richard hardenstein

Working to upgrade and remediate Cisco network infrastructure. Wrote a python script that accepts Cisco CLI output and builds MOP to upgrade IOS and NX-Os on Cisco routers and switches enterprise-wide. To date, have upgraded several thousand devices, live, without service interruptions. Script pushes traffic off the target device and includes step-by-step process validation. We’ve had 2 CIIs, both attributed to other issues (...we stepped on a ‘land mine’) Scripts are typically 50-250 pages long and upgrade 2-12 devices per change window. Mostly 6509s, Nexus 7010, N6Ks, N5Ks and N2Ks in Data Centers and 6509s/4506s in facilities. Perform root cause analysis on an ad hoc basis. Also data mine various log to discover network issues previously unrecognized.

Working to fix prior generation Riverbed Steelhead deployments. Previous generation Steelhead deployments in data centers were zone-specific, very expensive, under-utulized and deployed only on IOS switches. Certified previous generation Riverbed architecture on NX-OS switches and then proposed, tested and created the next generation Steelhead deployment that offers data-center wide WAN optimization services. Tested and included Riverbed Interceptors as part of the new architecture. New architecture allow pooling of very expensive Riverbed Steelhead appliances while increasing overall utilization and driving down the per unit costs to the end user. In addition the new architecture vastly simplifies host deployment in alignment with the 5-5-5 deployment program at Kaiser.

Worked two full-time contract positions; 5 AM to 2 PM @ Charles Schwab 3 PM to 11 PM at Gap, Inc. Each client gave agreement before this arrangement began. At Charles Schwab, performed network monitoring and troubleshooting of the internal corporate network. Performed routine changes for network MAC activity in the San Francisco area. Worked on fast moving project during the bubble, mostly involving performance problems with Web-based applications. Was the last contractor laid off before employees were laid off when the bubble burst.

ExxonMobil sold their refinery in Benicia, California to Valero Energy, Inc. When the sale was announced, the resident network manager announce he was retiring, on Friday, in two days time! I assumed responsibilities of network support with a single day of orientation and turnover on Thursday. On Friday, he played golf... Migrated the Benicia Refinery LAN from the ExxonMobil corporate WAN to the Valero Energy Corp WAN due to the sale of the refinery assets by ExxonMobil to Valero without any significant service interruption. Migrating 400 nodes of 16Mbps token ring attached LAN stations to switched 10/100BaseT using dual Cisco Catalyst 4000 switches using Gigabit Ethernet backbone over MMF. Migrating from registered ExxonMobil Class B IP address space to private 10 address space. Normal MAC activity for 400 node LAN, troubleshooting as required

Employed to work on a Tier-3 network support desk in the NOC of the largest domestic bank merger at that time. Nations Bank had just acquired Bank of America and then changed it's name to Bank of America. The WAN had more than 20K nodes (corporate offices, branch offices and ATMS) with very high SLAs. The enterprise WAN was chaotic at the time, with huge problems (SIAs with routers running EIGRP), vendor-vendor interoperability issues (especially Cisco-Wellfleet), etc. Worked at the NOC repairing problems as quickly as they were identified. These included simple problems like T-1 issues as well as extremely complex response time issues with home grown financial applications used within the corporation. Migrated massive numbers of nodes from Token Ring to Ethernet while troubleshooting token ring problems.