Fariz Merchant
Mississauga, ON, • 647-***-****• *************@*****.***
1
Narrative:
IT Professional with over 6+ years of experience in Windows Server support, Service Delivery, Incident Management, Virtualization, cloud computing, Citrix environment, Process Improvement, Troubleshooting, Client Relationship Management, and Infrastructure Services. CORE TECHNICAL SKILLS
Microsoft Server: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 / 2008 / 2012 /2016 Client OS: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP
Infrastructure: Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, VPN, LAN/WAN, TCP/IP, WINS, File Servers, DFS, Clustering, Load Balancers (NLB), Backups
Messaging: Microsoft Exchange Server 2016/2013/2010 /2007/2003, Office 365, BlackBerry Enterprise Server
Cloud Computing: Azure, AWS
Virtualization: VMWare Virtual Center, Citirx
Sys Management: SCCM 2007/2012, SCVMM 2008/2012, Tivoli Office Suite: Visio, Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher & Project Database: SQL 2005/2008/2014
Hardware: HP, IBM, Dell
Relevant Experience:
System Administrator Konstant Solution Jun 2013 to Present
• As a System Administrator, I am responsible to troubleshoot Active directory, Exchange, Office365, Azure, Scripting, Virtualization, Firewall, Network, Backup, DFS, Multiple Domain and managing Data Center Migration
• Configure Users/Computer profiles in Window Server 2003/2008/2012 Active Directory environments
• Monitor system performance and record all event viewer activities
• Active Directory administration for 600 plus user network including user account creation and access control. Group policy management. DNS and DHCP management
• Experience with common administration tasks, such as shared printer setup, file share permissions
• Configure window server security groups
• Experience in writing shell scripts to automate the administrative tasks and management
• Build, Test and Deploy applications for hardware and software configuration on servers
• Handle deployment workflow including provisioning, load balancing, and health monitoring
• Managed services for all Messaging & Collaboration systems deployed within applied systems
• Administered and maintained Microsoft Exchange 2010 Servers in a global enterprise environment and supported Outlook users
• Worked on multiple Messaging related projects and coordinated with other Infrastructure groups and software vendors to provide technical support and problem resolution to users
• Performed migration from Lotus Notes to Exchange 2010 using Quest and was involved in messaging integration activities related to migration of business acquisitions and subsidiaries
• Configured Database Availability Group for high availability and Network Load Balancing with Client Access Servers and Hub Transport Servers for fault tolerance and load balancing
• Designed and implemented CommVault Archiving on Exchange mailboxes
• Managed Blackberry Enterprise Servers and Blackberry devices Fariz Merchant
Mississauga, ON, • 647-***-****• *************@*****.*** 2
• Managed OCS 2007 R2 and implemented Lync 2013 servers and an Edge Server to enable Federation with external organizations
• Designed and Implemented Enterprise Messaging policies (ActiveSync, Address Book, Email Address, Mailbox Retention, Archiving) procedures and standards
• Analyzed Messaging environment and established performance metrics and assisted in capacity planning
• Maintained system patch levels proactively following the best practices
• Resolved Messaging Server Outages, Performance Issues and performed in-depth root cause analysis
• Provided Tier III support as a subject Matter Expert for Messaging Services
• Migration experience from On Premise Exchange to Office-365 cloud
• Experience with Office 365 migrations and hybrid solutions
• Use Command line to interact with the cloud fabric and perform operations against the Azure nodes
• Read Various Monitoring and diagnostic log data, Summarized information in integrated log files
• Drive end to end deployment of various Components on the Azure Platform
• Run validations on Deployment Spec file, modification of Certs, Password and Storage Accounts on the cloud platform
• Setting up and administer service accounts, frequent use and application of technical standard, principles, theories and concept of cloud components
• Provide solutions to a variety of technical problems of moderate scope and complexity
• Create and modify PowerShell and XML files
• Experienced VMware Administrator / Windows Server Administrator with 7 years of experience in designing, deploying virtual networks and upgrading systems, including hardware, software, networks, servers and peripheral equipment
• Experience in implementing and administering VMware vSphere, HA settings, DRS settings, Cluster groups, Resource Pools, Host Profiles, Licensing, Templates, and Data Stores
• Managing all aspects of VMware vSphere environments including vSwitches, Distributed Virtual Switches, vMotion, Storage vMotion, VMware Fault Tolerance, VMFS Datastore, Host profiles, Storage profiles, Resource Management and Performance Monitoring
• Strong experience in SAN and NAS solutions on EMC suite of products like VMAX, VNX, RPA, VPLEX, SRDF, Celera Series and CISCO, Brocade director class SAN switches
• Experience with HP servers, IBM server and Dell Power Edge Servers
• Performed several P2V, V2V migrations using VMware Converter
• Strong understanding of VMware Networking concepts like different types of port groups, NIC Teaming and VLAN Problem management on VMware ESXi 4.5 /5.5/6.0
• Experience in Designing, Installing, Configuring, Administrating and Troubleshooting VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Environment
• Expertise in disk, file system management, Volume Management using VERITAS volume manager, VERITAS File System & other logical volume manager
• Expertise in VERITAS Volume Manager, VERITAS NetBackup, RAID, VERITAS Cluster and Shell/Perl scripting.
Wintel Administrator Optimus SBR Mar 2011 to May 2013
• Provided over the phone and in-person Tier I and Tier II support for all hardware, network, and systems issues. Worked alongside Hardware Technicians, Senior Systems Administrators/Engineers, and Network Administrators /Engineers to resolve any issues that arose regarding those users, systems, and networks
• Provided tier 1/2 support to the IT escalation tickets, while meeting the SLAs
• Utilized Active Directory to create, unlock, and reset passwords on multiple domains
• Performed troubleshooting and provisioned Enterprise Email mailboxes
• Imaged workstations across multiple networks
• Submitted and closed Remedy tickets for all work completed and escalated/assigned any Tier III tickets to the appropriate groups
Fariz Merchant
Mississauga, ON, • 647-***-****• *************@*****.*** 3
• On an as needed basis, assisted Hardware and Systems shops with any installs, hardware issues, and software installations
• Provided outstanding customer service to all customers and co-workers
• Performed AD upgrade from 2003 to 2008 R2, where multiple domains in single forests with 10,000 user objects existed
• Performed domain consolidation of 2008 R2 domains, where 5 domains were consolidated in to one domain
• Provided infrastructure support for DNS and name resolution issues, AD replication issues, AD operational and logon issues, DHCP, backups, and monitoring support
• Analyzed Group Policies for the company and did the GPO optimization for faster logons
• Used VMware for server consolidation and part of the team to reduce the hardware footprint
• Performed P2V migrations to converted the physical servers in to VMs running on VMware Systems Analyst Horizon Technologies Feb 2009 to Apr 2011 Originally hired as a Help Desk Technician, my role evolved into a newly created position for the organization of Help Desk Supervisor. In this role, I supervised a team of 3 Help Desk technicians and oversaw the day to day technical support operations of the help desk for approximately 1,000 users. Key Contributions:
• Provided excellent technical and customer support to employees on site and remote across 8 states and 3 time zones
• Administrator for Remedy ticketing software. Created Support Reps, queues, categories and assigned permissions. Created work flow rules to improve IT response times
• Implemented WAIK to create desktop & laptop images. Responsible for approving and applying image updates
• Primary purchaser for all computers & peripherals. Actively maintained an inventory level efficient to avoid customer downtime
• Supported Avaya IP Office phone system
Certifications
Exchange
Exam 346: Managing Office 365 Identities and Requirements Exam 341: Core Solutions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Exam 342: Advanced Solutions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 VMware
VCP 6.0- Install, Configure and Manage
Microsoft
Exam 410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 Exam 411: Administering Windows Server 2012
Exam 412: Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services Exam 413: Designing and Implementing a Server Infrastructure Exam 414: Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure MCSA: Windows Server 2012
Citrix
Citrix Certified Administrator for Citrix Xenapp 6.0 Cloud Computing
Exam 246: Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 MCSE: Cloud Computing and Infrastructure
Academic Qualification
-Bachelors Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology Fariz Merchant
Mississauga, ON, • 647-***-****• *************@*****.*** 4
References:
§ Available upon request.