web site for the Microsoft Exchange team using HTML, FrontPage 98, and JavaScript 1.1
• Installed, configured and maintained the Microsoft Exchange team Windows NT 4.0 /IIS 3.0 server to include day-to-day functionality, monitoring and usage control for the print services, web services and file services provided
• Maintained over 90% Very Satisfied on all surveys from customers and 100% Somewhat Satisfied with no dissatisfied surveys in addition to Certificates and letters of recognition for customer service
• Promoted to Technical Leader within 6 months of employment and received Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer Certification within 9 months of employment
• Provided assistance to fellow technicians to assist in the solving of customer problems and handle escalation of technical issues for over 150 cases in addition to handling over 300 cases by myself in under a year

Education

· Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, University of Phoenix, GPA 3.63, July 2007

Certifications

· MS Exchange Server 5.5 Administration, Brainbench.com, November 2000

· Master Network Technical Support, Brainbench.com, November 2000

· Master Computer Fundamentals, Brainbench.com, November 2000

· Computer Industry Knowledge, Brainbench.com, November 2000

· Computer Technical Support, Brainbench.com, November 2000

· Internet Concepts, Brainbench.com, November 2000

· Unicenter TNG Basics, April 2000

· Introduction to Unicenter TNG, April 2000

· System Administration for Microsoft SQL Server 6.5, July 1999

· Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0, June 1999

· Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0, Microsoft Certification, January 1999

· Internetworking with Microsoft TCP/IP on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft Certification, March 1998

· Implementing and Supporting NT Server 4.0 in the Enterprise, Microsoft Certification, February 1998

· Implementing and Supporting NT Server 4.0, Microsoft Certification, January 1998

· Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0, Microsoft Certification, December 1997

· Implementing and Supporting NT 4.0 Workstation, Microsoft Certification, November 1997

· Networking Essentials, Microsoft Certification, July 1997