Mar 05, 2024

Carl Francis

Network Engineering / Architect
Southwater, Horsham, UK

Contractor Information Technology

Personal Summary

A highly focused Cisco certified technical consultant with a broad spectrum of skills encompassing leading edge technology. Has a proven track record of achieving objectives on time and with enthusiasm.

Current studies and interests include AWS Architecture, Cloud Service Providers, Automation, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Docker, Terraform, Ansible and Net/Sec/DevOps technology and methodologies.

Recent project and contract history is detailed at the end of my profile page.

Cisco Catalyst/Nexus Routing, Switching, Wireless and Security
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Amazon Web Services (AWS, VPC, Direct Connect, EC2, S3, NFV)
Palo Alto Next Generation Firewalls
F5 ADC / Load Balancing Technologies
RedHat, CentOS, Debian based Linux distributions
Aruba / HP / ProCurve / Comware Routing, Switching, Wireless and Security
CheckPoint Firewalls
VMware vSphere ESXi / Microsoft Hyper-V Virtualisation Technologies
Network Management and Monitoring
Technical Project Management
IP CCTV
Open Source / Open Standards Technologies

Work Experience

Network Architect

Dec 2017 - Present Department for Work and Pensions (Contract)

Network Architect for the Department of Work and Pensions’ Local, Wide and Wireless Network infrastructure. Designing, implementing and supporting the DWP’s Secure Digital Exchange infrastructure, which provides secure transit connectivity from Cloud Service Providers into On Premise Hosting. Primarily covering the following technologies:

• Cisco ASR (MPBGP, VRF, FVRF, iBGP, eBGP)

• Cisco Catalyst

• Cisco Nexus

• Cisco FirePower Next Generation Firewalls

• Cisco ASA

• Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

• F5 Application Delivery Controllers/Load Balancers

• Palo Alto Next Generation Firewalls

• VMware vSphere / NSX-T

• Amazon Web Services (VPC, Direct Connect, Transit Gateway, EC2, S3, NFV)

• Microsoft Azure

• RedHat, CentOS, Debian based Linux distributions

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC); Terraform, Ansible

Enterprise Design Architect

Jul 2017 - Nov 2017 Verizon (Permanent)

Enterprise Design Architect for Verizon, leading a team of Lifecycle Engineers based in EMEIA, APAC and Americas. Currently assigned to the Burberry account designing, implementing and managing network infrastructure services including but not limited to LAN, WLAN, WAN and Security.

Network Architect

Dec 2016 - Jul 2017 UK Home Office (Contract)

Network Architect for the UK Home Office Local and Wireless Network infrastructure. Designing, implementing and supporting a Network Access Control (NAC) solution for wired and wireless network end points. Managing a team of staff to deliver the project in an efficient and timely manner. Primarily covering the following technologies:

• Cisco ASR (MPBGP, VRF, FVRF, iBGP, eBGP)

• Cisco Catalyst

• Cisco Nexus

• Cisco ASA

• Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

• Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers

• Palo Alto Next Generation Firewalls

• VMware vSphere

• Amazon Web Services (VPC, Direct Connect, EC2, S3, NFV)

• RedHat, CentOS, Debian based Linux distributions

Network Architect

Feb 2016 - Dec 2016 Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Contract)

Responsible for end-to-end delivery of networks for the DWP Hosting, Desktop and Private Cloud Contracts at two of the UK's largest Data Centres. Involved heavily in the design and implementation of the secure DWP Private Cloud network infrastructure, working within a team of networking, security and F5 specialists on a variety of projects to migrate legacy services and provide new compartments for different initiatives within the account.

Wide range of networking equipment deployed across the DWP hosting estate, working with Cisco's 10GbE infrastructure products (including Nexus and Catalyst series switches and 7600 series routers) as well as HP Data Centre products (HP DCNA) and F5 BIG-IP Load Balancing devices to create highly scalable and secure environments.

Design work ranges from creating high-level designs to low-level designs including rack and connectivity diagrams, cabling designs, bill of materials, subnet designs, application flows and associated load balancing designs, configuration and engineering/implementation instructions.

Constantly involved in the process of ensuring all devices are secure, running the most up to date version of code. Provide availability reports to account management teams for all networking elements across the estate.

Third line resource for dealing with complex network faults, as well as providing analysis and input into root-cause analysis following network faults.

Director / Technical Consultant

Nov 2013 - Present FlexNet Technology Solutions Ltd (Owner / Permanent)

Limited company formed primarily for contracting. Since expanded into B2B partner working for BT IT Services (formerly BT iNet), Empowered UK, SoftCat and Capita. Working on behalf of these clients providing project design, delivery and support covering the following technologies:

Cisco LAN / WAN

• Cisco 2960, 2960-S, 2960-X, 3560, 3560-X, 3650, 3750, 3750-X, 3850 switches

• Cisco 4500/E, 4500X, 6500/E, 6800 and VSS-enabled switches

• Cisco 800, 1800, 1900, 2800, 2900, 3800, 3900, 4000 series ISR routers, ASR 1000 series routers

Cisco WLAN

• Cisco 2100, 2500, 4400, 5500, 7500, 8500 AireOS Wireless LAN Controllers

• Cisco 3650, 3850, 5760 series IOS XE Converged Access Switch Controllers

• Cisco Aironet 600, 1130, 1140, 1200, 1230, 1240, 1250, 1600, 1700, 2600, 2700, 3500, 3600, 3700, series Access Points

• Cisco 1300 series Bridges

• Cisco 1500 series Mesh Access Points

• Cisco Mobility Services Engine (MSE)

• Connected Mobile Experience (CMX)

Cisco Security, Monitoring, Management

• Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS), CiscoWorks, Cisco Prime Infrastructure (PI)

• Cisco PIX Firewall, 5500, 5500-X series ASAs, IPS modules, AnyConnect Secure Mobility SSL VPN, IPsec VPN

Cisco Unified Communications

• Cisco Unified Call Manager 3.3 – 6.0

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager 7.0 – 11.0

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition

Cisco Data Centre

• Nexus 2K 5K and 7K series Switches

• Cisco FabricPath

Cisco Meraki

• MR12, MR16, MR18, MR24, MR26, MR32, MR34 series Access Points

• MR66 and MR72 series Access Points/Bridges

• MS220, MS320 and MS420 series managed Switches

• MX series security appliances

IT Communications Engineer

Nov 2013 - Dec 2014 Aker Solutions (Contract)

Providing third line operational technical support of the global communications infrastructure. Manage incidents and events generated in HP OpenView and BMC Remedy aiming to resolve calls within SLA. Working to a strict ITIL change management process.
Primarily an operational job role, reacting to incidents. Design, deployment and documentation of LAN / WAN / WLAN standards.
Responsible for supporting in excess of 2,000 Cisco switches and routers, 2,000 Cisco wireless access points, dozens of Cisco wireless LAN controllers, 50,000 wired endpoints and 10,000 wireless endpoints across the entire global infrastructure.

Senior Network Engineer

Jan 2009 - Nov 2013 Knowledge I.T. (Permanent)

Network project engineer, responsible for Cisco network design, implementation and documentation. Key skills included:

Presales – Provided direct support, information and documentation to sales personnel, attending customer meetings and preparing bill of materials, proposals and detailed design documentation to secure sales opportunities for the business.

Network design – Design LAN, WLAN and WAN solutions incorporating switched, wireless and routed network infrastructure, multi-site connectivity and internet connectivity.

Security Solutions – Design and implementation of security technologies such as Cisco ASA and Intrusion Detection / Prevention, configuration and deployment of IPsec and remote access VPNs including Cisco SSL VPN, with integration into third party security systems utilising Cisco ACS, ISE, Microsoft IAS and NPS.

Implementation – Skilled in planning and implementation of Cisco projects. I was required to take a project management role in addition to the implementation itself. This typically included pre-installation meetings with customer to determine project scope, objectives and timeline. I produced all required documentation including project plans and technical design diagrams. I undertook configuration work, deployment and troubleshooting onsite, with user acceptance testing as a key part of the scope.

Support – Provided ongoing guidance and technical assistance to the dedicated Support team within Knowledge I.T. I acted as a final level of escalation within the business for network and communications issues that the support team cannot resolve. I provided knowledge transfer and technical briefings to ensure the latest up to date information was available to colleagues.

Company Certification – I was a key member for maintaining Knowledge I.T’s Cisco Partner Accreditations, ensuring the company continued to meet all requirements to maintain their Premier Partner status and Technology Specialisations.

Systems Engineer

Nov 2007 - Dec 2008 Aceda Ltd (Permanent)

Aceda Limited is a leading independent provider of business integration using IT Networking Solutions and IP System Integration. Their main aim and drive as an organisation is to work closely with clients, acting as a ‘Technology Partner’, not just a supplier. Over the past 20 years they have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience, allowing them to integrate seamlessly into an organisations way of working to get the most out of their infrastructure. Areas of expertise comprises of the following:

• Cisco Hardware/Software

• Cisco Unified Call Manager

• Wireless LAN (WLAN)

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003

• Microsoft Exchange 2003

• SonicWall Hardware/Software

• HP ProCurve Hardware/Software

• 3Com Hardware/Software

• IP Audio/Video Solutions

• IP CCTV (Milestone, DVTel, Axis)

• Linux Technologies (RedHat, CentOS, SUSE Linux, openSUSE, Debian Distributions)

Network Communications Analyst

Feb 2005 - Sep 2007 RSPCA (Permanent)

The RSPCA has a national WAN infrastructure primarily utilising Novell, Cisco and SUSE Linux. As a Network Communications Analyst I am expected to support both the hardware and software infrastructure. Also a key component to my role is project management ranging from a simple server installation through to planning a solution for national roll-out. Since working at the RSPCA my exposure to the following has increased and so I feel I have achieved a greater competence in administering and supporting these technologies:

• IP Telephony (IPT)

• VoIP

• Cisco Technologies (CatOS / IOS / Routing / Switching /Routed Protocols / IP / PIX Firewalls)

• Cisco Unified Call Manager

• CiscoWorks

• Novell ZENworks (Server and Desktop)

• SUSE Linux

• Novell Open Enterprise Server

• VMware ESX, plus other Virtualization Technologies

• Network Monitoring Tools, for example CiscoWorks, Nagios, MRTG, NetFlow, sFlow, SolarWinds,

• CastleRock plus other SNMP utilities

Technical Consultant

May 2003 - Jan 2005 Connect Express Consultants Ltd (Permanent)

A niche IT Consultancy organisation that specialises in Cisco, Novell and HP/Compaq technologies, offering design, provision, implementation, maintenance and support services with customer service being the ethos of the company. I was employed by Connect eXpress Consultants Ltd to fulfil a role within the expanding technical services department.

Within the first year I was tasked with achieving Novell CNE, Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Wireless Field Engineer in order to meet the objectives of supporting our customer base.

Installation and configuration of Cisco hardware and software including but not limited to Wireless LAN, Cisco Security Agent (CSA) and Access Control Server (ACS).

Installation and configuration of Novell products, for example, NetWare, iFolder, iPrint, NDPS, GroupWise and ZENworks.

Network Assistant

Aug 1997 - May 2003 Lewes District Council (Permanent)

Originally employed at Lewes District Council as a Helpdesk Operator. The role consisted of hardware and software installation, configuration and continuing support of the 300+ user-base which spanned over multiple locations. Through progression and personal development promotion to Network Assistant was awarded. As Network Assistant my duties focused on second-line support. Increased focus was placed upon network maintenance, for example, Novell NetWare Support Packs, eDirectory administration, strategic backup implementation and other duties.

As a member of the ICT Support Team within the Council I gained experience in the following aspects:

• DOS, Windows 9.x, 2000 (Professional & Server), Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003

• PC Hardware configuration, installation and troubleshooting

• Other PC related Hardware, for example, Printers, Scanners, Biometrics

• PC Software installation, configuration, for example, Microsoft Office suites, Document Imaging, bespoke packages

• Basic knowledge of UNIX & Linux

Director / Network and Cyber Security Consultant

Aug 2022 - Present Cybernetica Solutions Ltd (OWNER / PERMANENT)

G-Cloud Digital Marketplace Network and Cyber Security Supplier.

Cybernetica Solutions Limited provide Security and Network consultancy and professional services for Enterprise technology to all parts of the UK Government. Equipped with over 40 years of combined experience across public and private sectors, the Cybernetica team have a verifiable track record of successfully delivering complex projects. At the core of Cybernetica’s ethos are attention to detail, transparency, honesty, a willingness to go the extra mile and ultimately feel pride in delivering services that meet clients’ requirements.

Education

CCNA

CCNP

CCIP

CCIE Written