• Lead Systems Engineer on Systems Innovation Team (San Antonio TX HQ), 2004 - 2006

  • Developed mass-automation tools for large scale data center and customer server  problems. Examples include:

    • Developed push-scripting for mass server security maintenance.

    • Developed multi-data center port scanning scripting reports for vulnerable sendmail binaries.

    • Developed SMART hard drive"health test" tool (active r/w test) with mass logging & drive death statistics reporting.

  • Lead a team of two developers for creation of automation tools and reports:

    • Oversaw/PMd creation of a mass DNS/BIND daemon re-config tool to automate thousands of remote daemon reconfigs and restarts.

    • Oversaw development of mass server daemon control and automation & tools.

• Product Engineer for Rackspace Product team (San Antonio TX HQ), 2003 - 2004

  • Did initial research/feasibility recommendations for:

    • H.A. MS-Exchange clusters offering.

    • Low cost, PCI card based firewall (embedded Linux) product.

    • Created a server reset/power mux controller called "Rapid Reboot" (more further down).

• Primary Corportate Technical Trainer (San Antonio TX HQ) 2001 - 2003

  • Started the Rackspace Training Department.

  • Wrote & delivered Linux/Windows sys-admin training classes & exams for all of Support.

  • Created our own RHCE Training Boot Camp & mock 6hr exam. (still used today)

  • Trained MTAs(email), DNS, FTP, Hardware/OS t-shooting.

  • Trained for tape backups, restores, and emergency data recovery techniques.

  • Maintained OS images for Windows, Linux and FreeBSD training loads.

• Sys-Admin for Rackspace Customer Support (San Antonio TX HQ)1999 - 2000

  • I was the third customer Support Sys-Admin at Rackspace (employee #12).

  • Built customer servers, loaded OS (Win/Lin), and did Sys-Admin/networking work.

  • Supported a DC environment with a 200:1 server to technician ratio.

  • Functioned as a de facto, in-house R&D / T&I (Test & Integration) engineer for various early day, inception projects.

    Rackspace Inventions, Special Projects and Skills:

• Created automated hard drive "health check" PXE script 2004

  • SMART statistics are known to be inherently unreliable, so I...

    • Created an active-test SMART script using little known SMART r/w tests built into drives.

    • Tested and logged health of every drive going into the DC from 2004-2006.

    • Collected much data on drive death statistics (age, make, model, SCSI vs ATA, etc).

  • Used "drive death statistics" to report back to DC-Operations, Purchasing and DC Engineering.

• Created "Rapid Reboot" hardware reset/power mux controller 2003

  • My reset/ATX-power mux controller can control the reset or power on thousands of servers.

  • I designed, constructed, and prototyped RR, and then outsourced for mass implementation.

  • RR allowed the creation of a fully automated, "in rack" data center for Server Beach

  • Additional custom back end system controls the VLAN, PXE, loads the OS, & reboots.

  • Currently cross licensed to Server Beach as heart of their automated system.

• Created automated disk-to-disk bare metal backup system 2000

  • Called "Bounce-Backup", it was composed of a special boot floppy and cron-automated system

  • Created versions that worked on both Windows and Linux servers sort of like a intelligent, intermittent, off-line, "RAID-1 backup system".

  • It was an off-line “bare metal” backup system. Backup drive could be booted from & run on

   Other skills attained while at Rackspace:

            Brooks-AFB IT Contractor:                          1996 - 1999
            (for CSC, GTE, & General Dynamics)

•     Brooks Air Force Base  IT Contractor Positions Held:

• Senior Software Engineer (GTE+GD Contract),                 1997-1999

  • Ran a lab team of two engineers in the base Testing and Integration Center lab (TIC/PIT) 

  • Responsible for SMS/WinNT/WINS/MS-Exchange Admin/R&D work

  • Responsible for steering base technology-centric decisions--through research and implementation strategies.

• Communications Engineer (GTE Contract),                        1996-1997

  • With degree, promoted to base Solaris/UN*X System Administrator for 27 Sun Solaris UN*X servers (NIS+, MS-DCs & DNS).

  • Functional admin for all base UN*X systems, RAID storage systems, backups (Legato), print queues, etc

  • Promoted seven months later to Systems Engineer into the TIC (above)

• Computer Tech (CSC Contract),                                     1996 (3mo)

  • Started off as on-site computer tech until I completed a freshman class to complete my EET/Telecom BS degree for promotion to target UN*X Sys-Admin position

  • Did traveling PC tech work around base for desktop and laptop systems (Win95 mostly)

  • PC repairs, data migrations, anti-virus/client configs, etc.

Key technological experience attained while in TIC position(Brooks-AFB):

^I=Implemented ^T=Tested ^R=Researched

Networking	Admin/Servers	Integration
Net-Media  10/100BxI, DS0/DS1/T1I, FDDIT, TTY/RS-232I	Operating Systemsall I Sun-OS, Solaris, Linux, HP-UX, WinNT4	Migrationsall I UNIX/Win95->NT,  NT-Domain->NT-Domain, NFS->CIFS
LAN Based Protocols TCP/IPI, UDPI, RIPI, ATMI, DNSI, NIS+T, WINSI, NetBIOS/BEUII, IPX-BridgeT	Storageall I NAS Backup/Restores, Soft/Hard RAID 0,1,5	SMS Server->Winn9x Pushesall I Net-Centric NortonAV, MS-Office, Outlook98, Y2K Patches, IP Stack Patches
Security DOS AttkT, Port ScanningT, System FingerprintingT, CRACK/SATAN/SAINTT/R/R, Back-DooringT, Host HardeningI, Physical SecurityT, Securing HardwareI, TCP WrappersI, TripwireR	Server Appsall I Exchange, SMS/SQL, NortonAV Enterprise, Net/Web-XRay	Projectsall I Web-Email, DMS, 96 Line Modem Bank, MAN-Wide AV Solution, Software Auditing, User Tracking,...
Net/Info-Sec Protocols KerberosR, PGPR, SSLI, VPN/PPTPI, SSHI, SHA/MD5/DES/3DES/RSAI(ssl), etc.	File Systemsall I FAT16/32, NTFS, EXT2/Linux, misc-UN*X, Romeo/Joliet/ISO9660, FFS, TAR, etc.	Scriptingall I Shell Scripting (SH/csh/Korn, cron, batch, NT-Login), HTML, client batch utils
Perimeter FirewallsT, ProxyingT, Proto-BridgingI, Filter-ListsT, Intrusion Detection/ForensicsT	NAS/Net FS'all I NFS, SBM/CIFS, Net-App(vendor)	---

More Technical Experience from 1987-1996
(available from http://theweeks.org/toms-stuff/resume/resume_87-96.html)

These earlier years of my engineering experiences focus more on pre-Internet/server areas such as early computer tech work, discrete electronics repair work, lab research college jobs, etc.  Moved off my main resume for brevity's sake

Active Community Involvement:

• 2016-Present:
  Serving in leadership positions for the RBTC STEM Commitee and RBTC Cyber Security Forum.

• 2011-Present:
  Started the New River Valley Rocketry, high power rocket club here in Blacksburg VA. We hold high power rocket launches, with FAA clearance to 10k ft several times a year, and many more low/medium power community launches, and regular group meetings at the VT Aerospace department at VT's Illustrious Corporate Research Center. Our group became a Tripoli Rocketry Association Prefecture (#143) in 2012, and have regular VT Aerospace student, and NASA/USLI related launch events with the related students. Our group also does various community, public/private school, and Boy Scout outreach and S.T.E.M. related events and activities. Here's out Facebook Page and a link to some of our really cool big launch photo and videos!

• 2012-Ongoing:
  Wrote and delivered three high tech home schooling classes for the local NRVCHE home schooling group. The classes were divided into ten, two hour classes designed for 8-11yr olds and 12-16yr olds. The classes were designed as a lead in to computer science/engineering type curriculum (since home schoolers don't get a lot of high quality, CS/Engineering type material), and focused on the three subjects of:

  "Intro To Computers", 8hrs, with an emphasis on history, hardware/software theory, filesystems, networking basics, and modern operating systems -- and included a comprehensive pass/fail exam and certificates.

  "Intro To The Internet", 6hrs also pass fail, focusing on the creation, birth and theory of how the Internet and its related core protocols work (not a web browsing class. more like networking essentials for engineers).

  "Intro To Programming", 6hrs with a pass-fail class game project. This class used a text editor and the Python programming language to teach the fundamentals of beginner programming.

• 1998-2006: Started the Gateway Church Mobile Soup Kitchen. Twice/month I cook food for 60-80 people, meet other volunteers at our local church, and coordinate our ministry under a downtown bridge to feed the homeless and minister to spiritual needs.

• 1997-2010: President of the local computer user group XCSSA (X-otic Computer Systems of San Antonio). We explore OS' ranging from Linux and Solaris, to BeOS and AmigaOS. We meet once/month for a high-tech show-n-tell, have lectures on subjects ranging from Home LAN DNS and firewalling/routing to RAID and crypto-filesystems. Simply put, XCSSA is just a bunch of super-geeks who enjoy hanging out, sharing fun technical information, and eating pizza.

• 1997-2010: Associated with the San Antonio High Powered Rocketry and Hill Country Rocketeers groups. Now hold my Tripoli High Powered Rocket membership (#11056) and am currently working toward my L1 HPR certification.

  Email Thomas Weeks: tweeks-jobs@theweeks.org

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